A stunning return to TV, “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life”

After 10 long years of waiting, the highly anticipated comeback of “Gilmore Girls” is back. The 4-part, 90-minute series, “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life,” is available to stream on Netflix and is sure please its devoted fans. After all, fans have been waiting a very long time to find out what exactly happened to Rory, Lorelai and Luke, as well as what kind of course their love lives were taking now.

The opening credits immediately smack you in the face with all the nostalgia you can handle with voiceovers from seasons past prompting you to remember your favorite episodes from the original series. We come to find the mother-daughter duo, Lorelei and Rory, meeting each other in the snow covered town gazebo after what seems like years to the shows famous “la, la, la” medley. You can’t help by just smile with joy while watching this scene and hearing the familiar music fans have missed for so long.

As the show progresses, we come to find out that Richard Gilmore, Rory’s grandfather who was played by Edward Herrmann, has passed away both in the show and in real life. You can clearly see that the writers, Amy Sherman Palladino and her husband Dan Palladino, heavily based the 4-part series around the passing of Richard. Viewers come to learn that not all is well and good for Rory and the Gilmore clan.

Emily, who is played by Kelly Bishop, is having a particularly hard time dealing with the passing of her beloved TV husband; Rory played by Alexis Beldel is having trouble finding her way in life; Lauren Graham’s Lorelai is experiencing her usual commitment and mother issues — these issues only enhanced by the passing of her father. Viewers should be prepared for an emotional roller coaster ride synonymous with the original series.

The series is also filled with familiar faces. All of Rory’s old boyfriends make grand appearances that help her figure where she wants to go in life. Probably the key person who helped Rory out of her rut is Jesse, Rory’s “bad guy” boyfriend and Luke’s nephew played by Milo Ventimigila. The writers do a really good job in the reintroduction of all the old faces of Stars Hollow into the new series. The most memorable reintroduction scene was when Sookie, played by Melissa McCarthy, finally comes back from her 2-year sabbatical. Lorelai and Sookie’s chemistry on camera hasn’t missed a beat in all this time, and their on-camera magic makes this scene all the more joyous and enjoyable.

Overall, “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life” has lived up to all that was expected of it and more. Fans are in for a real treat when they watch an episode or two or even all of it, either in one sitting or two. After all we have waited 10 long years for reboot. Be prepared to laugh, to cry, to smile at all the nostalgia that surrounds the show, and have a few “wtf” moments thrown into the mix. When it’s all over, you’ll be wanting more and fortunately we can look forward to another season hopefully in the near future because of the huge cliffhanger that the writers leave us with at the end of the last episode.