Oh, so THIS is where Sookie is during the “Gilmore Girls” revival

Where were you on April 7th 2016? That’s the day it was officially confirmed that Melissa McCarthy would be returning to Gilmore Girls as Sookie, and maybe you’re still screaming about it seven months later. While we’re beyond stoked to have her back in Stars Hollow, her role in A Year in the Life is significantly smaller than the other returning cast members, which means she won’t be in every single episode. That means, Sookie’s gonna be MIA for a lot of this year in Stars Hollow. So how does Gilmore Girls explain Sookie’s absence?

Well, the good news is that Sookie is still a chef. But, she’s such a good chef she decided she needed to go out there and explore the chef world. According to Lorelai, Sookie has been on a sort of ~chef sabbatical~ for the past six months. She was only supposed to be gone for a short amount of time, but one month turned into two, and then three, and now it’s six months later.

In case you’re wondering, YES, Lorelai IS in fact taking Sookie’s time away pretty hard. She’s having a rough time finding a suitable chef replacement at the Dragonfly Inn, because no one is Sookie (true dat). She’s also taking the Sookie-absence out on just about everyone — yes, even Michel, and even more so on the new chef who removes the coffee machine because he needs more prep space.

Oh no. Not that. You better start making your way back to Stars Hollow, Sookie, and stat.