“Gilmore Girls” was supposed to be an “almost a tragedy” and hold on, we’re crying
On the surface, Gilmore Girls is about the relationship between our favorite mother-daughter duo, Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, but according to creator Amy Sherman-Palladino, there’s an element of tragedy to the show that pulls it all together. As part of the Netflix revival of the series, the cast and crew are opening up about the original series and OMG we’re learning so much dirt about the early years of Gilmore Girls.
According to Sherman-Palladino, adding the drama of Lorelai’s parents, Emily and Richard Gilmore, created the realistic complexity that she felt was missing from the show.
Sherman-Palladino opened up to Entertainment Weekly about how the complicated relationship between Lorelai and her parents, with Rory in the middle, allowed for a serious note to the comedy series.
“It’s not that the show wouldn’t have been good without them, but seeing the conflict around that table, that to me was a great family dynamic, Sherman-Palladino tells EW. “Lorelai is made because of her experience with her family, and Emily is Emily because Lorelai left. That added a layer of conflict that allows you to do the comedy, but at the base of it, it’s almost a tragedy.
Fans of the series know that Lorelai left her parents house at sixteen, when she became pregnant with Rory. Until the pilot of the series, when Rory is accepted to a very expensive private high school, the Gilmore girls rarely interacted with Richard and Emily. For Sherman-Palladino, the idea of a carefree Lorelai having some serious emotional baggage is something most people could relate to.
“It was grounded in something very real, which is how no one can hurt you as deeply as a family member and that hurt can propel you into everything you do. The tragic thing is it’s a family of disapproval, of disappointment, and that is under everything that happens. It’s under every Friday-night dinner, which was not given freely or as a loving gesture, but was given as a manipulation and blackmail. And that went on to the end of the show.
Lauren Graham, who plays Lorelai, told EW that the idea of a character who was fully established in her adult life but still felt like a child when interacting with her parents was intriguing.
“There’s something about going into that house where I had this very simple but big revelation, which is no matter how old you are, you’re still a kid in your parents’ house," Graham explained. "That to me was a real hook in terms of who the character was.
We couldn’t imagine a show without the three generations of Gilmores. Their dynamic is definitely something we can relate to. We CAN’T wait to see them reunite on Friday!
