For fans of Gilmore Girls, there’s no better time to binge watch the beloved 2000s TV series than during the holidays. Luckily, Walmart has surprised fans with a new holiday commercial starring Lauren Graham and Scott Patterson reprising their famed roles as Lorelai Gilmore and Luke Danes.
On Tuesday (December 3), Walmart shared the short clip to Instagram, where it’s already received nearly 50,000 likes. The holiday ad begins with a view of the fictional Stars Hollow town square covered in snow. Sean Gunn returns as Kirk Gleason, one of the many eccentric residents of Stars Hollow, who’s seen carrying a large blue box printed with the Walmart logo across it.
He delivers the package to Luke’s Diner, one of the signature locations featured in Gilmore Girls, where diner owner Luke (Patterson) stands behind the counter. Lorelai (Graham) enters the diner, where she utters the same first phrase that began the show in 2000.
“Coffee, coffee, coffee, please,” she tells Luke.
He then gifts his caffeine-obsessed wife the Walmart box, which contains a Keurig machine, and jokes that Lorelai’s “drinking [him] out of business.”
The clip ends with Luke and Lorelai standing side-by-side in the Stars Hollow town square, as she holds the Walmart box.
In the comments section, fans were overjoyed by the Gilmore Girls reunion and instantly dubbed Walmart’s holiday ad as “iconic.”
“Honestly, this marketing team needs a raise. This is iconic!!!!!!!!” one user wrote on Instagram. “Made my entire week!!!”
“Did I just cry about a Walmart ad?” another person joked.
Some fans took the opportunity to demand more Gilmore Girls episodes after the show’s seven-season run, which ended in 2007. Netflix later brought back the cast for a four-episode miniseries, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, in 2016.
“Sooooo does this mean we’re getting more episodes… orrrr,” commented one fan.
“I mean... while you have the set all set up you might as well film some more,” another person echoed.
Meanwhile, devoted fans couldn’t help but point out how Luke’s nephew, Jess (Milo Ventimiglia), worked at Walmart during season three of Gilmore Girls.
“Full circle moment and character development for Luke since he gave Jess a hard time when he worked at Walmart,” said one user.
“Wowww we feel seen by Jess’s former employer,” someone else wrote.
Gilmore Girls, created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, premiered on The WB in 2000 before moving to The CW for its final season. The comedy-drama series also starred Alexis Bledel as Lorelai’s daughter Rory Gilmore, Melissa McCarthy as Lorelai’s best friend Sookie St. James, and Kelly Bishop as Lorelai’s mother Emily Gilmore.
Speaking to People ahead of the Walmart ad’s release, Graham explained how it’s “always a little surreal” returning to Stars Hollow.
“It was a particularly odd day for me because there’s just so much familiarity with that character and seeing Scott and being in that place,” she said.
As for Patterson, he said the highlight of doing the ad was getting to work alongside Graham again, whom he called his “favorite scene partner of [his] entire career.”
“I’ve never worked with anybody with a better skill set, more grit and just this incredible stamina among the other things that she brings with her humor and her kindness,” he said about Graham.
“It was just wonderful to see her and work with her again and Sean as well,” he continued, noting Gunn’s cameo as Kirk. “I’ll always cherish the time I got to spend with Lauren and act with her because she’s literally an icon. And that is just growing as the years go by.”
