Are the girls back in town?

Beautiful people, gorgeous designer clothes, spectacular locations, sordid affairs, bitching, backstabbing, wild sex and impossibly glamorous lifestyles.

No, it's not Sex and the City – it's the new American TV import Gossip Girl which hits our screens tomorrow. But do the much younger stars of Gossip Girl really have what it takes to become the next Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte? asks ALICE WYLLIE

IF THE Hollywood writers' strike left you craving a decent fix of good-old, glossy glamour-drama, relax – the drought is finally over. Not only will the Desperate Housewives' bouncy hair and dark humour be back on our screens from tonight, but there's a new telly obsession on the horizon – Gossip Girl, which starts tomorrow.

We're being told it's "the next Sex and the City". This is a super-shiny US import, overflowing with gorgeous designer clothes, spectacular locations, sordid affairs, wild sex, bitching, backstabbing and impossibly glamorous lives that aren't quite as glossy as they seem. However, this time there's one key difference: it's all happening to teenagers.

But it's hardly the first show the television-makers have promised us would fill the gap left by Carrie et al when they skipped off our screens in their beloved Blahniks. Unfortunately, we've usually then been let down with cheap imitations. So can Gossip Girl really tick all the boxes that made Sex and the City and Desperate Housewives such successes while also being different enough to catch our attention?

According to US viewing figures, the series' teenage characters are equally popular with the twenty and thirtysomething market as with youth audiences. Despite the fact that the characters are young enough to be the daughters of Carrie and friends, it seems there are certain key ingredients that appeal to women who left their teens behind some time ago.

Gossip Girl follows the lives of a group of extremely wealthy teens – with chauffeurs, homes in the Hamptons, wardrobes crammed with couture and, of course, substance abuse problems – all of whom are kept up to date on all the latest gossip within their circle via the mysterious online blogger Gossip Girl. The series is based on the bestselling books of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar, and has been adapted by Josh Schwartz, the creator of the highly successful California-based drama The OC.

It certainly shares a number of themes with Sex and the City that contributed towards that series' popularity – a glamorous Manhattan setting, designer togs and dysfunction – but what really made Sex and the City (which will be back, briefly, in cinemas in May) popular was its witty dialogue and sharp insight into the lives of (relatively) normal women.

Whether these rich teenagers can offer similar insights and cutting wit remains to be seen. We empathised with the Sex and the City gals, we recognised their personal dramas, having been there repeatedly, and in some instances even took inspiration from their approach.

Will we really feel the same way about the "she borrowed my Chanel lipgloss/boyfriend without asking" dramas of a teen show?

Claire Mitchell, 30, who works for Glasgow-based PR agency DADA, believes that for many single, reasonably free thirtysomethings, life is not so different from that of the teenagers who are featured in such programmes.

"Teen dramas are a bit of a guilty pleasure for me and my friends, and I'll be switching on Gossip Girl," she says. "I think it's probably because, being a bit older, it's quite far removed from what you're used to so they're easy to get lost in. I like the escapism, and I guess that it lets me hang on to my teens, in a way.

"Plus, with programmes like Sex and the City, they can be quite difficult to relate to as you know that most women in their thirties don't actually live like that. In many ways, teenage dramas are closer to my life."

Indeed, there is something of a history of teen shows, where the teenagers in question have more insight than many adults out there. The conversations in the late-1990s teen drama Dawson's Creek were far more advanced than the usual teenage grunts, and the British drama Skins is proving popular with teens and adults alike, thanks to its warts-and-all look at teenage life.

Gossip Girl, like Skins, treats drug-taking, drinking and sex as a regular, rather fun part of growing up. The producers are clearly aware that we all like a bit of raunch and plenty of naughtiness and they deliver without preaching about it or trying to remind us of the consequences.

Plus, since all but one of the actors playing these teens are actually in their early twenties, we don't have to feel guilty about having a secret crush on them.

Kate Wright, 29, entertainment editor at handbag.com, says: "I'll definitely be watching the first episode. I don't mind that it's focused on teenagers, although I'm not sure if it will retain my interest. I am curious, and it's got crossover potential for a wide age range, but it will have to have quite adult themes to really appeal to women in their twenties and thirties. I'll be looking for sex, intrigue and hot boys that I can lust after without feeling too guilty!"

Like Schwartz's earlier success, The OC, there will also be storylines for the adult characters in Gossip Girl. Parents in this world aren't frumpy and irritating, foiling plans and imposing curfews. Instead they're as beautiful and glamorous as their children – with just as much angst.

And perhaps key to its potential success is that, as with many of our favourite glamour-dramas, Gossip Girl offers a strong element of escapism and wish-fulfilment. Don't most of us remember our own teens rather painfully? We didn't feel particularly confident or attractive and would have loved to have lead the lives of the Gossip Girls, wearing their clothes, flicking their bouncy hair and snogging their boyfriends.

