Richard Gilmore may no longer be around when "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life" rolls out this week, but his three main girls will be there forging through and trying to cope with his loss making him still a pivotal part of the forthcoming installment.
As it turns out, the untimely passing of Ed Herrmann who plays the iconic clan patriarch was not just written into the narrative of the revival but it also played a huge role in making the Netflix series come to fruition.
Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino has been forthcoming about how much they have incorporated his death with regard to how Emily (Kelly Bishop), Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory (Alexis Bledel) are living right now. But in a new extensive interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the TV producer shared that the timing of the "Gilmore Girls" revival is also largely due to the actor's death
"Ed Herrmann's passing was very fresh in our minds and we were all pretty crushed by it and it felt like a way to honor him and what he meant to us. So there was something about everything aligning that you get a feeling," she said, adding that it would not have worked later as they could no longer tap into the emotional rawness of losing Richard. She also explained that it would not have worked earlier as well as there would be no story to link all four parts.
While both Lorelai and Rory are devastated by their family's loss, it will arguably be Emily who will be going through the most trying times given that she is now left without a husband. And if that snippet of her wearing jeans and moccasins is any indication of the drastic changes that she will be going through, fans can expect a different characterization but still be reminiscent of the Gilmore matriarch in the show's upcoming comeback.
"I think every widow or widower goes through this. Which is, 'How do I do it? Where do I go? I'm lonely. I'm scared. I hate this. I don't know how to get my life straight,'" Bishop pondered on a separate conversation with The Daily Beast. "Through the course of the four chapters, they're calling them, she manages to find a kind of, sort of, maybe 'serenity' is the right word. She starts to get herself back into focus, but at first she's really way off."
All four 90-minute episodes of "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life" will be available on Netflix starting Friday, Nov. 25, 12:01 a.m. PT/ 3:01 a.m. ET.
