Netflix promotes Gilmore Girls series with pop-up diner
Amanda Verdadero | Daily Trojan
Coffee please, with a shot of cynicism · Gilmore Girls fans everywhere gathered in coffee shops to relive the ABC Family show all over again on Wednesday morning. Scott Patterson, who plays Luke Danes in the show, made a appearance at a Beverly Hills location.
Gilmore Girls fans across America united this Wednesday as Netflix gave them the opportunity of a lifetime — the chance to visit the one and only Luke’s Diner.
The popular ABC Family show, which aired from 2000 to 2007, centers around the lives of single mom Lorelai Gilmore and her daughter, Rory Gilmore. The show takes place in a tiny, but wacky Connecticut town, Stars Hollow, which is where Luke’s Diner is located.
Lorelai and Rory often visit the diner for a daily cup of coffee and danish, or to hang out with Luke, the cynical but caring owner of the diner with an affinity for flannel and backwards baseball caps, and a hatred of cell phones.
To promote the revival, Netflix turned coffee shops across the country into a Luke’s Diner to give fans a chance to be a Gilmore Girl for a day. The popular coffee shop Comoncy in Studio City was converted into the famous diner from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., with fans lining up out the door to grab a cup of coffee and channel their inner Lorelai. The shop featured a sign outside the diner, a “no cellphones” sign and even a cardboard cutout of Luke with cynical quotes, just like in the show.
Many fans waited two hours or more, but once inside they were able to purchase Luke’s signature coffee, with Luke’s logo on the coffee sleeve. Also on the coffee cups were special Snapchat barcodes to get more updates about the new miniseries and other codes to get a free month of Netflix. Some fans at the Studio City location also got a Stars Hollow treat when actor Aris Alvarado, who played the diner’s cook, Caesar, stopped by to greet fans.
“I started watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix with my housemates after I heard there was going to be a revival,” said Carly Hildebrand, a senior majoring in public relations who went to the Studio City pop-up. “I haven’t watched the trailer because I don’t want to be spoiled on what happens in the later seasons, but I’m already excited to see what Rory does after she graduates and what small town antics Stars Hollow is up to.”
The show spanned seven seasons, following Lorelai and Rory’s lives from Rory’s high school years and beyond, often expressing themes of friendship, love, community and growing up. When Gilmore Girls concluded in 2007, many were sad to see their childhood friends leave their living rooms.
However, Netflix has revamped the project, returning it to the screen as a miniseries in November. The revival will feature four 90-minute episodes with almost all of the original cast members, including Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, Scott Patterson, Melissa McCarthy, Keiko Agena, Liza Weil, Sean Gunn and Yanic Truesdale.
The revival is set to premiere on Nov. 25, with events picking back up eight years after the end of season 7. Until then, all seven seasons of Gilmore Girls are available on Netflix for viewing in preparation for the series’ return.