Michelle Trachtenberg heading to Gossip Girl

When you want to conjure up some ratings magic, a special guest star always helps. And if you can get the star to commit for a few episodes during May sweeps, well that's even better. With that in mind, the CW has signed Michelle Trachtenberg for a multi-episode arc on Gossip Girl.

Michelle, who has a loyal following from her days as Dawn on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is going to play Georgina Sparks on Gossip Girl. Georgina is a character from the books that are the basis for the series about a bunch of upper-class, uptown Manhattan high school kids. Georgina shows up directly from a stint in rehab, and quickly begins screwing up Serena van der Woodsen's life.

The part of Georgina will appear for a few shows, and reportedly Michelle had competition for the part, i.e. Mischa Barton. Michelle has a new movie with Topher Grace and Anna Faris in the can, Kids In America.