Mrs. Maisel: Amy Sherman-Palladino Reveals Her One Regret Ahead of Final Season (It Involves Lauren Graham)

When The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel fades to permanent black in late May, nearly a dozen alums from series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino’s beloved Gilmore Girls will have crossed paths with Midge & Co. over the course of the Emmy-winning comedy’s five seasons. Sadly, Lauren Graham will not be among them.

“It’s the one thing left on the table, I will admit that,” Sherman-Palladino laments to TVLine of her ill-fated efforts to find the perfect guest role for Graham (watch video above).

As the EP explains, the stars just never quite aligned. “The moment has to be right, the story has to be right, Lauren has to be available — which, by the way, she is very busy,” she notes. “It just didn’t happen.”

It was following the show’s breakout success in Season 1 that Sherman-Palladino expressed her strong desire to get Graham on the show. But at the time she similarly maintained, “It’s got to be the right thing and it’s got to be worthy of her. I bow down to Lauren. I want to work with her again so badly, but it’s got to be the right thing.”

For her part, Graham previously expressed concern that her popping up on Maisel could prove distracting for audiences, telling TVLine in 2021, “I sort of wonder if it would take you out of [that world] to have me there. I leave that up to [Amy].”

Gilmore faithful will nonetheless get their Stars Hollow fix in Mrs. Maisel‘s fifth and final season (which kicks off Friday with a three-episode premiere). Not only are Milo Ventimiglia and Kelly Bishop reprising their respective Season 4 roles as “Handsome Man” and Benedetta, but Sean Gunn (aka Kirk) and Danny Strong (aka Doyle) will also drop by during the nine-episode swan song.