Scott Patterson believes that Luke Danes and Lorelai Gilmore will have kids one day — but not the way it was portrayed in the revival, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.
In the Netflix reboot, which was released in November 2016, Luke and Lorelai (Lauren Graham) visit a surrogacy clinic run by Paris Gellar (Liza Weil). Luke never really seemed to have an interest in the matter, and neither did the actor.
“I gotta be honest with you, I didn’t like it. I understand why it was there. It was such an awkward situation for me as a character,” Patterson, 59, exclusively tells Us Weekly. “They were thinking a lot of humor could come out of this and it did. I just think it was a little too far field for me personally.”
Patterson called the story line the “least satisfying part” about the four 90-minute episodes.
“In my mind it’s just a foregone conclusion that we are going to have a child but not like that,” he continues. “Those were tough days for me on set. I didn’t settle into that part of the story very well. I know that guy very well and I know how he feels. Just the fact that he hung around for so long and the way he feels the way he does about her. I mean, of course he wants to have a child with her.”
Patterson shared his opinion on set, but “didn’t really talk about it” with Graham, 50. Nevertheless, he trusted in the creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino and what they wrote.
“I didn’t like it. I just did not and I let that be known,” he says. “I love and adore the writing and I love and adore both of them. I just did have an issue with that. Not that it mattered and I absolutely get why they did it and I think it provided some really, really fresh humor. But I would have been happier without it. … I just remember being in conversation a little bit and being a little concerned about it.”
“But listen, that’s the thing about the writing — when you think they’re going to go big they go small and vice versa,” he adds. “It’s like how they handled the wedding. You didn’t really see it, did you? That was the big thing and that’s what the fans wanted for all those years. They just wanted a wedding and they got this charming little thing at the end in the gazebo with snow coming down on her with me nowhere to be seen. It wasn’t what you expect but that’s really the beauty of the writing and the beauty of the show. It’s always what you don’t expect and that keeps people on their toes.”
Patterson and Graham portrayed the Stars Hollow couple for seven seasons from 2000 to 2007 before reuniting for the reboot. The entire cast — including Alexis Bledel, Milo Ventimiglia, Jared Padalecki, Matt Czuchry, Emily Bishop and Yanic Truesdale — also signed on.
“It’s always been such a fun time filming that show. And Netflix made it very special, they made us feel very, very special. It felt like filming a big budget film,” Patterson tells Us. “It was a lot of work jammed in three-and-a-half months — we shot 600 pages and that’s asking a lot. But they give a lot. It was a good trade off. It was a lot of fun.”
So, does that mean he will sign on if there’s another season? “I was asked this recently and the knee jerk response was, ‘Yes, absolutely. I would sign on.’ But with further reflection — and I have a lot of trust when it comes to the writing — but I would really need to see the script first. Because you just never know,” he says, laughing. “I would need a script first at this point to sign on. It’s really a 75 percent yes at this point but there’s that 25 percent that needs to read a script and see how I feel about it. … It would have to be of the quality that we are all used to and I’m sure they will produce something of that quality because they are terrific writers. But you just never know what direction they want to take your character.”
