Things About Gilmore Girls You Probably Didn't Know
"Gilmore Girl" was a cultural phenomenon during the 2000s. If you're behind on the times, the story follows single mom Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and her daughter, Rory (Alexis Bledel), as they live in the quirky little town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut. For seven seasons, the mother-daughter duo challenged standard child/parent tropes while working through coming-of-age woes, relationships, and school drama together. Supported by a cast of colorful character, "Gilmore Girls" touched audiences everywhere with its relatable moments, fast-paced dialogue, and its big, emotional heart.
Of course, there's a lot more to the show than what you see on the screen. The seven-season series — created by Amy Sherman-Palladino — has its fair share of behind-the-scenes tidbits and trivia, ranging from the truth behind mysterious characters to everyone's opinions on Rory's love life. So follow as we lead because we're heading to Stars Hollow to explore some fascinating unknown facts about "Gilmore Girls."
The fast-paced dialogue took professional help
Of the show's many famed characteristics, the rapid-fire talking has got to be one of the most iconic. The quick-witted banter between Lorelai and Rory had us rewinding just to make sure we could catch it all. The actors made it look so easy during the show's entire run, but behind the scenes, they needed a little bit of professional help to keep the pace of the conversation going.
In an interview with Scott Patterson on his "Gilmore Girls" rewatch podcast (via CheatSheet), "I Am All In," actor and dialect coach George Bell revealed what it was like to work with the cast during those exceptionally long monologues and fast back-and-forth moments. Much of Bell's job on set was to work directly with actors to make sure they got the wording exactly right, as there wasn't much room to improvise. During his "I Am All In" interview, Bell also explained that Lauren Graham was exceptional when it came to reciting lines, saying, "She must have had a photographic memory or something."
Because of the speed of it all, scripts were often upwards of 80 pages long instead of the standard 40 pages for an episode of that length.
Sean Gunn's character slipped through the cracks in Season 1
Stars Hollow's very own renaissance man, Kirk Gleason (Sean Gunn) wasn't always Kirk. It's a seemingly glaring plot hole within the first season of the show, and many fans have been quick to point it out. At first, Gunn appears in Season 1, Episode 2 as a DSL installer who introduces himself as Mick when he arrives at Lorelai's house. In the next episode, he's cast as Swan Man to deliver a flock of swans to the Independence Inn for Lorelai. In Episode 5, his name has suddenly changed to Kirk, he has a different job, and the rest is history.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Sean Gunn explained what exactly happened there. Gunn's casting wasn't supposed to go much farther than those throwaway characters. However, he continuously caught the eye of the casting director and show creators, and they decided to create the role of Kirk as a permanent character just for Gunn.
The real-life explanation hasn't stopped the fan theories as many viewers attempt to figure out what caused the sudden change in the story. Some have theorized that Mick is actually Kirk's twin brother who left Star Hollow after his first appearance, never to be seen or heard from again. Another suggests that Kirk was a spy hired by Lorelai's parents, Richard (Edward Hermann) and Emily (Kelly Bishop), and "Mick" was Kirk's slip-up as he attempted to assimilate into Lorelai's life to gather information.
Cast members have opinions on Rory's love life
Throughout the original seven seasons of "Gilmore Girls" and the revival series, "A Year in the Life," we see Rory handle the wild ups and downs of dating. Over the years, many fans have been split on Rory's boyfriends — who's the most loved and who's the most hated – but ultimately, it all comes down to the big three. If you're a fan of the show, you know what's up: Team Dean (Jared Padalecki), Team Jess (Milo Ventimiglia), or Team Logan (Matt Czuchry). Even cast members have their opinions about who's best for Rory, even through all her breakups.
Official social media pages for "Gilmore Girls" ran a video with interviews (via Marie Claire) of various actors from the show, asking them what they thought about Rory's suitors. Yanic Truesdale, who portrayed the cranky Michel, said he's always "been more inclined to be a Dean supporter." On the flip side, Jared Padalecki, the one and only Dean himself, put himself in the Team Jess column because of his bad boy attitude. Milo Ventimiglia wavered slightly in his answer, but after throwing some playful shade at Dean, he suggested that everyone loves Jess for Rory because of his character's development over the seasons. As for Sean Gunn, he said, "I'm Team Logan. All the way." He explained it may be an unpopular decision, but it's one he firmly stands behind.
Sebastian Bach is a real-life rock star
For band members Lane (Keiko Agena), Zach (Todd Lowe), Brian (John Cabrera), and Gil (Sebastian Bach), Hep Alien was their ticket to the elite rock lifestyle. But did you know that Sebastian Bach had already earned his title of rock star before his time on "Gilmore Girls?"
