‘Gilmore Girls’ Needed a Prequel About Lorelai as a Teenager

In October 2000, the coming-of-age comedy-drama Gilmore Girls premiered on The WB. The show became an instant success as fans quickly came to adore the on-screen mother-daughter relationship between Rory (Alexis Bledel) and Lorelai (Lauren Graham).

Along with Rory and Lorelai, fans also quickly came to adore various side characters on Gilmore Girls. This led to the network exploring various spinoff concepts over the years. Read on to find out more about these spinoffs and why fans want a prequel about Lorelai’s teenage years. 

Fans want to see a prequel about Lorelai’s teen years 

Fans recently took to Reddit to discuss their spinoff dreams in depth. Many fans agreed the episode “Dear Emily and Richard” should have been a backdoor pilot. “Dear Emily and Richard” is the 13th episode of season 3.

The episode features flashbacks to 16-year-old Lorelai (Chelsea Brummet) finding out she’s pregnant, telling her parents, Richard and Emily, deciding not to marry Christopher, and leaving home with her new baby. 

On Reddit, one fan posed the question, “I know people have talked about a prequel in that they wanted to see Rory and Lorelai moving to the Inn, but I personally would have loved a show about her and Christopher and that whole struggle. I know the actors who they picked to be young Lorelai and Christopher sometimes get criticized for, I don’t know, not looking enough like them, but they did so well! The way young Lorelai spoke was very much authentic, I thought.” 

Other Redditors soon joined into the discussion, with one writing, “I think if we got a “Dear Emily and Richard,” I’d really hate Emily and Richard. As Lorelai’s parents, I already dislike them.”

Another Redditor chimed in with the thoughts, “I actually love this idea for a spinoff, and I thought young Lorelai was good, but young Christopher was horrible. He was so dorky, and I refuse to believe Lorelai would’ve been into him in the slightest. Teen Chris wasn’t all like how he was described throughout the rest of the show.” 

The ‘Gilmore Girls’ spinoffs that never happened 

Interestingly enough, one character that nearly got their own spinoff show was Rory’s second high school boyfriend, Jess Mariano. Fans of Gilmore Girls will remember that Jess came to Stars Hollow in Season 2 as Luke Dane’s troubled nephew.

As the bad boy character, Jess quickly drives a wedge between Rory and her boyfriend, Dean Forester. Jess and Rory eventually start dating in Season 3, much to Lorelai’s dismay. It was also during Season 3 that writers tried to get Jess his own spinoff series. 

According to Fandom, the 21st episode of Season 3, called “Here Comes the Son” was meant to serve as the pilot episode of Windward Circle, which would have depicted the father-son relationship between Jess and his estranged father, Jimmy.

The episode shows Jess heading to meet up with his father in Venice Beach, where Jimmy makes his living selling hot dogs from his food stand. Unfortunately, neither Jimmy nor his girlfriend makes any true effort to make Jess feel welcome in their home. In the end, Windward Circle was never picked up. 

While Jess’s spinoff came the closest to coming to fruition, it seems that the spinoff that Gilmore Girls fans really want is a prequel about Lorelai’s teenage life. Despite Gilmore Girls ending in 2007, fans are still in hopes that a spinoff is possible. Indeed, with Netflix giving the show a four-part revival in 2016 as Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, spinoff dreams might not be too far off. 

Is a ‘Gilmore Girls’ spinoff even possible? 

While some fans loved the idea of Jess’s spinoff and some loved the idea of a Lorelai prequel series, others wanted to see the other Gilmore Girls side characters given the spotlight. As one Redditor put it, “Honestly, neither is appealing to me. I would love a spinoff about the rest of Stars Hollow. Kirk, Babette, Ms. Patty!!!” 

With the success of the original series and the fan base the show still has, there’s definitely a possibility that a Gilmore Girls spinoff could still come to life. However, with the passing of Edward Herrmann in 2014, recasting a believable Richard Gilmore might be difficult for a Lorelai prequel spinoff. 

Then again, the whole cast would likely have to be recast as Kelly Bishop, who played Emily Gilmore, is 77 years old. With a whole new cast, a Lorelai prequel might not have the same feeling that the original Gilmore Girls series did. However, it would certainly be interesting to see what writers, casting directors, and producers could come up with when it comes to telling the story of Lorelai’s teenage life. 

It’s also not out of the question that fans will see a follow-up to Netflix’s reboot, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, in the future, if schedules allow.