Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life

Nine years after the beloved dramedy Gilmore Girls left the air following a successful seven-season run, it returned to the small screen in a collection of four 90-minute films written and directed for Netflix by the show's creators, Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino. Lorelai (Lauren Graham) is still in Stars Hollow, running her boutique inn and living with the curmudgeonly but lovable Luke (Scott Patterson); 32-year-old Rory (Alexis Bledel) is at loose ends as a freelance journalist bopping between New York, London, and Stars Hollow, while also carrying on an affair with an old boyfriend (Matt Czuchry); and Lorelai's mother Emily (Kelly Bishop) struggles with life after the sudden death of her husband (Edward Herrmann, who died before the show began production). There isn't a lot of plot to this year-long narrative arc, which puts relationships at the center, with Rory coming off as self-absorbed and spoiled as she flits from project to project and avoids committing herself to anything. But the breezy six hours are full of snappy dialogue, quirky humor, and favorite characters putting their eccentricities front and center in town meetings and seasonal events, with notable appearances by Liza Weil as neurotic Paris, and Melissa McCarthy as Sookie. Fans of the original will enjoy this engaging return, which nicely recaptures the chemistry and the wit. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)