'Hamilton' and other notable pop culture references in Netflix's 'Gilmore Girls' revival
This post contains spoilers about Netflix's Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.
LOS ANGELES -- It's been nine years since Gilmore Girls' seventh and final season came to an end -- but that doesn't mean the Gilmore girls haven't kept up with their pop culture references.
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, Netflix's revival from creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and husband Dan Palladino, is chock-full of modern call outs from the fast-talking mother-daughter duo Lorelai and Rory.
Here are some -- but not all -- of Mashable's favorite references in the four-part series.
You May Also Like
Superhero jokes
In part one of the series -- titled "Winter" -- Lorelai catches Rory up on what she's missed in Stars Hollow. she mentions how the town might lose its phone booth.
Rory then jokes Superman won't be able to save the town "from Ben Affleck" without the phone booth in tact. That's a burn referencing Affleck's Batman and the upcoming solo movie. (Cue that "Sad Affleck" YouTube video).
Also during the first episode, Paul, Rory's forgettable new boyfriend stops by the house for dinner. But no one remembers anything about Paul, ever.
Lorelai jokes with Luke: "He's a superhero, but his power is no matter how much time you spend with him, you can't remember him. Kinda like every Marvel movie ever!"
All of the pop-up chefs at (or mentioned at) the Inn
Foodies will surely be pleased with these casual cameos. Sookie (Melissa McCarthy) -- absent from most of the series -- seems to be taking a lengthy sabbatical from the Dragonfly Inn.
To fill her void, Michel has arranged for a series of famous chefs to do pop-ups at the inn. Lorelai of course doesn't like any of them...but the list is impressive.
Roy Choi (the chef of Los Angeles's famous Kogi pop-up truck) and Rachael Ray (who gets fired despite her 'sammies') both appear as themselves.
Not seen but referenced: Alice Waters, David Chang, Dan Barber and the Blue Hill Farm.
Also, at one point, when Luke helps with the inn's kitchen duties, diners from New York City ask if their burger meat is from LaFrieda, a New Jersey-based meat purveyor.
Brexit & the Royals
Of course the Gilmores' keep up with the Royal family. Rory's London souvenir for Lorelai? Princess Charlotte–branded tea spoons.
Later, Naomi -- the subject of Rory's New Yorker profile who she was going to pen a book for -- makes a Brexit joke.
“God, I hate England," Naomi says over martinis with Rory. "I’m voting for Brexit. It’s just a protest vote. It will never win.”
Lena Dunham
The Girls creator is mentioned not once but twice in the Gilmore Girls revival. First by Rory, when she is explaining her Brooklyn departure to Lorelai. "Lena Dunham will just have to get along without me."
Later, when Paris has a mental breakdown in the Chilton bathroom, she calms down by reminding herself she has a panel discussion at the 92nd Street Y with Dunham as a moderator.
"She cannot see me like this," Paris says.
"The new cronut"
One of Rory's freelancing tasks it do a piece on lines in New York City. Lorelai decides to join in on the fun as they two hop around the city from line to line.
One of the lines is for the "the new cronut," aka the "crodough cake."
People are lined up outside a bakery called “Monique Aswell," which sounds an awful lot like Dominique Ansel, where the cronut was invented.
J. Law, Matthew McConaughey and more A-list actors
There's a film shooting in the town neighboring Stars Hollow and both Michel and Taylor are upset that the B-listers, not the A-listers, are choosing to stay at the Dragonfly.
The A-list actors name dropped include: Matthew McConaughey (he buys and reads three newspapers a day according to Taylor), Jessica Chastain (she is all about supporting local business and purchases a full bag of toiletries and two sundresses), Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Daniel Radcliffe and Jennifer Lawrence.
"Jennifer Lawrence is never going to stay here, and what's the point of living if we're never going to bag Jennifer Lawrence?" Michel says to Lorelai.
Draper James and Wild, y'all
Lorelai is reading Cheryl Strayed’s book Wild at the pool.
In the movie version of the book, Reese Witherspoon plays Strayed.
Another fun connection: Next to Lorelai at the pool is a bag from Witherspoon's Draper James collection that says "Totes Y'all."
Later, Lorelai embarks on her own rendition of Wild, and other Pacific Crest Trail explorers are divided by who likes the book and who likes the movie -- all of whom appear out of their depth.
Spotlight and Sorkin
Rory references Spotlight when she finds out the Stars Hollow Gazette is getting shut down after the editor Bernie Longbottom retires. She then ends up being appointed/volunteering to be editor of the local paper.
