'Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life' revival may be revived again at Netflix
Could there be more life left in Netflix's Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life?
Judging from the open-ended finale of the Netflix revival and comments made over the weekend by Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos, the answer to that may be "yes."
Sarandos told the U.K.'s press association that the streaming giant is in "very preliminary" talks with Gilmore Girls creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino for a revival of the revival.
"We hope [there are more installments]. We obviously loved the success of the show, fans loved how well it was done, it delivered what they hoped," he said, adding that "the worst thing is to wait a couple of years for your favorite show to come back and for it to disappoint you, but they sure delivered and people were really excited about more, and we have been talking to them about the possibility of that."
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Read more: 'Gilmore Girls': Will Netflix's Revival Lead to More Episodes?
Netflix's four-episode Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life debuted in November. Netflix projection house Symphony Advanced Media, which has been leaking numbers on the streamer for more than a year, said in December that nearly 5 million viewers between the ages of 18 and 49 had watched all four episodes of the revival. By regular broadcast standards, that amounts to a 3.6 rating among adults 18-49. Compared with other 2016 Netflix efforts, Gilmore Girls' binge audience in the first three-day window is only out-measured by Orange Is the New Black's fourth season (5.8 million) and the first run of Fuller House (7.3 million). (Netflix, like Amazon and Hulu, does not discuss ratings information.)
The Netflix finale of the series revealed the final four words that diehard fans of the Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel drama had waited years to hear. It also allowed the Palladinos, who exited the series abruptly in season six following a contract dispute with producers Warner Bros. Television, to provide closure. Those final four words, however, opened the door for additional episodes as Rory (Bledel) revealed to Lorelai (Graham) that she was pregnant. The reveal brought the series full circle and left the baby's father to remain a mystery.
"We really had a very specific journey in our minds and we fulfilled the journey. So to us, this is the piece that we wanted to do. And the whole thought about, 'Is there more, is there more, is there more?' — this has to go out into the universe now. We've got to put this to bed," Sherman-Palladino told The Hollywood Reporter in November. "And then whatever happens, happens."
Representatives for Netflix and producers WBTV did not immediately respond to THR's request for comment Sunday.
Read more: 'Gilmore Girls' Revival Appears to Be a Huge Ratings Hit for Netflix
A second cycle of the Netflix revival would not be impossible. While the Palladinos have a second show in the works at a rival streamer — Amazon pilot The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel— they do not have an overall deal at any studio. Graham, meanwhile, signed on to star in Fox comedy pilot Linda From HR. The half-hour project is produced by 20th Century Fox Television, which would need to clear the actress to do the revival as many actors are not typically able to contractually be a regular on two series at the same time without it being cleared by the studios involved. Bledel also has her Gilmore Girls follow-up in the works and next stars in Hulu's highly anticipated adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale, where her recurring status leaves the door open to juggle other projects, including more Gilmore Girls.
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