Amy Sherman-Palladino is the creator behind the beloved “Gilmore Girls.” Dominic D/Flickr
By Erin Cabrey
You may not know Amy Sherman-Palladino’s name, but you definietly know her work. Sherman-Palladino is the creator, executive producer and writer for “Gilmore Girls.” She is the woman who is responsible for bringing life to television’s most beloved mother-daughter duo, Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, and penning classic quotes such as, “Oy with the poodles already.” With the show’s Netflix revival in full swing and rumors of plotlines flooding the internet, it’s only right to hone in on the woman in charge of it all.
The Woman Behind the Girls:
“Gilmore Girls,” a millennial dramedy about the relationship between Lorelai Gilmore and her daughter Rory, whom she had at 16 years old. The show first aired in 2000, but its relevance has yet to wane. Fans have been begging for more since the series ended in 2007, and their pleas were finally answered in January 2016 with Netflix’s announcement of the tentatively-titled “Gilmore Girls: Seasons.”
When the “Gilmore Girls” cast reunited at last summer’s ATX Television Festival, Sherman-Palladino was asked about a possible reboot or movie, but she downplayed it. Little did fans know that she was in the process of pitching an idea to Netflix. Now, filming for the four 90-minute installments is in full swing on the Warner Bros. lot.
Photos of the revamped Stars Hollow set and its former residents have made headlines, and rumors of potential plotlines have teased fans with possible answers to the questions they’ve been holding onto for nine years. The woman at the very center of the chaos is Sherman-Palladino, a woman armed with a plethora of obscure pop culture references and a penchant for wearing eccentric hats.
While most are quick to look to Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel as the backbone of “Gilmore Girls,” Sherman-Palladino is surely the most crucial Gilmore girl, and more than deserves praise for her hand in the female-driven, small-screen phenomenon.
The Road to Stars Hollow:
Sherman-Palladino began her work as a writer for the third season of the comedy “Roseanne” in 1991, where she received an Emmy nomination for her work on an episode about birth control titled “A Bitter Pill to Swallow.” Following her departure from the show after its sixth season in 1994, Sherman-Palladino worked on several short-lived sitcoms.
Her big break came while pitching ideas to the Warner Bros. When they were less-than-enthused with her pitches, she made a last ditch attempt. “At the very end, I threw in this one idea about a mother and daughter who are more like friends than mother and daughter, and they’re like, ‘That’s what we want!’” she told A.V. Club in 2005.
With no ideas for the show beyond that point, she was inspired to set the show in small-town Connecticut after a visit to see Mark Twain’s house, and this led to the creation of one of television’s most revered fictional towns, Stars Hollow.
“Gilmore Girls” premiered in October 2000 to critical praise and steadily gained a substantial and loyal audience throughout its seven season run. Sherman-Palladino served as writer (composing scripts about 15 pages longer than average one hour shows, giving the show its tagline “Life’s short. Talk fast.”) and executive producer for the first six seasons. She departed after the penultimate season due to contract disputes.
Critics and fans agreed that the final season was a ghost of its former self, which is one of the reasons viewers had been imploring Sherman-Palladino to pen a reboot for the past nine years. After Sherman-Palladino gained support from Netflix and Warner Bros. and got most of the original cast on board, the “Gilmore Girls” reboot was officially confirmed in January and fans were elated.
Girl Power:
For most fans, “Gilmore Girls” will never be something you can watch casually. The quirky characters seem nearly as real and close to us as anyone in our everyday lives, and entering the town of Stars Hollow always feels like a warm, familiar embrace.
I watched the entirety of “Gilmore Girls” in syndication on ABC Family when I was 12 and instantly wanted to be just like Lorelai and Rory. I tried to emulate their quick-witted, pop-culture-dense phraseology. I read “Franny & Zooey” and “Howl” because Rory did. I was desperate to drink coffee because Lorelai was a borderline caffeine addict. I cried during Rory’s graduation speech and cheered for Lorelai when she finally opened her own inn. I was (let’s be honest, still am) obsessed with the entire Gilmore world, so much so that I once named 141 of the 147 episodes off the top of my head on a Sporcle quiz. That strong connection I felt was all Amy Sherman-Palladino’s work.
She created wonderful female characters with charming conviction and sharp senses of humor who were also flawed and vulnerable, and these women remain my role models. Even now as I’ve entered my twenties, Lorelai’s fierce bravery and independence and Rory’s curiosity and thirst for knowledge continue to inspire me.
Sherman-Palladino recently confirmed the revival’s final installment would include the famous final four words she always imagined to use to end the series. Without a doubt, fans old and new who tuned into the Warner Bros., watched reruns on ABC Family, binge watched on Netflix and signed petitions for a revival, will be hanging on every word as they bid farewell to the wondrous world of “Gilmore Girls” the way Amy Sherman-Palladino always intended.
