Two thirds of the Gilmore Girls reunited at the 77th Emmy Awards to mark the 25th anniversary of the Amy Sherman Palladino-created series.
As was teased, Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel, known for playing mother-daughter duo Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, took to the stage to present the award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. The two walked out onto the stage to Carole King’s “Where You Lead,” the Gilmore Girls theme song, standing in front of a recreation of the show’s recognizable town gazebo.
Graham kicked off the reunion, joking, “Twenty-five years ago, a show called Gilmore Girls premiered, and apparently, took the season of fall hostage.”
“In spite of our autumnal dominance, the show was actually a very small show,” Bledel continued, as the duo kicked off their signature repartee, continuing each other’s sentences with quips and addendums.
“Meaning we had no money,” Graham clarified. “Nothing,” Bledel added.
“If there was a birthday at The Drew Carey Show next door, they would send us their leftover sheet cake,” Graham said, with Bledel adding that the cast looked “hungry.”
RELATED: ‘Adolescence’s Owen Cooper Becomes Youngest Ever Emmy-Winning Male Actor: “Who Cares If You Get Embarrassed?”
Noting that the show filmed on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, which served as a stand-in for the series’ New England setting, Bledel said, “We saved up all year long to have one snow episode,” with Graham adding, “and then ER [filming on the same lot] would wet down their street and wash it all away.”
“You have got to let that go,” Bledel said, as the camera panned to a laughing Noah Wyle, ER‘s longest-tenured cast member, in the audience.
“They had [George] Clooney, they could have let us have the damn snow,” Graham responded.
RELATED: Eric Dane Misses Emmys’ Planned ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Reunion As Fellow Alum Jesse Williams Presents Solo
“Basically, we were bullied and starving,” Bledel said, with two noting that at least they had “great scripts,” “big scripts,” “terrifyingly lengthy scripts.”
“So, in the spirit of having information and jokes,” Bledel teed up, with Graham concluding, revealing the nominees. (The Studio‘s writing team took home the Emmy.)
As Graham and Bledel noted, with fall deepening its roots, fans online have often dubbed it the season of the annual Gilmore Girls rewatch, for the show’s evocation of cozy, autumnal small-town vibes — gigantic cups of coffee and multi-colored leaves aplenty. While not a ratings giant during its seven-season run, which began on Oct. 5, 2000, the series has since cultivated a dedicated base of loyal watchers, thanks in part to social media, 2000s nostalgia and its heartfelt depiction of familial and romantic relationships. And though the comfort watch has cemented itself as a bona fide classic, Gilmore Girls only received one Emmy win across its 153 episodes, for Outstanding Makeup For A Series (Non-Prosthetic) in 2004.
The ground-breaking series frankly explored the lives of single mom Lorelai, who runs a local inn, and her academically gifted teen daughter Rory, who is accepted into a prestigious preparatory school in Hartford, Conn. — forcing the former to reconnect with her mother, the traditionalist and old-money-minded Gilmore matriarch Emily (Kelly Bishop). Tracing class divides, family tension and the comedic elements of a wacky tight-knit town, the show concluded its run on The CW in its final season, also receiving a four-part limited revival on Netflix in 2016.
Lauren Graham and Alexis Blede in ‘Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life’
Saeed Adyani / ©Netflix / courtesy Everett Collection
Appearing at the pre-show red carpet, Graham said, “I can’t believe it’s been 25 years. It’s thrilling,” adding that it’s an “honor” for the seminal aughts dramedy to have had such longevity.
Graham credited the WB series’ popularity to the “incredible writing that meets you no matter what age you are.” When asked if she is currently involved with the in-the-works Searching for Stars Hollow documentary, Graham answered she doesn’t get involved in projects not tied to the show’s creators. The doc, featuring interviews with co-stars like Bishop, Jared Padalecki, Keiko Agena and Chad Michael Murray, will examine the beloved series’ impact on American cultural history.
In celebration of the quarter-century anniversary, the Hallmark Channel is airing the entirety of Gilmore Girls on weekdays from 2-6 p.m. and on weekends from 8-10 a.m., in addition to special occasion marathons, as part of a linear-only partnership.
RELATED: Emotional Katherine LaNasa Thanks Nurses Who Inspire Her Character After Emmy Win For ‘The Pitt’