Scott Patterson Reflects on ‘Gilmore Girls,’ Discusses Upcoming Series ‘Sullivan’s Crossing’ [Interview]

If Luke had not ultimately ended up with Lorelai on Gilmore Girls, Scott Patterson thinks Luke would have wound up at a place like Sullivan’s Crossing.

That’s the name of Patterson’s upcoming project, which has been filming in Nova Scotia.

I recently caught up with Patterson during GalaxyCon Raleigh to talk about the upcoming series and to reflect on Gilmore Girls, particularly now that he’s been watching the series for his podcast, I Am All In with Scott Patterson.

Based on the book series by Robyn Carr, Sullivan’s Crossing follows neurosurgeon Maggie Sullivan (Morgan Kohan) who leaves her life in the city and returns to Sullivan’s Crossing, a rural campground and outpost that was once her home.

Her estranged father, Sully Sullivan (Patterson), is there as well, still looking after the day-to-day operations catering to hikers, bikers, and mountain climbers.

“It’s a different kind of show. I’ve got a say in how my scenes are shaped, and I love that about Roma Roth, who’s the creator and the executive producer,” Patterson said.

“We have a wonderful cast. We have a wonderful crew. We have beautiful locations. And, I guess you would classify it as a romantic drama.”

“But, I’m doing some very deep work, [which] I did on Gilmore, and I’ve done on other things, but this is a different kind of character,” he explained. “If Luke had left Stars Hollow with his tail between his legs because his dreams of marrying Lorelai didn’t come to fruition, he would’ve maybe ended up in Nova Scotia, with an outpost.”

Robyn Carr, the author of the Sullivan’s Crossing book series, is also known for the Virgin River book series, which has since also been adapted as a popular series on Netflix. Patterson said Sullivan’s Crossing is a little bit of a “darker version of Virgin River.”

“They’re taking some more chances on this one,” he said. “We’re going to places where you wouldn’t normally expect a show like that to go.”

Patterson isn’t the only Gilmore Girls alum you’ll see on Sullivan’s Crossing. The series also stars Chad Michael Murray, who Patterson said he really loves working with.

“He’s just terrific in every way. Solid, solid individual and [we’re] good friends,” Patterson said. “It’s nice to have a familiar face up there.”

Of course, Patterson has also been busy with his Gilmore Girls re-watch podcast, I Am All In with Scott Patterson, where he’s watching the series from the beginning for the first time. I asked Patterson about the experience of watching the show this many years later.

He said he was most surprised by “how well they manipulate me into feeling one way or another about specific characters, and then using that to kind of boomerang me around to the other side of that feeling in the next episode, or the five episodes down the road. I think that’s a pretty interesting ploy.”

“I didn’t realize just how good it was when it was really good. And, I didn’t realize that there were some flaws, and I’m seeing them, and I’m talking about them [on the podcast]. And I think that we should talk about them,” Patterson continued.

“When it’s not great, it’s trying to do too many things at once and it’s not doing them well. But man, when they get it right, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything better.”

He also noted his surprise at the lack of award nominations for the Gilmore Girls writers. “When Amy [Sherman-Palladino] and Dan [Palladino] are hitting it out of the park with the episode, with the writing aspect of it, I just don’t know how it can get better.”

“I mean, Dan will spend an entire episode capturing the real tone of that show, which is light and funny and charming. And then, he’ll just hit you with this big emotional beat at the end of the show, and it rips your heart out. Man, it’s just fantastic. You don’t see it coming. He uses the entire episode to set you up for it.”

“I just think that’s courageous and brilliant,” he said. “They are, as a writing team, very formidable talents.”

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Sullivan’s Crossing will air on CTV.

Listen to I Am All In with Scott Patterson here.

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