Appearing on The View last week, both Blake Lively and Penn Badgley talked about the appeal of Gossip Girl.

Each young star pointed to a sensation of "heightened reality" on the series. First, check out what Blake had to say:

"I think that our show takes place at a heightened reality a little bit… I think a lot of the realism is lost in the sparkle, and it's meant to. You need that for the entertainment and the grit.

But this stuff does happen and it's good that we get to address these issues. It does open the door for conversations for parents to have with their children."

And Badgley was in full agreement with his castmate: "You see the repercussions of it at such a young age... It is heightened reality because it is television, but they did get it from somewhere…"

Remember: there's a new Gossip Girl episode tomorrow night! We can't wait.

Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.