Gilmore Girls nostalgia seems to be at an all-time high lately. Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino’s fast-talking show is a mainstay for millennial women—and many men—and with the show available to stream on Netflix and now Hulu, it’s been drawing new Gen Z fans as well. The show premiered in 2000, but two dozen years later, fans still aren’t over its romantic drama, pop culture references and small-town charm. A new Walmart commercial, of all things, actually provided a first glimpse of what Lorelai and Luke are up to eight years after we last saw them in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, and fans are clearly hungry for more—as evidenced by the 3,000 who descended upon the Warner Bros. backlot on the opening day of its wintertime ode to Gilmore Girls: Holidays Made Here.
Even though I don’t partake in the yearly rewatch ritual like many fans do, whenever I’m asked what my favorite TV show is, Gilmore Girls is my automatic reply—it’s a reflex from back when I discovered it in high school. So I was thrilled to check out the seasonal addition to Warner Bros.’ Studio Tour on opening day. I even got the chance to talk to Luke himself, actor Scott Patterson, and ask his thoughts about the show’s lasting appeal and the possibility of another season.
When I walked onto the backlot, where the studio’s Midwest Street has been transformed back into the idyllic small town of Stars Hollow, I instantly felt at home. It’s not the first time Warner Bros. has hosted Holidays Made Here, but this time around it’s more interactive, with all of the storefronts and houses open for exploring. Tunes from the show’s soundtrack pumped through speakers as fans waited in line to take pictures in front of the iconic gazebo and the Stars Hollow sign.
If you buy a tour ticket (starting at $73) anytime from now through January 5, you’ll get to spend as much time as you’d like here before continuing on with the tour. You can visit Lorelai’s house (which actually shares a structure with Sookie’s house), Kim’s Antiques, the Dragonfly Inn, Emily and Richard Gilmore’s dining room from those Friday-night dinners, Doose’s Market and Luke’s—though when I was there, there was a line of 400 eager fans waiting to get into the diner.
For food, there’s a shed selling burgers, mac and cheese and tater tots near the mechanic’s, and of course there’s Al’s Pancake World, which is serving up Chinese food. For a more formal experience, there’s afternoon tea with scones and finger sandwiches inside the Dragonfly. It was 80 degrees when I visited, so a window selling smoothies in mason jars was a popular choice. For the requisite coffee, there’s Luke’s (but given the line, don’t expect it with Lorelai-like urgency), and the quicker-service Coffee Coffee Coffee stand in front of the girls’ house. Gilmore Girls co-branded Scotty P’s Big Mug Coffee (Luke actor Patterson’s own coffee company) is being brewed, and you can pick up bags of it as well for $20 a piece—I bought a few for gifts.
Speaking of shopping: Stars Hollow Mercantile, Stars Hollow Books and Stars Hollow Beauty Sleep are among the many shops selling merch that’s exclusive to the event. (I debated whether I really needed Gilmore Girls pajamas and a snow globe of the Stars Hollow town square emblazoned with “I Smell Snow” before I decided that, yes, I did.) Stars Hollow Books, in addition to carrying memoirs by Lauren Graham and Kelly Bishop, offers embossed journals, Chilton uniforms and tees and pennants depending on whether you’re Team Dean, Team Jess or Team Logan (Team Jess forever). Other honorable mentions go to the plaid flannel shirts with “NO CELL PHONES” printed on the back, and pink tie-dyed T-shirts like the one Lorelai wore on Rory’s first day at Chilton.
There’s a daily costume contest (I’ve never seen so many flannels and backward baseball caps in one place before) and drop-by cookie decorating outside Sookie’s, plus trivia and Stars Hollow tours throughout the day. The day ended with an evening tree lighting and snowfall, thereby completing the illusion of a wintry Northeastern experience.
To celebrate the opening day, Patterson was on the premises to host a live taping of his rewatch podcast, I Am All In… Again! (he recently finished Season 1, I Am All In, in which he watched the series through for the first time). Special guests including Michael Winters (Taylor), Emily Kuroda (Mrs. Kim) and Rose Abdoo (Gypsy) were also on hand to share their experiences of filming the show.
Then, after he surprised guests on tour carts and before he served up coffee to fans in Luke’s Diner, I got to sit down with Patterson to talk Gilmore Girls.
How does it feel to be back on the lot that you spent so many years filming on?
Well it’s always good to come back to the place where—you know, it feels like home because this is where I made my bones and this is where I established myself in the business as a regular player. And it’s just very nostalgic and very sweet to come back every time I do…. This is my home, I managed to carve out a nice little home here at Warner Bros., and it feels good 24 years later—it’s even feeling better and better.
It’s almost the 25th anniversary of the show. Why do you think that it continues to both resonate nostalgically and attract new people?
Well, I think a lot of reasons: It’s smart, it’s really funny. It’s really, really funny. It’s fast, so you’ve got to rewatch it just to catch up on all the jokes that you missed. And I think in an ever-crazier world we live in about to spin off its axis, people are seeking comfort and nostalgia shows, and Gilmore is at the top of their list. It’s got healing qualities to it, people love the characters—I think Amy and Dan Palladino did exemplary work on creating some very distinctive, very quirky, very interesting and well-fleshed-out characters. And they’re easy to love because they’re so real and they’re so authentic and they’re so raw, and I think that’s why Gen Z has really picked up on them, because they really are authentically who they are—unapologetically so.
I’ve always thought of Luke as the backbone of the show. How does it feel bringing life to such a beloved character?
Well, it feels good, very grateful for the opportunity. I think he’s a throwback guy—he’s a guy that is unselfish, and it’s really not about him, it’s just about serving those in his circle that he loves. And I think one of the most important characteristics of Luke is that he doesn’t attempt to love everyone—he’s real, and that’s how people really are. He’s not a people pleaser, obviously. He accepts who he is, he accepts his station in life, and he just wants to be there for his community and for the people that he loves. So it’s pretty simple, but it’s pretty complicated to be that way in an ever-greater complicated world.
On the record, is there any hope of a new season of the revival?
I’ve stopped hoping, and I’ve gone into expectation. And that’s what I’m visualizing, if you will. And I think everybody should do the same, because then it becomes a greater possibility that it will manifest. Not to get too New Age-y, but I kind of believe in that kind of stuff.
You’ve recently watched all the episodes for your podcast—do you have a favorite episode?
It’s the “I smell snow” episode, and I loved it because it was Lorelai going through that episode with pretty much zero conflict. It was just Lorelai in her joy, and then ultimately Luke in utter heartbreak when he sees Max and her kiss. Magical, magical episode, but the depths of despair for Luke, but I just kind of loved acting that scene because it was nonverbal and quick and devastating. And it’s just such great writing. When the writing is so, so great, you just step in and try not to screw it up, you know?
It’s a cinematic, big movie moment. It’s Amy and Dan’s homage to great film. You know, they get it in—they get all this stuff in to these episodes, and it’s just so great to witness. It really is. So, yeah. I got lucky, 24 years ago, and I continue to be lucky with this show, so it’s a real privilege.
Holidays Made Here is included with all Warner Bros. Studio Tours through January 5, running every day except for Christmas. Tour time slots are available from 9am till 3:30pm, but I’d recommend picking an early time, as the lines for food and shopping got way longer as the day went on. The tour cart will drop you off in Stars Hollow, where you can hang out for as long as you like before 7pm, when you’ll be shuttled to Stage 48: Script to Screen. Ticket prices start at $73 for adults and $63 for kids.