I've been debating whether to write this post given there's so many (check out a few, below) others, especially this article doing practically the same thing.
The thing is, they're just a wee bit too simplistic. Sure, you can map most of the characters from the OC pretty easily to their Gossip Girl equivalents, e.g.
Marissa Cooper is cooler and more worldly as Serena van der Woodsen.
Kaitlin Cooper gets bigger exposure as Jenny Humphrey, as does Oliver as Chuck Bass:
Luke Ward has his equal in Nate Archibald:
There's also the 'trouble' with fathers: Nate's likes a little too much of a sniff of the coke , whereas Luke's is gay. The mapping is supposed to continue in the second season, with a storyline where he gets to see an older woman played by Central Park West's Mädchen Amick (remind you of anyone?):
Seth's first girlfriend, Anna Stern, becomes Dan's friend Vanessa Abrams:
Of course, Sandy Cohen translates Eastward as ex-rocker Rufus Humphrey
And his wife Kirsten becomes the love of Rufus' life, Lily van der Woodsen (cue the semi-incestuous storyline):
But that's when it gets more complicated. For example, Little Jenny's brother, Dan Humphrey, is a bit of a mix of Seth Cohen and Ryan Cooper:
Serena's best friend and Queen 'B', Blair Waldorf, is very much the mix of Summer and Julie Cooper Nichol:
Kiki, Julie and the Noopsies get younger as they turn into the girls' clique at St Jude's:
(FYI, I've missed a few of the secondary characters in the right-hand side of the photo).
The relationship between Dan and Serena is a blend of Summer and Seth and Ryan and Marissa, with all the angsty-ness, Dan's longstanding up-until-now-unrequited obsession with Serena, and the insider-outsider aspect of the relationship:
Similarly, the friendship between Blair and Serena isn't as reminiscent of the stick-by-you Summer and Marissa as the on-off semi-but-still-ultimate-BFFness of Kirsten and Julie:
JK-BS.jpg
And the relationship between Lily and Rufus is complicated by her courting of billionaire Bart Bass, a pseudo Caleb Nicholesque character:
Finally, Luke's relationship with Marissa in the first season of OC translates to childhood sweethearts Blair and Nate:
So, that's a really basic starting guide. You know, I love it.
[People.com: Gossip Girl: The New O.C.]
[Socialite Life: Chace Crawford Checks Out An Older Woman]
[meeVee: "Gossip Girl" - "The O.C." Without the Heart]
[Muckety: Gossip Girl resurrects OC themes]
[Metromix Chicago: 'Gossip Girl'... in 'The O.C.'?]
[NY Observer: The O.C. Goes N.Y.C.]
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