Lauren Graham Vows to Keep 'Gilmore Girls' Going Strong in Wake of Creator's Departure

"Gilmore Girls" star Lauren Graham had heard the scuttlebutt, of course, but she was unaware this afternoon that the show's creator, executive producer and guiding force Amy Sherman-Palladino and husband Dan Palladino (also an exec producer on the WB dramatic comedy) made it official today that they were leaving the series at the end of the current season after six campaigns. It was confirmed by producer Warner Bros. Television in a statement that announced Dave Rosenthal as "Gimore's" new showrunner beginning next fall -- that is, if the show is renewed for a seventh season, as it's expected to be. If it comes back, it will be part of the CW, the network that's taking the place of the merged WB and UPN.

It's been reported that Warner Bros. TV offered Sherman-Palladino $5 million to stick around for another year. That's a lot of scratch to be saying "No thanks" to. But she's an enormously talented, passionate and gifted scribe and producer who has been itchy to explore new creative horizons. That said, she may well be nuts for turning that kind of money down. She might even agree.

Anyway, Graham was traveling in her home state of Virginia while shooting the "Bruce Almighty" feature sequel "Evan Almighty" starring Steve Carell. So she wound up finding out the news about her bosses from me (we'd had a previously scheduled telephone interview about her annual shafting at Emmy Awards time).

"I really can't quite believe this is going to happen," Graham said. "It would be a new world obviously without Amy. She's such a singular voice. I feel like I'm playing her half the time on the show. But if we're renewed, we'll keep making 'Gilmore Girls.' And I have to say that I personally will feel a greater responsibility to maintain the quality and the authentic tone that our fans have come to count on.

"It really goes without saying that I'd be sad to see Amy and Dan go. Amy's a great writer and she's written really well for me in particular. But I'd still like to come back if they'll have us. It would sure be interesting to see how things turned out under a new regime."