EXCLUSIVE: Gossip Girl Season 3 Spoilers!

“Chuck (Ed Westwick) and Blair (Leighton Meester)
are definitely going to be a couple and stay a couple this season,”
Gossip Girl executive producer Stephanie Savage tells PEOPLE.
But don’t expect it to be all chocolates and roses: “Chuck and Blair in a
relationship is going to be something very unique and something we haven’t
seen before. They have definitely found ways to not be boring.” Now thatsounds interesting.

In last season’s finale, Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively)
unexpectedly took off with Carter Baizen (Sebastian Stan). So, are they now a couple? Not quite. “Something definitely happens with Carter over the summer and you will see Serena and Carter deal with the fallout over that in our first couple of episodes,” says Savage.

The drama between Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford) and his
powerful grandfather is sure to continue. When Nate finds a new
ladylove in Bree Buckley (Joanna Garcia), a Texas girl whose Republican
family counts the Vanderbilts as their political rivals, it’s game on.
“It’s a bit of a Romeo and Juliet romance,” says Savage.

So, how does a kid from Brooklyn score the superstar new girl? “[Olivia
Burke] (played by Hilary Duff) is a child actress who craves a normal college-girl existence and happens upon Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley), a Brooklyn hipster and cultural snob who doesn’t know who she is,” says
Savage. But don’t count on Serena being jealous. “Dan and Serena are a lot
more like siblings than former flames. It is much less romantic than it has
ever been.”

“The Rufus-Lily-Lovechild story will definitely come [full circle] in the
first part of the season,” says Savage, who won’t divulge any more details – though we suspect a reunion is in sight. And something tells us that Vanessa Abrams
(Jessica Szohr) might help it happen. “Vanessa has someone new in her life,
who may or may not be related to Dan Humphrey,” hints Savage. Any guesses?

Tune in Sept. 14 for the Gossip Girl season premiere!