The Reason Jess' 'Gilmore Girls' Spinoff Never Happened Is Simply Not Good Enough
You don't necessarily have to be Team Jess to agree that life without Milo Ventimiglia's Gilmore Girls spinoff is devastating. The series, which was tentatively called Windward Circle, was supposed to use an episode of Gilmore Girls season 3 when Jess goes to California to find his dad as a sort of backdoor pilot (an episode of an existing show that features a ton of new characters to test if they're well-received). But unfortunately, even though we found the concept wildly entertaining, the CW pulled the plug.
Warner Bros. Television
Considering Milo Ventimiglia is a star, and Jess is so beloved, the fact that Windward Circle never happened makes me just as sad as the idea that Gilmore Girls season 7 wasn't supposed to be the finale! Here's everything you need to know about the series that never was. Sigh.
Why was Windward Circle cancelled?
The CW/The WB/YouTube
Even though Gilmore Girls already introduced the characters we'd see in Windward Circle, according to IMDb, the show was reportedly scrapped because it was too expensive to film in Venice Beach. Stars Hollow is actually part of the Warner Brothers lot so Gilmore Girls didn't have to film on location often. Windward Circle would have been a different story.
"I think she really wanted that to be such a different vibe from the leaves falling in Stars Hollow to being out in Venice in California," saysGilmore Girls writer and consulting producer Stan Zimmerman. "It just never gelled into anything, but it was interesting to see Jess's life and what that would've been like."
"There is just something about the East Coast...those leaves changing," he continues. "It just has this cool, towny feeling you just want to hang out in and it's very warm."
What was Windward Circle about?
The WB/The CW/YouTube
The Jess Mariano spinoff would have focused on his relationship with his dad, and his life in California. If you ask me, Jess' witty comebacks and all that leather would have been just as entertaining on a California beach as it was in Stars Hollow.
Although, knowing how much we love a teen drama romance, there's a chance Jess would have ended up with someone besides Rory. I don't know if I could have handled that!
Do we ever see Jess again?
Netflix
Yes! Jess Mariano returns in a few season 4 episodes, and in Gilmore Girls season 6. He also shows up in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, and has a beautiful conversation with Rory that PROVES they're endgame. I will not be taking suggestions!
Were there any other planned Gilmore Girls spinoffs?
Warner Bros. Television
Another idea for a spinoff of sorts involved Rory and Lorelai coming back for another 13 episodes after the season 7 finale. But Lauren Graham told TVGuide in 2007 that she and Alexis Bledel were ready for a break from the insane filming schedules.
"Right now you have me working six to seven days an episode, and Alexis doing about the same," she said. "They tried to make it appealing for us, and we tried to be imaginative, but then at the end of the day it just felt like we were trying to do something impossible."
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