Jess Mariano was originally supposed to have her own Gilmore Girls spinoff, but it's better that that never happened. Jess is one of four boyfriends Rory has Gilmore Girls, and he became a fan-favorite character almost immediately after arriving in the town of Stars Hollow. It's probably no surprise that Luke Dane's nephew delighted viewers almost as much as Luke himself, even if the two characters rarely agreed on anything. Although most fans agree that Dean was wrong about Rory, Team Jess remains popular – and on par with Team Logan.
With Jess being one of Gilmore Girls best love interests, It's no surprise that Milo Ventimiglia's character almost led a spinoff series. In fact, it was one of two plans Gilmore Girls spinoffs that never came to fruition. Jess's troubled story opened the door to a deeper exploration of him as an individual. He also went in an interesting direction after leaving Stars Hollow, occasionally returning to knock some sense into Rory. It's easy to see how the Jess spinoff could have worked, but it might be a good thing it didn't.
Jess' proposed Gilmore Girls spin-off explained
'Here Comes The Son' was considered a backdoor pilot for Wayward Circle
Many of the “bad boy“The tendencies stem from his tumultuous relationships with his parents and, in particular, his father. Gilmore Girls characterizes Jimmy Mariano as a deadbeat, but that doesn't stop Jess from seeking a better relationship with him. Node Gilmore Girls In the season 3 episode “Here Comes the Son”, Jess travels to California to reconnect with Jimmy after a falling out with Luke. AND “Here Comes the Son” was supposed to be the backdoor pilot for the character's spinoffwhich would have been called Wayward Circle (via The Paley Center).
As “Here Comes the Son” suggests, Jess' series would have taken place in Venice Beach and focused heavily on her relationship with her father. In this way, it would have mirrored Gilmore Girls, which also focused on a bond between parents and children – albeit with much less need for repair. AND Rebel circle wouldn't just serve as a kind of redemption for Jimmy. Although Jess appeared less frequently in Gilmore Girls After Milo Ventimiglia left the series, his return in Season 6 revealed that he had changed a lot. His spinoff would have shown this, rather than allowing his growth to happen off-screen.
Why Milo Ventimiglia's Gilmore Girls Spinoff Didn't Happen
Even though Jess is a fan favorite Gilmore Girls character, his spinoff never came to fruition. The WB initially greenlit six episodes of Rebel circlebut the network decided not to follow them. This reportedly had to do with the costs of filming in Venice Beach, Californiawhich would have made Jess' program an expensive endeavor (via IMDb). Ventimiglia left Gilmore Girls after season 3, then the cancellation of Rebel circle essentially guaranteed that viewers wouldn't see or hear much from Jess after this season.
Of course, Ventimiglia even came back for some more Gilmore Girl appearanceswhich allowed him to give his character a proper resolution. Jess begged Rory to leave with him Gilmore Girls Season 4, and he convinced her to return to Yale in Season 6. The latest appearance highlighted how much Jess had matured and also revealed that he had written a novel. The character also appeared in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, which gave Rory's three main love interests a send-off.
Jess not getting a Gilmore Girls spinoff was for the best
It would have been difficult to recover the tone of the original program
It was probably better than Jess Gilmore Girls the spinoff never became a reality, as it would have struggled to replicate the magic of the original series. The mother-daughter dynamic between Lorelai and Rory is the heart of Gilmore Girls, and Jess's bond with her father probably couldn't compare. Due to Jess's troubled upbringing and Jimmy's own problems, Rebel circle It would have been a more serious show than the original. While this wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, it would have made the tone different from the Gilmore Girlspotentially turning off some viewers.
Jess was undoubtedly interesting enough to be explored in more depth, but the plan for Rebel circle it probably wasn't the right way to do it.
California also would not have been able to capture Stars Hollow's small-town charm, further removing Rebel circle of Gilmore Girls. Jess was undoubtedly interesting enough to be explored in more depth, but the plan for Rebel circle it probably wasn't the right way to do it. It would have been more interesting to see how he grew up within the confines of Stars Hollow, fully fulfilling his relationships with Luke and Rory before leaving. Unfortunately, Ventimiglia's departure from Gilmore Girls and the canceled spinoff made that impossible. At least we got to see what happened to him later.