Bach's most notable career move (via MLive) was joining the band Skid Row, where he rocked from 1987 to 1996 and released albums like "Slave to the Grind," "Subhuman Race," and the band's namesake album, "Skid Row." His career went solo after he separated from Skid Row, and in 2000, Bach turned to a small career on Broadway, with parts in "Jekyll & Hyde," "Riff Raff," and "The Rocky Horror Show."
Bach has continued his acting career, taking part in everything from the movie "Rock of Ages" to shows like "Trailer Park Boys: Out of the Park," and he continues to perform music and tour.
How Jackson Douglas became a permanent character
Jackson Douglas, who plays Stars Hollow's local farmer Jackson Belleville, landed his role on the show in a rather interesting way. According to Variety, "Gilmore Girls" showrunners had originally planned on only having Douglas' character stick around for a few episodes. At the same time, his then-wife, Alex Borstein, landed the role of Sookie St. James. But in a turn of events, Borstein wasn't able to stay on as the genius chef/Lorelai's best friend as a result of prior commitments. Enter Melissa McCarthy, who brought the Sookie character to life.
Jackson Belleville and Melissa McCarthy's initial appearances in the first season mixed so well for creator Amy Sherman-Palladino that she decided to keep Douglas on as a permanent supporting character. And we're eternally thankful for that decision, as we get to see the two characters fall in love, get married, and grow their family.
Paris Geller was written specifically for Liza Weil
Rory has her work cut out for her when she runs into the infamous Paris Geller (Liza Weil) at Chilton Academy. Staring in Season 1, Paris and Rory push each other through a majority of their educational careers, and they're each other's only real competition in the Ivy League. But despite an often rocky and emotional journey, the two end up being friends, and they each have the other as a surprising source of support and friendship.
In other words, Liza Weil is the perfect Paris for "Gilmore Girls." The on-screen chemistry between Paris' edge and Rory's softness is what makes the relationship work. Interestingly, Weil had originally auditioned for the role of Rory, but the fit wasn't quite right. However, the show creators didn't want to write off Weil, and they were inspired to create Rory's opposition specifically for the actress. Speaking with Buzzfeed, Weil has said that finding Paris Geller within herself was tricky at first since her own personality was polar opposite of Paris' neurotic type. We, and many other "Gilmore Girls" fans, couldn't be happier that Weil ended up in the show, even if it wasn't in a way Weil herself had originally intended.
The truth about Lauren Graham and Scott Patterson's working relationship
The slow-burn love story between Lorelai and Luke (Scott Patterson) has many ups and downs during the seven season run of the show, but according to celebrity gossip rumors, Graham and Patterson were anything but lovey dovey while they were filming. Devoted fans of the show perked up when, during a TV Guide interview, Graham shot down a question asking if her and Patterson were best friends in real life. She pushed a quick "no" and moved along to another question. That caught the attention of many who figured something must be going on set for the TV duo to not be friends.
In the years since, both Graham and Patterson have debunked the rumors, saying there was never any contention from either side. In fact, they both commended each other on a job well done during the show's run. In 2007, Graham went on record with TV Guide to put out the rumors once and for all, saying that the two had a "working relationship," that it was a great one, and that was about all there was to it.
Melissa McCarthy wasn't the original choice for Sookie
Supporting character Sookie St. James is Lorelai's best friend and New England's best gourmet chef. We couldn't imagine Sookie being played by anyone other than the comedy star, but the role wasn't originally supposed to cast McCarthy. When "Gilmore Girls" was finding its cast, an unaired pilot had Alex Borstein playing the chef.
Borstein was Amy Sherman-Palladino's first choice for Sookie. Unfortunately, Borstein had prior commitments with "MADtv" and couldn't continue giving time to both. So the "Gilmore Girls" crew had to scramble to recast after the pilot. While there were several contenders in the mix, Melissa McCarthy blew away casting directors Mara Casey and Jami Rudofsky with her exceptional comedic skills. McCarthy kept the role up for all seven seasons and was brought back for the revival series in 2016.
Fortunately for Alex Borstein, her time on "Gilmore Girls" wasn't quite over. She made small appearances throughout the show. You can spot her in Season 1 when she plays an angsty harpist for the Independence Inn. She comes back around in a later season as the fashion icon to the stars, Miss Celine. It's not doubt due to Borstein's voice acting talents (and an extraordinary makeup team) that she's almost unrecognizable in both the original show and the revival.
Amy Sherman-Palladino wasn't around for the seventh season
By the time it reached its seventh season, episodes of "Gilmore Girls" had been chock-full of humor, drama, and love. Behind the scenes, however, showrunner duo Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino had difficulties making mutually beneficial decisions with the show's network, the WB, and the result outraged a lot of fans. According to an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the husband-wife duo wanted longer, more secure contracts, as well as the ability to hire more writers and additional staff. The WB refused since monetary priorities were being made elsewhere and the network was merging with UPN (in what would later become The CW). Consequently, the showrunners left the series, thus canceling "Gilmore Girls."
