The denizens of Stars Hollow just keep popping up in 1960s-era New York City on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and I am here for it. It's no secret that Amy Sherman-Palladino loves to keep her favorite actors busy. Her short-lived (but excellent, curse you, Freeform!) series Bunheads managed to include roles for Gilmore Girls favorites like Kelly Bishop, Liza Weil, Sean Gunn, Rose Abdoo, and even Alex Borstein in just 18 episodes. Now, Mrs. Maisel is keeping the Gilmore Girls actor crossover tradition alive in Season 4.
Sherman-Palladino's love for the Gilmore Girls cast has been baked into Mrs. Maisel right from the start. After all, Borstein, who played multiple roles on Gilmore Girls, is one of the Emmy-winning show's most important characters as Midge's snarky manager Susie. Since the show began, Borstein has been joined by fellow alums Weil, Emily Bergl, and the late Brian Tarantina.
But Season 4 is on track to nearly double the number of Gilmore Girls guest stars. While their roles are still shrouded in secrecy, both Bishop — a.k.a. Emily Gilmore — and Milo Ventimiglia, who played Rory's boyfriend Jess, are set to appear on Mrs. Maisel this season. But as the second episode of the season proved, they're not the only Gilmore Girls actors heading to the Big Apple in Season 4.
Read on for a list of every Gilmore Girls actor who has appeared on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 4 so far (including the show's regulars).
Alex Borstein
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel wouldn't work without Borstein's hilarious and often poignant portrayal of the tough as nails Susie. If not for scheduling conflicts, Borstein would have played a major role in Gilmore Girls, too. She was originally cast as Sookie, but due to other commitments she ended up playing recurring characters Drella and Miss Celine instead.
Emily Bergl
Once upon a time, Bergl played the terrifying queen of The Puffs, Francie, on Gilmore Girls. These days, she's playing a character who is sweet, but a little bit dim: Susie's sister, Tessie. So far in Season 4, she's already flirted away her and her sister's little insurance fraud problem.
Bailey De Young
De Young is best known for her breakout role as Ginny on Bunheads, but she officially became a member of the Gilmore Girls family when she made a cameo in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. Since then, she's become one of Sherman-Palladino's go-to actors, as evidenced by her role as Midge's bubbly best pal Imogen.
Jane Lynch
It's okay if you forgot Lynch appeared in the classic Gilmore Girls episode "Forgiveness and Stuff." After all, that particular Season 1 episode happens to be the one where Richard is rushed to the hospital during the annual Gilmore Christmas party. Lynch plays the nurse who gets harangued by an upset Emily. Now she stars as the trailblazing comic Sophie Lennon, who is currently refusing to let Susie out of their contract.
Chris Eigeman
Jason "Digger" Stiles is one of the most divisive characters in Gilmore Girls history. Either you despised Lorelai's Season 4 boyfriend, or you appreciated his aggressive quirkiness, there was no middle ground. It's no secret where Sherman-Palladino stands. Not only did she cast Eigeman in Bunheads, she also brought Jason back for Richard's funeral in A Year in the Life. Now, he's playing Abe's boss at the Village Voice, Gabe, so you can bet he'll be around for most of Season 4.
Scott Cohen
Surprise, Gilmore Girls devotees! Max Medina — er, I mean Scott Cohen — appears in the fifth episode of Season 4 as Solomon Melamid. The role marks a stark departure from Cohen's days playing proposal expert and all-around dreamboat Max on Gilmore Girls, since there's a definite creep vibe to Solomon. The ultra-wealthy journalist has hired Rose to find suitable husbands for his 30-something daughters, one of whom he compared to a horse in heat.
Kelly Bishop
Bishop has officially made her Mrs. Maisel debut, and it is glorious. As Emily Gilmore, the acclaimed actor became an absolute icon. After the series ended, she went on to play a major role on Bunheads, so it's only fitting to see her playing yet another grande dame on Mrs. Maisel. This time around she's playing Benedetta, the de facto leader of what can only be described as the matchmaker mafia. With Rose landing the Melamid family as clients, Benedetta and her pals call Mrs. Weissman to put her on notice for encroaching on their territory.
Jackie Hoffman
The great Hoffman didn't appear in the Gilmore Girls original run, but she did make an appearance in the Netflix revival as Esther, an employee at the Stars Hollow Gazette. Now she's sitting alongside Bishop as one of the most famous matchmakers in New York, and her character, Gitta, isn't happy about Rose scooping up her potential clients.
Milo Ventimiglia
Ventimiglia finally showed up on Mrs. Maisel in the penultimate episode of Season 4, but his all too brief appearance didn't quite live up to the hype. In all fairness to Sherman-Palladino, she did warn fans that the Gilmore Girls favorite's role would be small, but it turned out to be minuscule. He plays a character known simply as "Handsome Man," who ends up making Midge the other woman when his wife walks in on their postcoital bliss. In the end, Ventimiglia barely has two lines, but a little Ventimiglia is better than none, I suppose.
Images: Amazon Prime Video; Christopher Saunders/Amazon Prime Video