Scott Patterson Gushes Over Co-Star Lauren Graham: "I Don't Know How You Did It"
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When it comes to comfort TV, Gilmore Girls reigns supreme. The series has become synonymous with fall and winter, inspiring many fans to kick off annual rewatches as soon as the temperatures drop. While the show's cozy vibe makes it a seasonal favorite, its appeal goes well beyond the holidays. So what keeps audiences coming back to Stars Hollow? We asked two of the show's stars to weigh in.
Lauren Graham and Scott Patterson recently reunited for a Gilmore Girls-themed holiday spot for Walmart. Ahead of the ad's release, Good Housekeeping caught up with the actors over Zoom to talk about the experience and how it felt revisiting their beloved characters more than 24 years after the show first premiered in October 2000.
Reflecting on the show's lasting appeal, Lauren, who played Lorelai Gilmore, credited its sharp writing and unique charm. "The magic is the actors, the characters and the beauty of this town that is really unusual, but ultimately feels like a village of people looking out for one another," she explained. "I think the show has lasted because the writing stands up to re-watching. It goes by so quickly, and we really get a lot into every scene, so I think it's fun to go back and see what you missed when you were 15, 20 or 25 — the references are just so smart."
"What is unique on that show is that the language has a music to it — and one of the reasons they asked us always to say every word as written is because it was written with that degree of care and precision," Lauren continued. "I always say, if you're singing a song and you sing one note [wrong], yes, it's one note wrong, but you can tell it's just not how the song is supposed to go. It's really the writing that keeps you coming back. And then knowing you're going to leave feeling good because these people love each other so much."
Scott, who played Lorelai's love interest Luke Danes, said he believes "different people have all of the same reasons why they're coming back to watch it." He cites "the amazing amount of humor" and echoes Lauren's sentiments around the writing. "In one minute of the show, if you're watching a scene with Lorelai in it, there's one-liner, zinger, zinger, one-liner, zinger, zinger. They just keep coming at you and you can't process them all."
"I believe the show works best as a light comedy because it has that real vein of drama running through it that is not visited so often that you would say it's a drama, but as a light comedy with maybe a hook at the end that's very dramatic," Scott said. "It's so dense with emotional narratives. It's so dense with humor, it's so dense with great line readings — and I don't know how you did it," he added, addressing Lauren.
Scott has recently been watching all of the episodes for the first time on his Gilmore Girls podcast, I Am All In. "I am amazed at what Lauren did with this dialogue, with these massive chunks of dialogue. They were 80 pages, these scripts, and it was all black ink, and most of it said 'Lorelai.' Just an amazing performance throughout, and that's one of the things you marvel at as a fan of the show," Scott gushed.
"It's like, how did she do it and how did this cast do it? But I think really the heavy lifting was on Lauren's shoulders," he said. "And I know I keep sounding like a broken record, but the more I watch the show, the more I marvel at her skill and her performance. In the history of television, it's one of the great characters and one of the great performances. I mean, I compare it to Lucille Ball. It is just extraordinary."
Lauren's portrayal of Lorelai is undeniably iconic — but hearing Scott sing her praises never gets old.
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