Recently, the cast of Gossip Girl spoke to press about the upcoming series premiere and the tough issues these teens will tackle. Starring Blake Lively (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) and written by teen angst master, Josh Schwartz (The OC), Gossip Girl is the latest teen soap to hit the small screen. The show will debut with a bang. In the series premiere alone, Gossip Girl features underage drinking and date rape.

When asked how he will respond to parents, Schwartz responded, “We take the message this show is sending incredibly seriously. These are flawed characters.”

Backing the show is CW Entertainment President Dawn Ostroff who said, “We believe Gossip Girl can be a network defining series.” Gossip Girl is new to CW’s fall lineup along with Reaper, Life is Wild, and Aliens in America. The CW network also revealed their plans to incorporate a huge online community to go along with Gossip Girl. Fans will be able to shop and chat with each other during the run of the show.

Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars) voices Gossip Girl, a blogger who chronicles the lives of upper class teens at a private school mixed up in a world of sex, drugs, and alcohol. Will we ever see Bell on the show? “We never want to say never,” Schwartz answers. “But certainly not for a while.” Bell has a busy schedule, currently filming the movie Forgetting Sarah, starring Paul Rudd and Mila Kunis.

Gossip Girl is based on the wildly popular book series by Cecily von Zeigesar. Besides Lively, the series also features Leighton Meester, Chace Crawford, Penn Badgley, and Taylor Momsen. It is executive produced by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage (also of The OC.). Gossip Girl is not just about spoiled rich kids but will focus on relationships between parents, families, and friends. It premieres on the CW network Wednesday, September 27, at 9/8c