How Much Did the Cast of ‘Gilmore Girls’ Get Paid for the Revival?

Gilmore Girls fans hope the timing is right for a second Netflix revival of the beloved series. While no official announcement has been made, several key cast and crew members have had their schedules clear up in recent months. Netflix is also hunting for a surefire win, and a second Gilmore Girls revival feels like a good fit. But how much could Netflix dole out in salaries? The Gilmore Girls cast made a pretty nice paycheck for the first four-episode revival. 

Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel both made $750,000 for ‘Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life’ 

While the entire cast is what made Gilmore Girls special, Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel are the stars of the series. As mother-daughter duo Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, Graham and Bledel were the original show’s draw. That didn’t change for the revival. And Netflix paid them handsomely to get them back. 

According to a survey conducted by Variety, Bledel and Graham each earned an estimated $750,000 for each of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life‘s four episodes. So they walked away with about $3 million for their time when all was said and done. 

Before filming the Gilmore Girls Netflix revival, Graham appeared on Parenthood, where she was estimated to earn around $175,000 per episode, according to Celebrity Net Worth. And since the revival, Bledel landed a major role on The Handmaid’s Tale, though she recently decided to step away from the series. She issued a public statement regarding her decision in May 2022. 

Scott Patterson described his Netflix revival paycheck as a ‘windfall’ 

Scott Patterson played an important role as Luke Danes on Gilmore Girls and Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. His role in the revival was important enough to earn a large paycheck, though it’s unclear exactly how much he made. This much is for sure though: Patterson considered it a good amount of money. 

In a 2017 interview with Wealth Management, Patterson was asked about his revival paycheck and how it changed his financial plan going forward. While he opted not to reveal how much he was paid, he did describe the payout as a “windfall.”

“It’s always good to get a big windfall,” he said. “It just puts me in a better position for retirement; it puts my kid in a better position. I got very lucky when I got that job back in 2000.” 

Is money holding the cast back from returning for a second ‘Gilmore Girls’ revival? 

There apparently is only one reason a second Gilmore Girls revival hasn’t happened yet. And it has nothing to do with money. Amy Sherman-Palladino recently revealed that another revival hasn’t happened yet because the timing just hasn’t been right. 

Several key cast members have insisted they are interested in returning. Lauren Graham has a clause in all her contracts stating she can film more Gilmore Girls. Sherman-Palladino wrote the same clause into her Amazon Studios contract. Plus, Scott Patterson, Keiko Agena, Kelly Bishop, and Milo Ventimiglia have all said they could be persuaded to return to Stars Hollow once more.