In fact, we are probably still jealous of these girls in some ways, with their whole lives ahead of them, no responsibilities and upright breasts? As most-popular-girl-in-school Blair Waldorf's mother tells her in the first episode, "You'll never be as beaut-iful or as thin as you are now, so make the most of it."

This lifestyle is so unattainable that it remains aspirational for almost all women of all ages. Von Ziegesar has said that the inspiration from the books came from her best friend at her exclusive Manhattan school who flew to Paris on Concorde every season to be fitted by Yves Saint Laurent (yes, the man himself) for his latest collection. In the television series one character employs a party planner to organise her sleepover.

How many grown-up women can boast such a lifestyle? Lizzi Hosking, the celebrity director at Cosmopolitan says: "I'm 26, but the fact that the main characters are all teenagers wouldn't put me off. We love to take a peek into the lives of the rich and fabulous – it's a guilty pleasure for most women."

However, she's unsure if it will have the longevity of Sex and the City. "With Gossip Girl, we're gawping at these extravagant lifestyles, and that's half the fun. I loved that about Sex and the City, although at the same time, it retained something real. Carrie wasn't wealthy yet she had this fabulous lifestyle. You felt it was within your grasp. With Gossip Girl, it's pure fantasy."

Oh, who are we kidding? We get enough reality television as it is. It's time for unreality in spades. Bring on Gossip Girl with its orgy of consumption, bitching, beautiful people, drugs, sex and rock'n'roll. After all, we all knew Carrie couldn't possibly afford those Manolo Blahniks anyway.

• Gossip Girl is on ITV2 tomorrow (10pm).

The fashion

GOSSIP Girl is styled by costume designer Eric Daman, who worked with Patricia Field on Sex and the City so the main characters are just as fashion-obsessed as Team Carrie. Think seriously rich Upper East Side kids.

The boys look like Ralph Lauren models in preppy suits, scarves and bow ties with polo shirts, sweaters slung over the shoulders, and plenty of Tommy Hilfiger. Sexy, preppy and ludicrously expensive, the girls wear Alice bands, tweed Chanel jackets, Roger Vivier flats and over-the-knee socks.

Not quite the desired look for anyone over the age of 17 you might think, but 43-year-old Sarah Jessica Parker has been seen on set of the Sex and the City movie filming scenes in over-the-knee Argyle socks.

Age was never a barrier for Carrie and her pals, and each character had her own unique style, usually a mix of vintage and designer, nothing was too outrageous for the streets of Manhattan.

The boys
ALL the classic teen boy types are in Gossip Girl. We've got Nate, the heart-throb who's stuck in a love triangle with his girlfriend and her best friend, Chuck, the rich bad boy, and Dan, the geeky kid on a scholarship who feels invisible to all the popular kids.

In Sex and the City on the other hand, the boys very much played second fiddle. There was, of course, Mr Big, above: rich, suave and not particularly likeable, he was Carrie's main love interest from the very first episode, taking a back seat occasionally to the loveable Aidan or uptight Berger. We preferred Miranda's down-to-earth barman Steve, Charlotte's fat, bald Harry, and of course Samantha's hunk of meat, Smith.

The girls
EVERY teen drama needs a queen bee, and in Gossip Girl, it's the beautiful but nice Serena. Blair is her Park Avenue princess ex-best friend and Jenny, left, is the poor newcomer who'll do anything to enter the inner sanctum.

The Sex and the City girls surely need no introduction. The stars of the show, each was utterly different, yet they were the best of friends. There was Samantha, who oozed sex appeal and knew it, preppy Charlotte, below, tough Miranda, and of course scatty, ditzy, slightly irritating Carrie.

The hangouts
WHEN they're not at their extremely exclusive Upper East Side private school, the Gossip Girls hang out in the most exclusive bars and hotels. The fact that they're in their mid-teens doesn't stop them necking expensive cocktails in Manhattan's best bars – or throwing their own parties with top guest lists and unlimited budgets.

It's a similar story for Carrie & Co. They sipped Cosmopolitans in the trendiest bars and lunched at the latest restaurants. A typical Saturday night might include visits to a gallery opening, a cool new restaurant and an exclusive party.

Tha narratorGOSSIP Girl is narrated by a mysterious blogger who gets all the latest gossip before it happens and informs everyone who matters via the internet. Everyone is referred to by their initial, but we always know who Gossip Girl is talking about. Sex and the City is, of course, narrated by Carrie via her newspaper column. Most episodes either begin or end with Carrie in her apartment typing on her laptop, above. Famous catchphrases are "Meanwhile, uptown…" and "I couldn't help but wonder…"