Eight years after the show aired its last episode, the cast of "Gilmore Girls" got together for the ATX Television Festival's main event in Austin, Texas on Saturday, June 6.
Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel, who played the mother-daughter team of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, were joined by three of the men who played Rory's love interests — Jared Padelecki (who played Dean Forrester), Milo Ventimiglia (who played Jess Mariano), and Matt Czuchry (Logan Huntzberger). They were joined by Keiko Agena (Lane Kim), Liza Weil (Paris Geller), Scott Patterson (Luke Danes), Danny Strong (Doyle McMaster), Kelly Bishop (Emily Gilmore), and show creator Amy Sherman-Palladino.
Notably absent was Melissa McCarthy, who played Lorelai's co-worker Sookie and who went on to become the show's most successful alumna.
Sherman-Palladino said that she pitched the show during a meeting with The WB and that she told them that she has an idea "about a mother and daughter who are more like friends" and that the network went for it. When asked whether the show would have been picked up if she pitched it now, she said that The WB would have just "validated her parking."
Bledel recounted how she was cast and revealed that she was studying at NYU film school and was modeling to pay for school. Although the 33-year old said that she had no idea what she was doing at the time, she was asked to come back for several auditions until she finally got the role.
One of the funniest moments during the panel was when Ventigmilia, Padalecki, and Czuchry were asked which character was the best boyfriend for Rory. Ventigmilia said that he was "Team Dean." Padalecki and Czuchry both said that they were "Team Jess," but Patterson brought the house down when he said, "None of you are good enough for Rory."
Finally, when asked whether there was a "Gilmore Girls" movie in the works, the show creator said, "There's nothing in the works at the moment. Here's the good thing: Nobody here hates each other. It would have to be the right everything — the right format, the right timing … 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," Sherman-Palladino added.
