We all have a selection of shows we adore, rewatch constantly and relate to. In every show that you watch, you can easily find a similarity or two with another favorite show! Whether it is the time period, the setting, the characters, actors, plots, etc-Many of the shows we love to watch are because they are similar to each other. 

I love to watch shows set in New York City. They are usually full of many plots, have complex characters, and New York City is one of my favorite places to be. New York City TV show characters always end up becoming fashion icons. My favorite show in particular is Gossip Girl. The style of every character is to perfection there are so many great storylines, great and relatable characters and (in some ways) is realistic to the wealthy Upper East Side life. I recently started watching another show set in New York City that came out around the same time as Gossip Girl, but definitely is not as popular. The show is titled “Ugly Betty”. Like Gossip Girl, it features the contrast between the wealthy Upper Manhattan socialites and who they perceive as “poor”. In Gossip Girl it is the family who lived in Brooklyn, in Ugly Betty it is the family who lives in Queens. With many jaw-dropping storylines, plots and iconic episodes, the characters from both worlds try to navigate the drama of the Manhattan socialites. 

Now, let’s take a closer look at these characters and see just how similar they are!

1. Dan Humphrey (Gossip Girl) and Betty Suarez (Ugly Betty) 

Almost every tv show has an outsider character, you usually either love or hate them. In Gossip Girl and Ugly Betty, the main character couldn’t be more alike. The only thing that differs them is their gender. Dan and Betty are both aspiring writers trying to make their way through the upper Manhattan rich and socialite world. What started as a simple aspiration for writing, turned into a life full of drama that they claim to not have started (They usually are the problem though). Betty tries to fit into the elite world of fashion and the superficial standards that come with it, and Dan tries to fit in with the wealthy Upper East Sider group who do not accept anything less than luxury! In both shows, the richer group constantly looks down and makes fun of the outsider. They come from “the hood” also known as Brooklyn and Queens, living in a small house with a single dad and a sister. While both Dan and Betty feel they will never feel worthy in the elite side of Manhattan, they eventually make it and become accepted by the rest through many seaso ns of hard work! Both characters go through lots of complicated relationships, even love triangles, and end up making many mistakes. We still appreciate their intelligence and perseverance! (Even if one of them stalks the entire Upper East Side) 🙂 

1. Blair Waldorf (Gossip Girl) and Amanda Tanen (Ugly Betty)

Ok, maybe they are rude, but who doesn’t love a quick-witted and fashion forward icon? As we first meet Blair and Amanda, they both come off as snobby and rich mean girls. The only difference is, we eventually learn that Amanda is not as rich as she comes off to be. With money or not, both styles are impeccable..not a hair out of place and not one mis-matching piece of clothing or color. They even share the same styles–both very preppy and elegant with a little bit of glam and snazz. They are also both extremely high-maintenance and they know it–they are proud of it! They don’t let anybody or anything get in their way and become the most manipulative versions of themselves when they have to be. They are of the characters that look down on Betty and Dan, perceiving them as “poor”. However, they eventually become really great friends though often deniably! Under their perfectionism, snobbishness and manipulative behavior, we learn that they truly care for others, but they have a hard time showing it. Though that often becomes a problem for Blair and Amanda-we see they seem to have trouble making friends. Though for Blair, Dorota always sticks around(because we know Serena doesn’t always), and for Amanda, Marc is always there for her. They are both always there for the ones they love the most. Another part of their personality that you do not see at first is their very low self-esteem. Because of the superficial world they live in, they often do not see themselves as enough. So, they always are trying to prove themselves worthy, especially to the guys they care for. Though both are known for their rude acts and high-maintenance behavior, for some reason, we can’t help but absolutely love these iconic characters. 

1. Chuck Bass (Gossip Girl) and Daniel Meade (Ugly Betty)

These two characters are ones we definitely do not like at first, but absolutely love just a season or less later. Both Daniel and Chuck come from very wealthy and very corrupt families that own multi-millionaire media companies, even with very similar names: Bass Industries and Meade Publications. They both have “robotic” and powerful fathers, Bart Bass and Bradford Meade who they have cold and complicated relationships with. Eventually,  both fathers die in unexpected ways(Bart died twice!) Chuck and Daniel are known as the “rich bad guys” Especially in the beginning, they both have narcissistic behaviors and are womanizers. Though it happens quicker for Daniel than Chuck, they both eventually have major character development and end up becoming one of the most romantic and loving characters of their show, when they have lots of trouble expressing love in the beginning. They are both also always seen wearing a suit, and lots of times have a drink in hand. They both come from families full of secrets with even murder involved! Chuck and Daniel also have a blonde bomb-shell and spotlight sisters, Serena Van Der Woodsen and Alexis Meade. Though for Chuck, Serena is his step-sister and Alexis was not Daniel’s sister for most of his life (If you know, you know). At the end, they end up becoming our favorite characters and the most important parts of the series. 

