GILMORE GIRLS' LAUREN GRAHAM
"RELIEVED" SHOW IS OVER; WISHES SHOW CREATOR AMY SHERMAN-PALLADINO
HAD COME BACK TO WRITE FINALE

May 7, 2007 (New York, New York) — In a new interview with
TVGuide.com's Michael Ausiello, Gilmore Girls star Lauren Graham
expresses relief that that the show has been canceled and that talks
of bringing it back for a final 13 episodes were finally hushed.

"I feel relieved—which is not without feeling mixed and thankful for
the experience. I've been at this for a long time; I feel ready to
move on," Graham says. "There was a lot that went back and forth by
the time the [13 episode thing] came out. I had sort of said to them
a couple of months ago that I didn't see it coming back, and they had
asked to just give them some time to figure something out that would
make it work."

In an effort to keep the show going for a final season, producers
entertained various options, including having Graham produce a
version of the show that focused mostly on TV daughter Rory (Alexis
Bledel). But ultimately it came down to a matter of cutting back on
Graham and Bleldel's stringent work schedules, while still
maintaining the show's integrity—something Graham saw as
impossible. "[Warner Bros. and the CW] were trying to think of
everything…trying to find a way to make it work. [But] we just
didn't want to work the schedule we'd been working…[and] if we're
working a lesser schedule, what is the show?" she says.

Graham also talks about the creative process on the show since
creator Amy Sherman Palladino—whose adept writing gave Lorelai her
signature quick witty banter—left the show last year, amid a contract
scuffle with network brass. "This year was strange sometimes because
I had a lot less to say, and that was really weird," she says. "For
some people I'm sure that was great, but I would find myself in long
scenes where I was not rattling on, and it was just really weird to
me. And so I did sort of question, `Are we keeping this character
consistent?' And [producers] were responsive to me."

Still, Graham would have liked Palladino to be back—if only for the
swan song. "What I hoped — and this is not to take away from David
Rosenthal [Palladino's successor, executive producer], who I had a
really nice year with — was that she would write the finale," she
says. "But that's not the way she works. She's either there 100
percent [or not at all]. She couldn't just come in and pick up
another story that she didn't lay the groundwork for and finish it. I
wish she had been more involved this year, because I was playing a
piece of her that is so specifically her. I missed her writing."

As for her future on TV, Graham says she is wide open—that is, after
she's had a bit of a break and time to mourn the passing of
Girls. "I would do another TV series, but not right away. I love TV.
But I'm going to really just enjoy this time and make sure I'm ready
to do something new," she says. "If I had the best thing in front of
me right now I don't know that I'd be able to be excited about
it, 'cause I think [you have to make room] to let the other thing
pass. So, yeah, I'd love to take a year and see what else I can do."

For the complete interview, go to:
http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Ausiello-
Report/Lauren-Grahams-Final/800014383



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Note: Credit for this story must be attributed to TVGuide.com.