Rest easy, Gilmore Girls fans: Melissa McCarthy will officially be reprising her role as Sookie St. James in the show’s new Netflix revival.
The comedian announced the news on Ellen Thursday, and the Internet is rejoicing:
Oh my god, Melissa McCarthy is officially coming back to “Gilmore Girls” https://t.co/AdCbKDlvc3 pic.twitter.com/PIyg1yKB8b
— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) April 8, 2016
can’t believe we get the biggest luke and lorelai shipper back: sookie st james
— pj (@seIinameyer) April 8, 2016
Jazz hands-ing my way through a wanton soup as I find out Melissa McCarthy is back as Sookie St James.
— ⚡️Nicola Scott⚡️ (@NicolaScottArt) April 8, 2016
Initial announcements about the cast earlier in 2016 included Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel but noticeably failed to mention McCarthy at all. Gilmore fans were so vocal about their disappointment on Twitter that the star eventually sent out a tweet in February explaining that she wasn’t part of the reboot because she hadn’t been invited to return:
Thanks for the invite, but sadly no one asked me or Sookie to come back to Stars Hollow. Wish them all the best!! https://t.co/II2Atug4wx
— Melissa McCarthy (@melissamccarthy) February 2, 2016
Showrunner Amy Sherman-Palladino refuted the claims in an April interview with Entertainment Weekly, saying:
“We’re here until May 10. I know what the scene is. I’ll pre-light it for her. She can drive up, run in, shoot it, and run out. I can get her in and out in two hours. If she finds that time, I don’t care when it is, we will make it happen.”
Apparently McCarthy—whose Boss opens in theaters today—found the time. So all is right again in Stars Hollow. Now we just wait to see what the bumbling chef can cook up when the show returns to Netflix later this year.
