UP Acquires Full Seven-Season Run of Award-Winning, Fan-Favorite Series “Gilmore Girls”
(July 30, 2015 – Los Angeles /Television Critics Association) – UP announced today it has acquired the full seven-season run of “Gilmore Girls,” the award-winning, fan-favorite family drama starring Lauren Graham (“Parenthood”), Alexis Bledel (“The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”) and Melissa McCarthy (“Mike & Molly,” “Spy”), Keiko Agena “(“Shameless,” “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”), Yanic Truesdale (“Reumeurs”), Scott Patterson (“CSI Miami”), Liza Weil (“Stir of Echoes”), Jared Padalecki (“Supernatural”), Milo Ventimiglia (“Heroes”), Sean Gunn (“Guardians of the Gun,” “Pearl Harbor”) Kelly Bishop (“Bunheads,” “The Good Wife”), with special appearances by the late Edward Herrmann (“The Wolf of Wall Street,” “The Lost Boys”) and recurring guest star Liz Torres (“Devious Maids,” ”Scandal”).
UP acquired “Gilmore Girls” from Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution and will begin airing the 153 one-hour episodes of the series in the fall.
The announcement was made by Amy Winter, EVP and general manager, UP. She said, “We’ve acquired some of the most beloved shows in family TV history and we are thrilled to add such a critically acclaimed family series to our lineup.”
The acquisition of “Gilmore Girls” was negotiated by Sophia Kelley, SVP Programming, UP, who said, “‘Gilmore Girls’ is a fan-favorite series that retains a very large and passionate following. The strong and loving mother-daughter relationship portrayed in ‘Gilmore Girls’ is a beautiful testament to the wonderful power of family drama. The series is a perfect fit for our brand of family entertainment.”
“Gilmore Girls,” which aired from 2000-2007, is set in a storybook Connecticut town populated by an eclectic mix of dreamers, artists and everyday folk. The multi-generational drama about family and friendship centers around Lorelai Gilmore (Graham) and her daughter, Rory (Bledel). Lorelai owns the town's bed-and-breakfast, the Dragonfly Inn, with best friend/chef Sookie, and contends with weekly dinners with eccentric, well-off parents Richard (Edward Herrmann, “The Good Wife”) and Emily Gilmore (Kelly Bishop, “Bunheads”) who always have something to say about their daughter's life.
The series, known for its fast-paced dialogue and pop culture references, was listed as one of Time magazine's “All-TIME 100 TV Shows” in 2007. “Gilmore Girls” also was honored with a Viewers for Quality Television Award and was named New Program of the Year by the Television Critics Association. Lauren Graham was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series and received two consecutive nominations for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series from the Screen Actors Guild. Graham also won a Family Television Award. Alexis Bledel has won a Young Artist Award and a Family Television Award. “Gilmore Girls” won a Family Television Award for New Series, and it was named Best Family TV Drama Series by the Young Artist Awards, which also honored series star Keiko Agena in the supporting actress category.
The heartfelt one-hour drama was created by Amy Sherman-Palladino (“Roseanne”), who served as executive producer with Gavin Polone (“Stir of Echoes,” “Drop Dead Gorgeous”) and Daniel Palladino (“Roseanne”).
About UP:
UP is television's trusted entertainment brand dedicated to providing viewers with “feel good TV for you and your family.” UP uplifts viewers every day with premiere movies, original reality, dramatic and comedy series filled with compelling stories and characters with character. In keeping with its brand promise, UP’s pro-social initiative, “Uplift Someone,” inspires people to do simple, everyday acts of kindness. UP can be seen in 70 million homes on cable systems and satellite providers across the United States. Based in Atlanta, UP is a division of UP Entertainment, LLC which also operates gMovies, the first faith-friendly streaming movie service and provides sales and operations services to the ASPiRE network.
Follow UP on the Web at www.UPtv.com on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/UPtv, Twitter on @UPtv and Instagram at UP_TV.
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