Stars Hollah: Everything You Need To Know About The ‘Gilmore Girls Revival’
If you lead, we will follow.
The rumours are true. Our Gilmore girls Emily, Lorelai and Rory are coming back. Filling the gaping hole that has been left on our television screens, the fast-talking ladies with a unfleeting stream of witty jibes and pop culture nods will be brought back to life through the magic of Netflix. A-fricking-men.
I CAN NOW CONFIRM: it's time for me, and this jacket I stole in 2007, to return to work.@netflix #GilmoreGirls pic.twitter.com/tBb07J9oO1
— Lauren Graham (@thelaurengraham) January 29, 2016
The wheels have already started turning and the show is currently in production and filming as we speak.
Writers and creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and husband Dan Palladino wrote and directed the show for six out of the seven seasons and knew the time was right to bring the Stars Hollow family and townies back, but can’t believe it’s actually happening. “
In a Q&A with TVLine.
“It’s very surreal. It’s been very fun to write for these characters again. We’ve missed doing it… It’s been six months of, ‘We’ll just keep writing because, who knows?'”
It looks like it payed off and us Gillies are counting the days until the shows long-awaited return.
Until then…here’s some answers to the biggest questions about the GG revival.
Who’s in and who’s out?
All the major players are returning besides sadly Richard Hermann (who passed away in 2014) including Lorelai (Lauren Graham), Rory (Alexis Bledel), Emily (Kelly Bishop), Luke (Scott Patterson), Lane (Keiko Agena), Kirk (Sean Gunn), Gyspy (Rose Abdoo) and our number one rude and intolerant Frenchie Michel (Yanic Truesdale) all reprising their roles.
Happy to be back and reconnect with my old pal Michel. Feeling blessed and excited! #GilmoreGirls pic.twitter.com/jJLNcjVKKv
— Yanic Truesdale (@YanicTruesdale) January 30, 2016
However, the best character of ALL TIME, Paris (Liza Weil) has not yet signed on to be part of the revival, but Bishop has said that Paris is a part of the script. Weil also told E!Online:
“I haven’t heard that I’m not coming back… I hope to be a part of it.” So let’s pray it’s a done deal.
Also not to be officially confirmed to be involved with the revival are Mrs Kim (Emily Kuroda), Miss Patty (Liz Torres), Babette (Sally Struthers), Taylor (Michael Winters), Zach (Todd Lowe), and Brian (John Cabrera). But we have a sneaking suspicion they are just trying to keep some of the story under wraps.
While Doyle (Danny Strong) has gone on to huge success post-GG, writing both the television series Empire and several feature films, there can be no Paris without Doyle, right? As for one of the more controversial (read: relationship destroying) characters, Luke’s daughter April (Vanessa Marano) who is all grown up and a total babe now, it is doubtful that she will reappear. We can also safely assume Christopher (David Sutcliffe) will not making a cameo- who needs that stress in life when Luke and Lorelai are FOREVER.
What can we expect?
With the finale screening nine years ago, we can expect for the revival a lot to have changed. With so many questions left lingering regarding Lorelai and Luke, Rory’s journalism career, the state of Emily who is now a widow and where all the other supporting cast stands.
Sherman-Palladino explained to TVLine:
“So the pilot started where all three women were at a change in their lives. And it felt like, well that’s where we need to start [the revival]. It’s later in their lives and we’re meeting up with them and finding out what they’ve been doing but, more than that, that all three of their lives are going to change.”
What we know is Luke’s Diner is back as Scott Patterson’s tweeted this (below)- so some of the story will follow the same thread. There is a chance Lorelai and Luke have had kids, as two kids aged 5 and 7 have been cast on the show- but this is merely speculation at this point.
Luke's Diner open for business! #LukeDanes pic.twitter.com/FA0Ui9jqDn
— Scott G. Patterson (@ScottGPatterson) January 30, 2016
What we know is that the 90-minute GG episodes are titled after the four seasons: winter, spring, summer and fall. Sherman-Palladino told TVLine:
“It worked to open on snow and have a colder, starker environment. And then end on a lusher, warmer, golden-y town, which lends to where the story will end,”
So we can expect some wacky Stars Hollow seasonal celebrations and maybe even a Christmas concert from Miss Patty.
With the voice of GG Sherman-Palladino at the helm and back in the writers chair, at least we know GG is in safe hands.
“The weird thing about Gilmore is…you’ve lived a life with these people and there is a language to them. And the minute that somebody steps out of that it just feels weird.”
Will Melissa McCarthy be back as Sookie?
It’s any ones guess at this point. As the clear breakout star of the series, McCarthy has gone from strength to strength, starring in many feature films, her own television show and is pretty much box office nepalm. While it was originally proposed by producers that McCarthy will not be returning to GG, a recent tweet by the actress turned this on its head- stating she had not been asked.
Thanks for the invite, but sadly no one asked me or Sookie to come back to Stars Hollow. Wish them all the best!! https://t.co/II2Atug4wx
— Melissa McCarthy (@melissamccarthy) February 2, 2016
Creator Sherman-Palladino had said about the actress returning:
“She’s really fucking busy,”
“But the thing I have said (to her team) is, `Look if Melissa is available and has an afternoon free, I’ll write her a scene.'”
“Melissa was one of us. If she has a spare moment to run over – even if for just a cameo – we would be totally game.If it’s a last-minute thing, I would write her in and we would figure it out,” she said.
This leaves the whole thing wide open. With McCarthy not saying she wouldn’t be interested and Palladino saying they would be happy to have her and adapt to her schedule, there is a good chance there could be a least a small Sookie cameo, and hopefully a bit of Jackson and kids Davey and Martha as well.
*Finger, toes, legs and arms crossed*
Will Rory end up with Logan, Jess or Dean?
