Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life

book User's Guides to Popular Culture How to Watch Television

by Myles McNutt

Abstract: While the 2016 return of Amy Sherman-Palladino’s series is part of a long lineage of development patterns (sequels, prequels, and reboots) built on existing properties, its choice to “revive” the show’s unfinished story signals a new era of reiteration. Myles McNutt explores how the creative choices in the Gilmore Girls revival speak to how contemporary shifts in television distribution are changing how TV stories are told and how audiences engage with those stories.

This essay may be found on page 251 of the printed volume.