So...yay! Inside sources confirm to me that Gossip Girl will indeed be having an extralong season next year (to make up for the episodes we missed this year due to the strike).

Though nothing will be made official until next week when the CW announces its schedule in New York City, I'm told the show has been confirmed for a 24-episode season two.

I just hung out with Leighton Meester on the set of Entourage (she's there shooting a guest stint for the HBO comedy's upcoming season), and she told me they're planning to shoot Gossip Girl in the Hamptons at the beginning of season two. "'Cause you gotta go to the Hamptons, right?" she said with a giggle. "And, by the way, we aren't shooting in Staten Island like they did on Sex and the City. We're shooting in the real Hamptons." Touché, Carrie & Co.!

(Also according to Leighton, the cast calls Michelle Trachtenberg's character "Geor-gina" in the way that rhymes with a female body part, since she's such a See You Next Tuesday. Hee!)

Stand by for this Monday's Watch with Kristin Show for much more from Leighton. By the way, she was shooting a duet with Tony Bennet. How cool is that?