Q&A: ‘Gilmore Girls,’ ‘Zoo,’ ‘NCIS’
Q: I just finished watching the four most recent episodes of “Gilmore Girls.” The ending was a surprise for me and I was wondering if it will be coming back with any more future episodes.
A: I have not seen anything about that. It was tough enough to get that cast together for the four-episode “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life” reunion on Netflix (and the reaction was mixed; as a longtime fan, I had hoped for better). And while the ending left open the possibility of more “Gilmore,” series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino said repeatedly that the four episodes were all the story the show needed to tell.
As she said in an interview with EW.com: “It wasn’t open-ended for any nefarious reasons. It’s open-ended because life is open-ended. One of the things that I always liked that we did on ‘Gilmore’ is we never ended things with a hug, we never concluded things, we never had the moment where it’s like, ‘Everything is going to be OK.’ I think that that was the element here — it seems like Lorelai’s settled, it seems like Emily’s settled, but you know what? Life continues and life never is settled until you’re dead and somebody throws you in a box.
“We’re very happy about the four episodes in their entirety,” she added. “These were the stories we wanted to tell. We’re very proud of it; we’re very proud of the actors. We wanted to give the fans something special, a little thank you for being fans all these years for the little show that could. This is the way we wanted it to end.”
Q: Whatever happened to the CBS series “Zoo”? Will it be coming back?
A: The thriller based on a novel by James Patterson airs during summers on the network, and that will be the case with the third season later this year.
Q: As a faithful watcher of “NCIS” ever since its beginning I have been disappointed in this season’s shows. Did they change writers? The new characters just do not fit in. Anthony’s departure was a big loss but I think the downfall has been the writing.
A: There was a sad change off camera at the show in September 2016 when “NCIS’s” longtime showrunner, Gary Glasberg, died. He “brought kindness, integrity and class to everything he did,” said the head of CBS Television Studios. “His remarkable talent as a writer and producer was only matched by his ability to connect with people.” And his death came as the series was in a period of adjustment following the departure of Michael Weatherly (who played Tony) and the arrival of three new characters played by Jennifer Esposito, Duane Henry and Wilmer Valderrama. It can take time, after all, to fit new people in with the old, and the show has had some problems doing that well. But I trust it will figure things out, as it has in the past.