Democracy Dies in Darkness

‘Queenmaker’ shows how blogs upended New York’s high society

In a new Hulu documentary, director Zackary Drucker explores the rise of gossip blogs in the 2000s and their lasting effects on internet culture

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Morgan Olivia Rose wrote a popular blog called Park Avenue Peerage during the late 2000s that chronicled the lives of socialites. She is featured in the new Hulu documentary "Queenmaker: The Making of an It Girl." (Hulu)
7 min

In the late aughts, right before the financial crash, the world of Manhattan socialites was upended by an 18-year-old blogger in Illinois.

The college student’s blog, Park Avenue Peerage, chronicled the comings and goings of the city’s elite as they ventured from red carpets to charity balls. “Queenmaker: The Making of an It Girl,” a new documentary from Hulu, tells the story of a teenage interloper in New York society right as the socialite bubble was pierced by the internet. Packed with nostalgia and pop culture, the film explores a time that set the stage for modern influencer culture.