With production set to begin sometime next year, and the cast still in negotiations, we, unfortunately, have a while to wait before the revival appears on our Netflix accounts. But, fear not, to tide us over in the meantime I’ve created your ultimate guide to the Netflix revival of Gilmore Girls. Besides, thanks to Netflix adding all 7 seasons last October we can relive the glory of the old days any time we want.
What do we know about the revival thus far?
Let’s start with what we do know about the revival. It will take the form of four 90-minute long episodes and Amy Sherman-Palladino has signed on for the revival. Meaning we might actually get to hear the final four words she wanted to end the series with the first time around but didn’t get the chance to due to contract disputes. We also know that the revival will take place in present time, meaning a time jump from where we last left Rory and Lorelai. It’s also been revealed that the four episodes will cover a calendar year with each focusing on a different season.
We’ve heard through the grapevine that Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel are set to reprise their roles as Rory and Lorelai (but what kind of Gilmore Girls Revival would it be without the Gilmore Girls?). As for other cast members, Kelly Bishop and Scott Patterson are also rumored to return to their roles of Emily Gilmore and Luke Danes. Yanic Truesdale, aka Michel, has spoken about how excited he is for the revival though he hasn’t necessarily been confirmed. As for Rory’s boys, TV line says the four revival episodes will centre on each of Rory’s love interests meaning they have to be back, so say hello to our favorites Logan Huntzberger, Jess Mariano and grudgingly Dean Forester (sorry, I’m not exactly Team Dean if you hadn’t already gathered).
There’s still no word on whether Melissa McCarthy will be back but given how much her career has taken off since Gilmore Girls I’d guess she’s too busy for a Stars Hollow return, but there’s still hope. No word yet on the return of Lane Kim and sadly we haven’t heard about a Paris Gellar return either, but aren’t we all curious to know if Paris has made it as the Surgeon General or a Supreme Court Judge, I know I am.
Finally, the saddest news of all, there will be a Richard Gilmore sized gap at the head of the table during Friday Night dinners at the Gilmore Residence (assuming those are still a thing but really what kind of revival would it be without them) given the passing of Edward Hermann last year, we can’t wait to see how they’ve honoured his memory, and what widow Emily Gilmore looks like.
What’s new with the Gilmore’s?
So we can only speculate what happened in the years since we last left Rory, Lorelai and the rest of Stars Hollow, but speculate we will, besides it makes it more fun later when we can compare our predictions to the real thing.
First things first, we know that Richard Gilmore will no longer be sitting at the head of the table at Friday Night Dinner, which means Emily Gilmore is now a widow. And what will Emily Gilmore look like as a widow? Will she be somber and in mourning or play the wild woman finally free from her life as a dutiful wife. And although Edward Hermann passed away last year, we don’t know when in the time jump Richard Gilmore passed away.
I’m sure Lorelei will still be living in Stars Hollow, keeping the Dragonfly Inn as one of Connecticut’s premier Inns and putting Stars Hollow on the map. As for her and Luke, well I certainly hope they are still together (if where we left them in the Series Finale is any indicator things are looking good for a white wedding). If they did indeed get married in the time gap, then I’m undecided if they should have kids, I mean Lorelei already had Rory and can you really top that relationship? Her having another kid might distract from the very essence of the show.
You can’t have Stars Hollow without it’s usual cast of fantastically weird and wacky characters. My hope is for Kirk to have succeeded Taylor as town selectman, I mean who better to pass the torch onto, he’s done every other job in Stars Hollow. I’m also quite sure Babette and Patty will still be spreading gossip like wildfire, because what is Stars Hollow without those two and their gossip. I see Lane (if she returns) splitting her time between waitressing at Luke’s, raising Steve and Kwan and rocking on stage with Hep Alien (all local venues of course because she is a mother of two).
As for Rory, it’s a pretty good assumption that by this point in time Rory will have achieved her dream of successful journalist/international correspondent after all we didn’t just watch her graduate Yale and lead the Yale Daily News to success for nothing. So here’s to Rory finally getting her dream job. As for her dream boy, well I’m going to admit that I am totally biased and 100% Team Logan. However, Jess is admittedly Amy Sherman Palladino’s favorite to be Rory’s ‘one’. I think we can all agree that Dean is out of the picture; he represented Rory’s past not her globetrotting reporter future. I see Dean comfortably living in Stars Hollow working for Tom or one of the other locals. Without Dean, that leaves Logan, Jess, and the off chance that Rory met someone else in the time jump, but that’s an awful lot to squeeze into four episodes. While Logan was pretty hurt over the whole proposal thing (as I famously yelled when she turned him down, ‘she broke his heart!’) and lashed out with his ultimatum, he really did love her, and she loved him, they brought a different side out of each other and pushed each other to succeed, for the most part. I’m certainly hoping for a Logan and Rory reconciliation, but I can admit that a Rory and Jess angle has promise. Jess was a very complex character that showed great development over the seasons despite only being a guest star after season 3 when he left for California. So, the way I see it, Rory’s got two choices; Jess, the bookish, emotionally jaded author or Logan, the millionaire heir that represents everything Lorelei ran away from when Rory was born.
While Paris hasn’t been confirmed as being a part of the revival I can’t help but speculate. At this point she will most likely have graduated Harvard Medical School and started her residency (and possibly finished it, depending on the specialization she chooses). I hope her and Doyle are still together, because the very fact that those two found each other is extraordinary, and maybe their wedding will be a good chance for a reunion for all the old Yalies like Marty, Colin, and Finn. And haven’t we all missed her lightening quick insults?
The Key Ingredients for the Revival
There are few components that are absolutely essential in order to create the true Gilmore experience, and for a final encore we definitely need a true Gilmore experience.
1. Friday Night Dinner
Now whether or not Friday Night Dinners still happen religiously with Richard out of the picture and Rory potentially jet-setting around the world remains to be seen, but at least one Friday Night Dinner needs to be featured in the four episodes for it to truly be a revival.
2. Coffee
It’s the Gilmores, let’s be honest, there will be coffee no matter where they find themselves.
3. Stars Hollow Shenanigans
Given that the revival will cover a full calendar year, there’s plenty of opportunity for a quirky festival or two; a snowman building contest or a historical re-enactment anyone? And besides, with the quirky festivals come town meetings, which were always fun to watch (look at me, sounding like Lorelai).
4. Sass
One of my favorite parts of Gilmore Girls was the lightening quick insults and sass. I mean just watch a full episode and the amount of fantastic one liners you can pick up to use in your own conversations will astound you.
5. Pop Culture References
Aside from being the sources of tons of our own pop-culture references, it was also full of them and I for one can’t wait to see how they incorporate new pop-culture into the Rory and Lorelai banter, Netflix and Chill, perhaps?
So now that you’re all excited about the Netflix revival (fingers crossed it doesn’t fall through now) keep watching those headlines for more details and keep speculating about our favorite characters because before long it will re-appear on our Netflix accounts and everything will be right with the world once again, at least for as long as it takes us to binge-watch the material (let’s be honest it’ll be about 6 hours).
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