@ Lukes | Press Reviews

This blog contains press articles that are related to Gilmore Girls and/or its cast members, published since the show first started airing in 2000. The articles are archived according to the date they were added to the blog. Their original publishing dates are posted in their titles.

Thursday, April 28, 2005

(2005) 'Gilmore' pair pact with WB for new show

By Nellie Andreeva

"Gilmore Girls" creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino have received a six-episode commitment from the WB Network for a new series project.

Additionally, the Palladinos have inked a deal with "Gilmore Girls" producer Warner Bros. TV to continue as executive producers/showrunners on the WB dramedy for another season.

Even though "Gilmore Girls" officially has not been picked up for the fall, a sixth-season order for the show is considered a shoo-in given its creative and ratings resurgence this season.

Averaging 4.7 million viewers -- 15% above its average last season -- "Gilmore Girls" is the WB's top-rated show in adults 18-49 and the network's second most-watched behind "7th Heaven."

"'Gilmore Girls' has enjoyed an incredibly successful year, both in terms of high quality and high rating, which is a tribute to the amazing cast and Amy and Dan, who write the show in such a unique and highly qualitative way with great humor and great elegance," WB Network entertainment president David Janollari said. "From the beginning of the show, it's been Amy's point of view and voice that's driven the show to its success, and I'm thrilled and delighted that they will be back to write and run the show next year.

"Giving Sherman-Palladino and Palladino a commitment for a new series was a no-brainer, Janollari said."

We decided we wanted to be in business with Amy and Dan on their next venture," he said. "Because the success of 'Gilmore Girls' has been equally rewarding for us and for them, I'm very excited to get in the development process with them on their follow-up to 'Gilmore Girls.'

"Both Sherman-Palladino and Palladino said that they were surprised by the "Gilmore Girls" audience comeback, a rare feat for a show in its fifth season.

"We went (into the season) in very good spirits, thinking if this is the last year, we're going to make it a creatively satisfying year, we're going to give the WB everything we've got to go out in style," Palladino said. "We do it for the fans, for the people watching, and it was the most gratifying part last year that they came back and liked the show."

Sherman-Palladino also gave credit for the show's turnaround to Janollari, who joined the WB in the summer."

He's been a real terrific spark of new energy that has been great for us, the show, the actors and everybody," she said.

Next season, Sherman-Palladino and Palladino will continue to steer the "Gilmore Girls" ship and prepare it for a possible life without them, while also focusing their attention on development. The two are set to pitch show ideas to the WB this week. For their next series, the duo, whose background is in half-hour comedy, are looking into the light hour and half-hour genres.

"We want to do more of what we've been doing (on 'Gilmore Girls'), definitely want to do more hourlong (projects) in the style we have enjoyed doing, and we also have other ideas that might drag us back to the half-hour arena," Sherman-Palladino said.

Sherman-Palladino and Palladino, who have penned more than 80 of "Gilmore Girls' " 110 episodes, previously worked on ABC's "Roseanne." Sherman-Palladino, whose credits also include NBC's "Veronica's Closet," is repped by CAA. Palladino, a "Family Guy" alum, is repped by Ted Chervin at BWCS. The two also are repped by attorney Jeanne Newman.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/television/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000895547
- Submitted by Trisha