Friday afternoon brought some exciting news for fans clamoring for another visit to Star Hollow: Netflix officially announced the first confirmed cast members for their Gilmore Girls revival series, and trust me — they did not disappoint. The Gilmore girls themselves, Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel were both confirmed, in addition to Scott Patterson (Luke), Emily Bishop (Emily), Keiko Agena (Lane), and Sean Gunn (Kirk). All of our faves are coming back! Praise the Netflix Gods, this is a good day. BUT, as a devoted Gilmore Girls fan, I can't help but notice a few important names are missing from the list. Of course, I doubt Netflix is finished announcing the cast (Bustle has reached out to Netflix to ask when/if the rest of the cast will be announced, but has not yet heard back), but I still can't help but note the glaring absence of cast members like Milo Ventimiglia (Jess!), Melissa McCarthy (Sookie!), and, of course, the brainiest Gilmore Girls character next to Rory... Liza Weil, or Paris. Will Paris even be in the Gilmore Girls revival series?
(Update: In an interview with TVLine, Kelly Bishop (Emily Gilmore) let it slip that Amy Sherman-Palladino has written lines for Paris. She said, "But these scripts are good. They’re really good. And bringing back all of those characters is so delicious. Like Gypsy (Rose Abdoo); I always loved Gypsy. And Paris is a hoot. It’s unbelievable what Amy has written for Paris. People are going to have so much fun with it.")
Short answer: I could see this going either way. While in the past Weil hasn't given a straight answer about whether or not she'll be returning, she hasn't flat out said no — in fact, she's shown interest in a return, and ample interest at that. In an interview with E! News back in November 2015, Weil was hopeful, saying, "I haven't heard that I'm not coming back... I just haven't officially signed on. I hope to be a part of it." She added, "I think they're going to the, you know, core people first, and then hopefully it'll trickle down. But it's something I do hope to be apart of, for sure."
That's definitely amazing news, and indicates that, should she be approached for a deal, she'd be more than inclined to take it. And when you think about it, there are more reasons she should be approached for a deal than reasons she shouldn't — Paris was such a crucial character in the original series, the revival would be lacking without her. Sure, she wasn't always as well-liked as Rory, and she came off a bit rough around the edge at times (and just downright obsessive at others), but Paris was important because she knew what she wanted and she went for it anyway — no matter what anyone else thought of her. Things didn't always — or ever, really — come easy for her, but still, she powered on: And by the end of the series, she'd not only achieved her initial goal of getting into Harvard, but she'd also been accepted into every other grad school program she applied to. Paris stood for hard work and perseverance, and for that, she needs to come back to this revival series.
The only potential obstacle I can see getting in the way is Weil's current other job on ABC's How To Get Away With Murder. I don't think it'll be a huge problem timing-wise, because the Gilmore Girls revival series will only consist of four 90-minute episodes, and I can't imagine Paris' screentime would be anything close to the amount that Graham and Bledel will get as Lorelai and Rory — but hopefully the filming schedules don't overlap or anything like that.
Overall, this seems like something safe to be hopeful about. Paris Geller for the win!
Image: Warner Bros. Television; friday-night-dinner/Tumblr
