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'Gilmore Girls': Why it's a good choice to bring back on streaming

Netflix is reportedly in negotiations with 'Gilmore' creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and stars Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel to create new content, set in the universe of the show, for the streaming service. 

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Mitchell Haddad/The WB
'Gilmore Girls' stars Lauren Graham (second from r.) and Alexis Bledel (r.).

More episodes of the popular 2000s dramedy “Gilmore Girls” may be on their way.

Netflix is reportedly in negotiations with “Gilmore” creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and original stars Lauren Graham (Lorelei) and Alexis Bledel (Rory). If the project moves forward, the new content could be released as several 90-minute films rather than a season of TV. The original “Gilmore” series is currently streaming on Netflix, where it has reportedly performed well.

The show centers on the family relationships between a grandmother (Kelly Bishop), a mother (Graham), and teenage daughter (Bledel), set in the quaint New England town of Stars Hollow, Conn.

One core character may not come back for the new installments. “Ghostbusters” actress Melissa McCarthy got her big break as the best friend of protagonist Lorelai, but Ms. McCarthy is now starring in CBS's "Mike & Molly" and headlining movies after a breakout performance in the 2011 “Bridesmaids.”

Ms. Sherman-Palladino left the show after its sixth season, and fans were less happy with the program’s darker seventh and final season.

“Gilmore” aired on the WB, then the CW. It co-starred Edward Herrmann (who died in 2014), Scott Patterson, Milo Ventimiglia, Liza Weil, and Jared Padalecki. 

At the ATX Television Festival this summer, Sherman-Palladino said that any future projects involving “Gilmore Girls” characters “would have to be the right everything – the right format, the right timing. It would have to be honored in a certain way. And if it ever came around, we would all jump in and do it. And if it ever happened, I promise you I’d do it correctly.”

Netflix and other streaming services like Yahoo Screen and Hulu have picked up several canceled network shows. Is this resulting in better TV?

When “Gilmore” was canceled, finances were reportedly more of a concern than ratings. But for many others, like NBC’s “Community” and Fox’s “Arrested Development” and “The Mindy Project,” the shows all experienced low ratings when they aired on network TV, despite critical acclaim.

Yahoo Screen picked up “Community,” while Netflix scooped up “Arrested” and Hulu took on “Mindy.”

Streaming services operate differently than networks (for one thing, Netflix is very secretive about its viewing numbers), so they may feel freer to take a chance on these shows. With “Gilmore,” “Community,” “Arrested,” and “Mindy,” TV viewers will get more episodes of shows that according to reviews are well-made and creatively satisfying.

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