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Variety is reporting this afternoon Gossip Girl, one of the biggest jewels in The CW’s crown, is in the running for a spin off show. According to an inside source, one of the remaining episodes of this season may double as a pilot episode for the new show, depending on viewer reaction. A smart move in this economic climate, why shoot a pilot when you don’t have to? After axing the development of Robin’s origins show, The Graysons, CW are on the hunt for the next big show to headline their slate for 2009/2010 and spinning off from a hugely popular show could be just the new addition needed.

So, who’s spinning away with the new show? Gossip Girl is an ensemble piece with a large enough band of stars and regular guests, so will it be one of them that heads for pastures new or will this mystery pseudo-pilot also see a new character introduced for fans to follow? Gossip Girl’s pre-existing series of books, written by Cecily von Ziegesar, already has its own spin off book series, “The It Girl”. This series follows Taylor Momsen’s character of Jenny Humphrey, but Variety’s sources say that the spin off will not follow that route. That’s not too surprising really, given the direction her storyline has taken over the last couple of episodes. So, if it’s not Jenny then who will it be?

Spin-offs have quite a bumpy past, with some excelling well beyond the popularity of the original show. Of course, for every success story (Fraiser, anyone?) there’s one that ends up in the bargain bin. How may seasons was Joey running for, again? So, will a Gossip Girl spin off be on the golden list, or will it disappear into oblivion?