Netflix has rapidly expanded its library of original TV show programming over the course of 2016, adding such popular (and varied) series as Stranger Things and Marvel’s Luke Cage to its collection this year alone. The streaming service also revived the TV shows Full House and Gilmore Girls over that same period of time, with the sequel TV show Fuller House and Gilmore Girl: A Year in the Life; a four-part series of 90 minute episodes based around the four different seasons of the year, with Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino returning to continue the story of Lorelei and Rory Gilmore (after Palladino was infamously not involved with Gilmore Girls’ seventh - and, at the time, final - season that aired on The CW).
Fuller House season 2 debuts on Netflix in but a week from the time of writing this, after its first season drew in big viewing numbers in spite of a generally-unwelcoming critical reception. There has been some question as to whether or not Gilmore Girls will similarly continue on Netflix in the future. A Year in the Life did earn a largely positive critical response, but also seemingly wrapped up the series (with “the final four words” have proven somewhat controversial among fans) - and good critical reactions don’t always translate into equally good viewership numbers, of course.
Symphony Advanced Media, which has developed a means for gauging the viewership for Netflix TV series (as Netflix itself doesn’t release official ratings for its shows), has determined that A Year in the Life did indeed enjoy a strong turnout. Per The Wrap, Symphony AM has determined that the Gilmore Girls revival drew an average of 4.97 million viewers among 18-49 year olds and a 3.59 rating in that same demographic, for its Symphony Live + 3 Day viewing tally. For the sake of comparison, that’s higher than what Luke Cage season 1 drew in that period of time (3.39 million) - itself more than what Marvel’s Daredevil season 2 did this year too - but not as high as the viewership numbers for Fuller House season 1 (7.33 million) and Orange is the New Black season 4 (5.84 million) this year.
The question, in other words, is not whether Netflix has reason to move forward with more Gilmore Girls; rather, it’s whether Palladino wants to leave the series with “the final four words” - as she had originally intended. Palladino is staying uncommitted to the prospect of more Gilmore Girls for the time being, but she’s also not dismissed the idea entirely. Elsewhere, cast members such as Scott Patterson (who plays Luke Danes) have openly voiced their support for the idea; the show’s two leads, Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel, seem by and large interested in the possibility, for their own part.
As noted by Patterson, the next installment of Gilmore Girls wouldn’t necessarily have to come out in 2017 either; the show could instead continue on a bi-annual basis, or something to that effect. There are already some original Netflix programs that follow a similar production model, as opposed to the traditional annual season release schedule that TV shows tend to abide by (see Master of None and Sense8, for example). Either way, the demand for more Gilmore Girls is currently there and doesn’t look to dissipate (too much, anyway) in the foreseeable future.
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life is now available in its entirety on Netflix.
Source: The Wrap
