Say Goodbye to the Gilmore Girls

The CW network announced that The Gilmore Girls will not be returning to their schedule in the fall. The show about a quirky, speed-talking mom and daughter only sixteen years apart in age aired for seven seasons. It will end officially on May 15th.

Starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bleidel as Loralai and Rory (short also for Loralai) Gilmore, respectively, The Gilmore Girls told the story of the close mother daughter relationship shared by the two. The initial hook of the criticially acclaimed by Emmy-deprived series was that Loralai was on 16 when she had Rory and so they were best buds as well as mom and daughter. The show began with Rory, 16ish, a stellar scholar and bookworm, being accepted to a prestigious prep school that was meant to be her ticket to Harvard, the school she and Loralai both dreamed of her attending. With a large price tag, the school would have been out of reach if Loralai hadn't swallowed her pride and gone to her rich very estranged parents for help with the bills. From the start, the differences between pop culture savvy, cult band loving Loralai and her blueblood parents were obvious and the series revolved around the ups and downs of this parent-child relationship almost as much as the one between the two leads. The parents, Richard and Emily (played expertly by Edward Hermman and Kelly Bishop) quickly accepted their granddaughter,though, insisting on Friday dinners at their mansion so they could get to know her better. The show followed Rory up to her graduation from Yale, which is slated for this season.

Along the road, the people of Star's Hollow, the weird yet idyllic town where the Gilmore Girls lived, were also showcased. They included Rory's best friend Lane, a rock drummer from a strict Korean family, Miss Patty , the nosey dance teacher, Kirk, a nerdy type, Taylor, the local know it all, and Luke, the blue-collar-motifed guy who ran the local diner. Another ongoing drama in the series was whether Luke and Loralai would get together. They were engaged in the sixth season, though season 7 saw her eloping with Rory's dad, Christopher, who was in and out of the show for most of its run, too. Several seasons back, Rory went off to Yale, and after two Stars Hollow boyfriends, she met her first college man, Logan, with whom she has been serious for several seasons. Fans will now have to tune in to see how it all ends on May 15th, when the season, and the series, signs off.

There was talk the series would come back for a shortened season, but the two stars, one or both, apparently did not take the deal on the table. No official word has been offered.

The Gilmore Girls was created by Amy Sherman-Palladino. She is largely credited for the quirky pace of the show's dialogue and the wacky world of Star's Hollow. She and her husband, fellow producer Dan Palladino, also a writer for the show, left the series after last season due to some contract issues. The show was criticized this year not for losing its tone, but for story choices, mainly involving the breakup of Luke and Loralai.