The Best Gilmore Girls Replacement Show Only Lasted One Season

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If you’re a big fan of Gilmore Girls and have watched it multiple times, you might enjoy Bunheads. This short-lived series has a similar charm to the best seasons of Gilmore Girls. While the cast of Gilmore Girls contributed to what made the show so great, it wasn’t just about the actors – the show had a special something beyond that.

The fast-paced, witty conversations between Lorelai and Rory could have easily felt over-the-top with different actors, but Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel made their mother-daughter relationship feel both genuine and endearing. And Rory’s boyfriends all made a strong impact, as evidenced by how passionately fans debated who was best for her.

It’s no surprise that no other show has ever quite captured the magic of Gilmore Girls. Even the revival, created by the original writer, Amy Sherman-Palladino, didn’t fully recapture the show’s unique combination of sharp humor and cozy, small-town atmosphere.

Bunheads Came From The Creator of Gilmore Girls

Many shows have tried to capture the same charm as Gilmore Girls since it ended, and every so often, the internet buzzes with talk of a new show that feels like a perfect successor. But only one show can truly claim that title: it was Amy Sherman-Palladino’s first big project after Gilmore Girls.

In addition to all of that, the show featured Kelly Bishop, who famously played Emily in Gilmore Girls. Like Gilmore Girls, it was set in a small town and focused on a strong-willed woman facing challenges in both her career and personal life. However, ABC’s Bunheads didn’t achieve the same level of popularity.

Shortly after Alexis Bledel’s first project following Gilmore Girls, the movie Post Grad, didn’t perform well in theaters, ABC began advertising a new comedy-drama series from the creator of Gilmore Girls. The show, Bunheads, starred Sutton Foster as Michelle Simms, a retired ballerina who was now working as a showgirl in Las Vegas.

Feeling unfulfilled with her job, Michelle finally accepts a marriage proposal from Hubbell Flowers, a man who’s been hoping for her hand for years. He takes her to his quiet hometown of Paradise, California, but their happiness is short-lived when Hubbell unexpectedly dies. Michelle, now on her own, finds herself trying to fit in with the community by taking a job at the local dance studio.

Only one issue remains: Michelle’s mother-in-law, Fanny Flowers, actually manages the dance academy. This creates a humorous generational conflict as Fanny and Michelle try to run the academy together, all while Michelle adjusts to life in a small town after the unexpected loss of her husband.

Bunheads Only Lasted One Season On ABC

It’s true that the death of a character gives Bunheads a surprisingly somber tone. But even the most heartbreaking stories on Gilmore Girls always included moments of humor, and Bunheads actually received a lot of positive reviews when it first aired in 2012. In fact, it was one of the most praised new shows of that season.

Despite receiving excellent reviews from publications like Variety, Vanity Fair, The LA Times, and The AV Club, the show Bunheads didn’t attract a large audience. It started with only 1.64 million viewers for its first episode, and ratings continued to decline throughout its first season.

It’s not really a fair comparison to look at shows from different eras, but the initial ratings for Bunheads stand out when you compare them to the long-term success of Gilmore Girls. Gilmore Girls started strong with 5 million viewers for its first episode, and impressively, it kept most of those viewers watching throughout the series.

Even though Gilmore Girls disappointed some fans towards the end of its run, the later episodes of season 7 still averaged about 4.4 million viewers. Remarkably, Gilmore Girls maintained its audience size for over six years, which makes the relatively poor performance of Bunheads even more noticeable.

Bunheads Deserved To Replace Gilmore Girls

I was so bummed when Bunheads got cancelled after just one season – it originally aired from 2012 to 2013. Honestly, the ratings just weren’t there, but fans really tried to save it! What was cool was that so many familiar faces from Gilmore Girls showed up, like Bishop, Liza Weil, Gregg Henry, Rose Abdoo, Alex Borstein, Sean Gunn, and Chris Eigeman. It definitely added to the fun, but sadly wasn’t enough to keep it on the air.

While fans were happy to see some familiar faces from the show return, Bunheads didn’t attract nearly as much attention as the Gilmore Girls revival did a few years later. Therefore, it wasn’t surprising when the show was quickly canceled.

Despite the success of her later show, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, it was disappointing for fans of Amy Sherman-Palladino’s work because it was quite different from Gilmore Girls. Bunheads, on the other hand, had the potential to become a spiritual successor to Gilmore Girls, but unfortunately, it didn’t get the opportunity to fully develop.

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2025-11-22 16:39