More than a decade after Gossip Girl, their greatest hit, the screenwriters and producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage are returning to Manhattan with a new series for Prime Video. The streaming service has given the green light to Bella from Barneys, a drama set around the city’s renowned former luxury department store and centered on a young newcomer from the outskirts. The project follows the success of Sterling Point – The Island of Secrets on the platform, the duo’s teen mystery drama that has recently been renewed for a second season.
Bella from Barneys: the plot of the TV series
Bella from Barneys follows Bella Baldwin, a nonconformist youngster hailing from one of New York’s outer boroughs. Gifted with a natural eye for style, Bella lands a job in the warehouse of the revamped Barneys New York. By leveraging her gift of gab, she soon becomes the personal shopper for the store’s most talked-about and socially active client, and she is swept into a ruthless world of fashion and family secrets, even stepping into the orbit of the heir who fights to rescue the family business.
“We are thrilled to continue our collaboration with Amazon and look ahead with great anticipation to what lies next,” Schwartz and Savage stated in a press release. “The reception to Sterling Point has been incredibly rewarding, and we are thrilled to return for a second season alongside creator Megan Park and LuckyChap as production partners. At the same time, being able to build the Barneys narrative universe is a dream come true for us. Barneys was far more than a store: it was a New York institution, a cultural landmark and a world unto itself. We are excited to open those doors together with our partners at Authentic Brands Group and with fellow producers Susan Rovner and Rachel Kaplan, with whom we have collaborated since the early days of our careers.”
Peter Friedlander, head of the television division at Amazon MGM Studios, added: “Josh and Stephanie from Fake Empire possess the rare talent of crafting worlds that deliver both an electric energy and a sense of intimacy, and Bella from Barneys is the perfect embodiment of that. Barneys New York was much more than a department store: it was a fashion institution, and its closing was felt by many. This series brings it back to life with all its incredibly chic grandeur. Fashion, ambition and intrigue await beyond the doors that our partners Susan and Rachel, together with the team at Authentic Brands Group, will help to open.”
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