As anyone who likes Gilmore Girls even a little bit knows, November 25th is the release date for Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life! It is a 4 part Netflix “reboot” in a sense because it will be like the last season of Gilmore Girls as original creator Amy Sherman Paladino (ASP) had intended. In case you didn’t know, the very last season of Gilmore Girls was not written or produced by the original creator ASP but by another director, David S Rosenthal. Many people were sad when Gilmore Girls ended and ASP was unable to finish it as she had originally intended. She had it envisioned down to the final four words, and we, as die hard Gilmore Girls fans, had given up hope of ever hearing those final four words. Then Netflix comes along with fantastic news about a Gilmore Girls “reboot”, done in collaboration with ASP!
Fans were over the moon about it and have been ever since the news was first released!
About 5 days ago, the first full trailer for the reboot was launched and as of today it has almost 5 million views on YouTube. The day the trailer was released, the internet exploded with fans excitement about seeing Gilmore Girls in mainstream media again after 10 long years. The following is my thoughts on the trailer as a die hard Gilmore Girls fan who has seen the entire series more than 3 times.
The trailer opens with Rory and Lorelai discussing the activities of the previous night, eating Chinese, Greek, and Italian food plus hotdogs while watching a movie, proving to us all that some things never change. The Gilmore Girls have proven time and again that eating like them is a feat in and of itself that not many people can mimic.
They then cut to a snow covered Stars Hollow where Lorelai is catching Rory up on the current debate going on in town (wether to get rid of the phone booth) and Rory answers with a quippy pop culture reference including both Superman and Ben Affleck. If the flurry of pop culture references doesn’t show we’re back in town then the coffee cups (which mysteriously don’t look like Luke’s coffee cups) both Lorelai and Rory are carrying do. As any proper Gilmore Girl knows, coffee is essential to life!
Back in their kitchen, the classic fast talking Gilmore banter continues with a debate as to whether or not to make tater tots (the answer is always yes!) going on between the girls and Luke Danes (the diner owner and as far as the end of season 7 and this trailer go, boyfriend of Lorelai). Luke has always frowned upon the girls eating habits so to see him still trying to get them to change warms my life Gilmore loving heart.
One of the saddest parts of the trailer was seeing Emily Gilmore (Lorelai’s mother) pay a tribute to her husband Richard (the actor Edward Herman passed away 2 years ago) in typical Emily style with a wall sized portrait. I am glad they decided to write Richard out instead of recasting him. I don’t think I could have watched another actor be Richard Gilmore after 7 seasons of Edward Herman. There is also a brief shot of what looks to be Richard’s funeral and I don’t know about anyone else but I am not ready for that.
Rory has come back to Stars Hollow it seems because she is in transition. She has been living a vagabond lifestyle as Emily puts it, going from place to place, I’m assuming as a writer. But currently she doesn’t have a job (or credit or underwear apparently!) and is understandably coming back to where she started to figure out where to go from here.
Lorelai also seems to be at a crossroads (literally and figuratively as we see her hiking in the woods in one scene), talking to a therapist it appears about where her life is going and what she wants. Lorelai sounds very confused about her life and her relations, hip with Luke and I’m wondering if she’s confused about the relationship itself or where it’s going, maybe what next step to take.
The last 40 seconds or so of the trailer is brief snippets of people and places in Stars Hollow and beyond that just make you think, Sookie is making what almost looks like a wedding cake(!), Lane is drumming in a band again (Hep Alien perhaps?), Logan and Dean both make a brief appearance (but don’t have speaking parts unlike Jess who has an actual scene with Rory! #TeamJess all the way!!),
and even Taylor is seen, leading what looks to be another town meeting.
The nostalgia factor throughout the trailer is so high and it feels really good to be back in Stars Hollow again. Is it November 25th yet?!