At one point, Taylor walks into the small newsroom (made up of Rory and two old employees) and remarks there's a lot of buzz and excitement.
Rory then jokes: "It's like an Aaron Sorkin movie in here."
Hamilton
Much of episode three -- "Summer" -- revolves around the Stars Hollow musical. Town selectman Taylor Doose -- who writes, directs and produces the musical -- is determined to include a rapping character, a la Hamilton, in there.
Don't worry: Tony Award-winning composer Jeanine Tesori is the actual mastermind behind the four original songs seen in the episode.
Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and Tesori are friends IRL. The numbers feature Tony winners Sutton Foster (a Bunheads alum) and Christian Borle, who, fun fact, were previously married IRL.
The rapper in the musical says: "Ay yo look I'm rapping. Just like Hamilton, on Broadway. This is an odd way to tell the town's story, depict the town's glory, and get you to follow me to Star's Hollow, see? Magnetic, yo, I'm just like Magneto. Last night I held a meeting underneath the town gazebo. We had sandwiches and talked all night, and at the end we all voted to strike, strike!"
If the musical tribute isn't enough, even Rory references the Tony-winning smash. In one episode, while drinking with Lorelai at the Gazette, she says: "Let’s have another round tonight," a line from the musical's song "The Story of Tonight."
Game of Thrones and other things the Gilmore Girls now watch on TV
When Taylor announces the Stars Hollow musical, Lorelai and Rory joke that the songwriter looks like a "White Walker" aka the scary things out to get everyone in Game of Thrones
Later, a kid holding a parasol over Rory at the pool calls her Khaleesi -- another GOT shoutout referencing Emilia Clarke's Queen of Dragons character.
Rory also makes a joke about operating the MS-DOS system used at the Stars Hollow Gazette, noting she only knows how to use it because of Halt and Catch Fire.
When Doyle gives Rory a copy of The Mysteries of Laura, a now canceled NBC show starring Debra Messing, Rory asks: "Is that a show?"
Rory has not one, not two but three cell phones, which Lorelai jokes makes her have more burner phones than The Wire's Omar Little.
Lorelai's DVR is filled with a ton of Lifetime movies: Restless Virgins, Deadly Honeymoon, Killer Crush, Mini’s First Time, Accidental Obsession, Murder In a College Town, Crimes of the Mind, Fatal Acquital, Not With My Daughter, Baby Sellers, Unfinished Betrayal, The Girl He Met Online, The Boy He Met Online, Deadly Vows, Lying Eyes, Lies He Told and My Nanny’s Secret. How do we know it's that long of a list? Luke reads them all off to her to see if there are any he can delete. Nope.
Also on Lorelai's radar: Outlander. She explains to Rory why she’s never had a one-night stand. “Mom at 16 for starts. Hot in Outlander, but elsewhere…”
The Kardashians and Kanye
Lorelai warns Emily that Jack, one of Richard's friends, is definitely hitting on her mom. She decides the best way of explaining is by quoting Kanye West: “I ain’t say he’s a gold digger..."
Of course, she also drops a Kardashian reference while talking to Luke. She tells him she is "organizing her magazines by Kardashian” on the cover.
All the new technology references
Everyone is glued to their phones and the internet these days, even the people of Stars Hollow.
In "Winter," Lorelai tells Rory "I just hit my steps," implying she either keeps track on her smart phone or has a FitBit.
Kirk's also launched his own version of tech/ride sharing company Uber called "Ooober." (Mashable called it).
Throughout the four-part series, Luke lies about the WiFi password so moochers with laptops don't invade the diner.
Social media also gets a big shout out.
During her career crisis, Rory gets a Vine message from an editor at Sandee Says, a digital news start-up that is trying to recruit her for their team.
Lorelai at one point proclaims she hates Twitter.
Oh and Taylor even name drops the British YouTuber Zoella.
Katy Perry and the nuns connection
Lorelai notices that a group of nuns is selling their Stars Hollow property.
She stops by, interested in expanding the Dragonfly Inn.
They tell her Katy Perry is also interested.
This is a reference to when Perry won a legal battle to purchase a beautiful Los Feliz convent -- over some nuns' protest.
Topics Game Of Thrones Netflix X/Twitter YouTube Vine
Saba was a Los Angeles-based reporter who covers all things digital entertainment, including YouTube, streaming services and digital influencers. Prior to that, she spent two years at the Los Angeles Times covering entertainment for the Calendar and Company Town sections. Saba grew up in Santa Monica and graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in journalism and B.A. in political science. When not reporting, she is usually binge watching shows online or looking for new coffee shops to frequent.
