Melissa McCarthy confirmed to E! today that there has been no progress made toward having her appear in the Gilmore Girls revival on Netflix. “I don’t think I am,” she replied to Mark Malkin’s question about her return to the show. “I didn’t actually get asked to do it. But I think they thought I was busy, and then by the time it did come up, then I actually was.” Malkin was interviewing the star about her new movie The Boss with Peter Dinklage and Kristen Schaal.
The question first arose last month when McCarthy replied to a fan’s Tweet pleading with her to participate in the show; a sentiment that probably all Girls fans would support. The friendship between Sookie and Lorelai, and the triangle of the ladies and Michel at the Independence Inn, provided space for Lorelai to be a rounded character outside of family and romance.
Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino countered with a statement that she did reach out to McCarthy’s management but knew from the start that the actress is terminally busy. She told TVLine, “It was a character we knew we could not count on in terms of story, because [Melissa] just simply wouldn’t have that sort of time to carve out for us. It simply would’ve been impossible. Planning around her crazypants schedule and her movies and her this and her that and Ghostbusters… I would just be sobbing in a corner for six months.”
But she left the door open with McCarthy’s team and is staying flexible. “Look, if Melissa is available and has an afternoon free, I’ll write her a scene. Melissa was one of us. If she has a spare moment to run over [to the set] — even if for just a cameo — we would be totally game. And if it’s a last-minute thing, I would write her in and we would figure it out. That’s the way we left it.”
The revival is set for 4, 90-minute episodes on Netflix and is being called, tongue-in-cheek, “the final season”. When the original network, the WB, merged into the CW in 2006, negotiations caused Palladino and her husband to leave the show, leading to its quick cancellation and lack of a real finale.
It’s hard to imagine that the Hollywood powers-that-be can’t make something work, and maybe there will be a short surprise visit. McCarthy did express her support for the new episodes, ”I’m actually thrilled that it’s happening. I loved that show, and I think the fans for that show are super loyal and great and I will watch every single one of them.” And she confirmed that she is open to discussions if the show gets more than one Netflix season. “I want to cook again. I want to put salt and then stir. That was seven years of my life and it was really great. I was proud of that show.”
The entire cast was proud judging by participation in the revival. Aside from the major players like Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, and Kelly Bishop, most of the supporting cast signed on early. Emily Kuroda (Mrs. Kim), Michael Winters (Taylor Doose), and Liza Weil (Paris Geller) will all show up, as well as all three of Rory’s boyfriends (Milo Ventimiglia, Matt Czuchry, Jared Padalecki). Even Jackson Douglas, who played Sookie’s eventual husband Jackson Belleville is returning – they can’t leave Jackson alone! Come on, geniuses of celebrity scheduling, it’s time to earn your pay and get Sookie back to Stars Hollow.