1. Serena Van Der Woodsen (Gossip Girl) and Alexis Meade (Ugly Betty)

Ugly Betty’s blonde, drama queen/ bombshell girl was introduced as a stunning plot twist, but these types of characters always make the show a little more interesting! Both Serena and Alexis come from a very wealthy upper Manhattan family, and they happen to be the favorite child, despite the twists and turns they pull into their lives. They are both tall with golden locks with a total spot-light attitude. Thankfully, we don’t hear Alexis say “I have to go” so much! Though Serena was the first character we met on Gossip Girl, both characters returned back to Manhattan very unexpectedly to the rest. Serena had been away at boarding school trying to find herself and came back unannounced which led to a long fight between her and Blair. Alexis vanished for two years, with her family pronouncing her as dead, though she left to find herself as well. She left a young man, and came back stealing the spotlight at New York Fashion Week as a woman! Her return also led to a long fight between her and her brother Daniel. Both characters bottle up lots of secrets, try to victimize themselves but still end up causing a lot of problems. They were both even caught up in death and near death scandals. It seems both characters also love to crash fashion shows, and can’t get away without the paparazzi in their faces about something absurd that had happened in their lives, with so much family drama surrounding them. With both Serena coming and going all the time, Alexis was the only one to actually leave for good. Towards the beginning of season 3, after getting bailed out of jail, she moved to France to do “better” with her life. 

1. Lily Van Der Woodsen (Gossip Girl) and Claire Meade (Ugly Betty)

With a drama-filled blonde daughter comes a drama-filled blonde mother, and that goes exactly for both Gossip Girl and Ugly Betty. Lily Van Der Woodsen and Claire Meade are known for their immense amount of wealth, elegance and extremely secretive life. They too, share a very similar sense of style and life. While Chuck Bass is not Lily Van Der Woodsen’s biological son (adoptive) they both still have a son and daughter with lots of money, problems and alcohol behind them. (Except we could never say anything like that for Eric Van Der Woodsen, Lily’s youngest son). Both Lily and Claire carry themselves in a very refined, polite and a bit snobbish way and always have a $50,000 or more bag on their wrist. They even share an almost EXACT same story-line: Secretly having a son 20 years earlier, only half-related to the other two children who she secretly gave up for adoption, even without the father knowing! Again, despite all their secrets and drama, Lily and Claire are both two iconic characters we’ll remember fondly. 

Bonus characters:

• Jenny Humphrey (Gossip Girl) and Christina McKinney (Ugly Betty): Both aspiring, blonde fashion designers, always an outsider and looked down on. They end up leaving the show a few seasons later. 
• Rufus Humphrey (Gossip Girl) and Ignacio Suarez (Ugly Betty): Both single dads living in “the hood” compared to the upper areas of Manhattan, raising two children and always looking out for them, even to the point of becoming annoying. They also love to cook for their children! 
• Bart Bass (Gossip Girl) and Bradford Meade (Ugly Betty): The stern, cold-hearted fathers who put money and power above their family. Caught up in many (even murderous) scandals. Eventually dies unexpectedly  (Bart “dies” twice!)
• Vanessa Abrams (Gossip Girl) and Hilda Suarez (Ugly Betty): Another outsider character, effortlessly gorgeous, is very bold in style and personality, does not let anybody put her down or stop her from being herself. Smarter than she lets on, always thinking of others, on the outside looking in and ends up going through a lot of drama. They both try very hard to build up their careers. 
• Eric Van Der Woodsen (Gossip Girl) and Justin Suarez (Ugly Betty): The younger brother that has trouble figuring out who he is and fitting in–also they are probably the most unproblematic and sweetest characters of their shows.

Now, not everybody watches Gossip Girl and Ugly Betty. There are so many other shows on all different platforms that are easily comparable. This goes for BHS Student’s favorite shows as well!

BHS Junior Diya Syangbo says she loves shows The Summer I Turned Pretty and Never Have I Ever. Both shows center around a love triangle between a girl and two boys with very distinct personalities: One is more extroverted and the other is almost like a frenemy, though ends up being the one the girl loves the most and has loved for the longest. “Never Have I Ever was one of the reasons I started watching “The Summer I Turned Pretty” because I love shows with love triangles. There are so many similarities between the two shows, even with character personalities and plots.” When asking her what other shows she finds to also be similar she explains, “The Vampire Diaries and My Life With The Walker Boys are both shows about love triangles between a girl and two brothers, just like TSITP!”