From what Sherman-Palladino has hinted, at least not in the beginning. The first episode will open with Rory dating.
“She’s… single in the sense that she’s not married. But she’s dating like any young woman with that face would be” says Palladino.
As for whether Logan, Jess or Dean will end up with Rory, it’s all being kept on the down-low. But which boys have signed on to appear?
The ever so charming and charismatic Logan (Matt Czuchy) who was wildly under-appreciated, was last seen proposing to Rory and has just confirmed that he will be back. Yay! But let’s hope he doesn’t bring his garbage father with him.
But what about bad boy and fan-fave Jess (Milo Ventimiglia)? There is good chance he will make an appearance, if the post below is anything to go by.
“I’ve always been pretty vocal about ‘Gilmore’ and I know everybody’s been waiting, and I was like, ‘That will never…
Posted by Milo Ventimiglia on Friday, 30 October 2015
As for Dean…well, he is as dull as a toilet brush and his storylines with Rory felt resolved, so he can happily stay on Supernatural fighting demons or pushing over scarecrows or whatever.
Sherman-Palladino said if it was her choice; they would all be back.
“Our plan is to get as many of the lovely men back as possible. We’ve also had certain storylines we had to [tweak] because, apparently, there are still budgetary restrictions in Hollywood. I don’t understand that. I sort of feel like, ‘This is the story I want to tell, and somebody should just pay for it,'” she said.
“We’re still dealing with who’s going to be in it. We definitely want to see them. And we have storylines planned. I just need someone to tell me they’re going to show up.”
Will Hep Alien reunite to rock once more?
There is a damn good shot of this happening.
At the ATX reunion earlier in 2015 Keiko Agena, Todd Lowe and John Cabrera reunited the series’ signature band to do a reunion show, including doing a cover of the Gilmore Girls’ theme song, ‘Where You Lead‘ by Carole King. But there was no Gill (Sebastian Bach) who is actually a massively successful musician and is currently touring.
#HepAlien has a message for y'all. #GilmoreGirls #ATXFestival @KeikoAgena @Todd__Lowe pic.twitter.com/SSgyYJEB3U
— John Cabrera (@johncabrera) June 4, 2015
While it hasn’t been confirmed whether Lowe will come back to the series, after Cabrera tweeted this (below), there seems like a very good chance Brian will return.
All we can hope for is that Adam Brody makes his well awaited comeback to complete the original lineup but we might as well be dreaming.
I can confirm that today was a pretty awesome day. #GilmoreGirls
— John Cabrera (@johncabrera) January 30, 2016
What about Richard?
Edward Hermann – who played Richard Gilmore – passed away in 2014 and his absence will leave a huge hole in the series as well as for in the lives of the cast and crew. “It was very hard, especially for Lauren and Alexis,” Sherman-Palladino told TVLine.
“He was like their other father.”
The death of Herman will be one of the first story points the revival will have to confront, with Sherman-Palladino revealing:
“Their lives are going to change… A tragedy like that brings up thoughts of, ‘Where am I? Where am I going? What am I doing?’ Because it’s mortality. Something they loved is gone, which means things you love will not be around forever. And you can’t take them for granted.”
In a separate TV Line interview, actress Kelly Bishop shared her thoughts on filming the show without the late Herrmann, who played her husband on the show.
she told TV Line:
“Well, because of the fact that Emily lost her husband, she’s kind of a raw nerve. In a desperate attempt to push through [her grief], she blows between right on the edge of losing it to almost being a little manic,”
“I know it’s going to be so moving. We so miss him. We’ve missed him since we found out he had died. It’s going to be very hard doing it without him, because he and I were buds on the show.
We, obviously, were older [than the rest of the cast]. But we were also New York actors, and we connected very well. We always did our crossword puzzles together in the hair-and-makeup room. That was one of our little routines. There was a comfort level,” the actress said. “It’s going to be hard without him.”
“Ed’s probably going to be hovering around the set a bit and watching over us. I really do believe that. Because he really loved the show.”
ALL THE TEARS. We miss you already, Ed.
How did the revival happen?
Integral to the road to revival and the Gilmore fandoms push for a new season was the insanely popular podcast Gilmore Guys– by comedians Kevin Porter and Demi Adejuyigbe. The podcast was released at the time that GG first premiered on Netflix back in 2014, with each podcast analysing a Gilmore Girls episode, along with interviews with the cast and crew.
The American podcast was released at the same time Serial was enjoying huge success and despite it’s pretty niche subject matter, it was a surprising break-out hit, with 500,000 listeners downloading their bi-weekly podcasts every month- the guys even sell out live shows across the country. The podcast catalyzed the call for the series to get the final season the fans deserved.
Rumours of a revival started to surface at the ATX television festival’s ‘Gilmore Girls Reunion’, with Sherman-Palladino and 16 of the original GG cast hosting a panel discussion.
Then BAM, Netflix strikes a deal with Warner Bros to revive the series with four 90-minute episodes.
The underlying reason why the show was encouraged to be brought back was that the series ending and final season back in 2007 was out of the creators hands. At the end of the sixth season, Sherman-Palladino and Palladino exited the series when they failed to come to an financial agreement with the studio- with many lifelong GG fans feeling that the final season was not consistent with the shows principles and unique characteristics. Both fans and critics complained about the subpar seventh season that produced lackluster dialogue, disingenuous plot twists and a rushed finale.
To devoted Gillies, it had become common knowledge that Sherman-Palladino had a preconceived plan for the finale and even knew what four words she wanted the series to conclude with. So the excitement over the revival is even further canonized because fans are at long-last getting the final season that was intended and those four special words.
‘OY WITH THE POODLES ALREADY’. Can’t wait!