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The world of television owes a significant debt to Amy Sherman-Palladino, whose creative genius has given us some of the most beloved shows in recent memory. Among her notable achievements, Gilmore Girls stands out as a cult classic that eventually captured the hearts of mainstream audiences long after its original run concluded. However, the journey to get this iconic series on air was fraught with challenges, not least of which was casting its lead roles. Lauren Graham, who eventually became synonymous with the character of Lorelai Gilmore, almost didn’t make it to the audition room, thanks to a bit of dramatic hesitation from Sherman-Palladino herself.
Reflecting on the casting process, Amy Sherman-Palladino has been candid about the trials she faced in assembling the perfect ensemble for Gilmore Girls. While she had already secured Kelly Bishop as the imperious Emily Gilmore and Alexis Bledel as the wide-eyed Rory, finding the right actor for Lorelai proved elusive. Sherman-Palladino recently shared with The Hollywood Reporter that her reluctance to meet Lauren Graham stemmed from a fear of falling in love with Graham’s performance, which she humorously suggested might lead to dire consequences if they couldn’t cast her.
Amy Sherman-Palladino has spent most of her career creating hit TV shows, whether as a writer or a creator. Gilmore Girls was a cult classic that became a mainstream hit years after its final season aired. Getting it on the air apparently wasn’t easy, though. In fact, fans almost saw a much different cast than the one they eventually got. Amy Sherman-Palladino even once told the casting department that she might have to ‘kill myself’ if they didn’t land Lauren Graham in the role of Lorelai Gilmore. Everything worked out, but it was all very dramatic.
Amy Sherman-Palladino resisted meeting Lauren Graham while casting ‘Gilmore Girls’
Amy Sherman-Palladino has sung Lauren Graham’s praises multiple times since the end of Gilmore Girls. She even spoke at a recent ceremony honoring the actor with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She recently revealed that she almost didn’t meet her. During a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Sherman-Palladino revealed that she had struggled to find an actor for the role of Lorelai Gilmore, despite having settled on Kelly Bishop as Emily Gilmore and Alexis Bledel as Rory Gilmore, but was reluctant to meet Lauren Graham.
She told the outlet that Lauren Graham was mentioned repeatedly by people working on the show, but she turned down the idea of meeting her because she knew Graham was connected to another show. Sherman-Palladino recalled saying, “I don’t want to meet somebody I can’t have because if I fall in love with her and then I can’t have her, I will kill myself and you will all have committed murder.” Despite her hesitation, she eventually met Graham but still felt trepidation. She did end up absolutely loving the actor in the role. A lot had to fall into place to get Graham to become Lorelai Gilmore, though.
Lauren Graham was almost not an option
Amy Sherman-Palladino’s recollection of events was clearly full of hyperbole, but it was all based on very real events. Lauren Graham very much almost missed out on the show. She covered how everything had to fall into place just right for her to take on the role of Lorelai in her book, Talking as Fast as I Can.
In the memoir, Graham explained that she had been on hold with another network as they decided what to do with a show she had already filmed when she got the call about Gilmore Girls. While she loved the series, she was technically unavailable. Graham had worked on M.Y.O.B, a short-lived NBC series, before Gilmore Girls came around. She was cast in the WB series in “second position.” The actor explained that “second position” simply meant that if NBC had decided to continue with M.Y.O.B she would have been forced to drop out of Gilmore Girls. That seemed like a very real possibility. It didn’t turn out that way, but it could have.