The WB announced its cancelation in May 2007, and producer David S. Rosenthal was left to fill some big shoes for the final, seventh season. Rosenthal was involved in previous seasons with Sherman-Palladino and her husband, but it was obvious that whatever sparkle Sherman-Palladino brought to set left when she did. Critics have called the final season a major let down, as we see Rory falter in her relationship with Logan, and Lorelai and Luke's future is left undetermined at best — not to mention the weird baby drama both Lane and Sookie have to endure.
The 2016 revival series was the closure viewers never got. Despite some continued drama in Rory's life, it managed to close out the series in Amy Sherman-Palladino's vision.
Amy Sherman-Palladino knew how she was going to end the revival before it happened
After splitting from "Gilmore Girls" for its final season, show creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband, Dan Palladino, didn't get the opportunity to bring about the ending to Rory and Lorelai's stories like they originally planned. But Sherman-Palladino always knew how she wanted to wrap things up. In an interview with Vogue, she explained the infamous ending of "A Year in the Life" was years in the making.
In the follow-up series, Rory spends the majority of a year back home in Stars Hollow after coming off a successful run in her career. She's suddenly found herself down on her luck and moves back in with her mother, unable to find a job. "I think it's very real. I have a lot of 30-something-year-old people in my life now who still don't know what their lives are," Sherman-Palladino explains. While Rory struggles to find herself again, the show creator also wanted to touch on the overarching theme found within the show — mothers and daughters and how those relationships can eventually come full circle.
"Mom, I'm pregnant" was exactly the way Sherman-Palladino intended to not only throw Rory yet another curve ball but to also bring her story closer to Lorelai's. As she put it, "They both work on their own because the purpose of leaving Rory in this position was always supposed to be that history repeats itself — daughter follows mother; where you lead I will follow."
Did they really drink all that coffee?
Can you imagine walking into Luke's Diner on a cold New England morning to get yourself a delicious cup of coffee? That really is the dream. Of course, the amount of coffee consumed by both Rory or Lorelai on the show is truly astonishing. But where there's a coffee cup on set, you would think the actors actually had to drink the show's signature beverage, right? Not quite.
After all, when actors are working on set all day, it's hard to keep drinking something as caffeinated as coffee. According to Vanity Fair, Alexis Bledel actually doesn't care for coffee at all, so most of the time, her mugs were filled with dark sodas or simply water. Lauren Graham, on the other hand, did like coffee and nearly always had it in her mugs.
The food, on the other hand, is a different story. Much of the junk food during eating scenes was actually eaten by Bledel and Graham, and they enjoyed it for the most part. We know we'd love nothing more than to eat pizza, an endless expanse of Chinese food, donuts, and candy. Although the two occasionally needed a spit bucket, Bledel went on record saying how it bothered her that actors wouldn't actually eat their food during scenes, and that's why she went all in.
The cast didn't understand most of the pop culture references
Somewhere in between all the fast talking, Rory and Lorelai often let slip a pop culture reference or two (or 50). Much of the time, they seem to fly over our heads as Lorelai runs through one of her packed monologues. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel explained that the cast often had to run through the lines like normal, as if they knew the references that were being mentioned. In reality, they didn't always understand what was in the script. Bledel says she had to go off and do her own research if she wanted to understand what she was talking about and that there weren't ever any notes or comments in the scripts to provide context.
If you've watch the show and kept count of everything the cast members mentioned, you'd have a few hundred tallies within a few different categories. According to Vulture, throughout the show's seven-season run, Rory alone mentioned 339 books, 284 movies were mentioned or noticed on screen, 359 musicians or bands were brought up (we could probably thank Lane for a number of those), and 168 TV shows were referenced.
Keep an eye out for reused props
Sets and props are commonly used and reused around TV shows, especially if TV shows shared sets or networks. Props and filming locations from "Gilmore Girls" can be spotted around other shows if you have an eye for those tiny details.
In Season 6, Lorelai's mother threatens to get rid of her childhood dollhouse. But before the dollhouse had any significant meaning to Lorelai's story, it appears to show up in an earlier episode of "Gilmore Girls" when it's for sale in Kim's Antiques. You might even recognize those white cotillion dresses from Season 1 in a later episode. In Season 5, the same dresses were simply dyed and reused for a Life and Death Brigade stunt scene.
The entire town center of Stars Hollow as a set was utilized for other shows like "You" and "Pretty Little Liars." Of course, the sets are redressed and backgrounds are changed so as not to give away the fact that they've been seen before. But any true fan might have a keen enough eye to catch it.