‘Gilmore Girls’ Star Lauren Graham Reveals How Berta Was Cast In The Revival

Very observant viewers noticed something familiar about Berta in “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.” Rose Abdoo, who also plays Gypsy, portrayed Emily’s longest lasting maid. The Netflix revival gave the actress a chance to show her range, but that wasn’t always the plan.

Lauren Graham, who plays Lorelai, revealed that Abdoo was only supposed to fill in when the cast gathered to read the script. “Rose read it for fun in a table read because they hadn’t cast it yet, and she was so hilarious they had to double her up!” Graham revealed on Twitter.

TVLine first confirmed who was behind Berta’s glasses. It might be surprising for some to realize that the angry Gypsy and the lighthearted Berta are played by the same actress, but longtime fans know that this has happened on “Gilmore Girls” before. Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino often reuses the same actors.

Sean Gunn, who now plays Kirk, originally played a DSL installer named Mick in the second episode of the series. “Amy Sherman-Palladino, from what I’ve since been told, she was saying to the casting directors, ‘I want a guy like that guy who played the DSL installer,’” Gunn told International Business Times earlier this month. “And Jami Rudofsky, one of the casting directors, pitched her the idea: what if we just bring that guy back and have him pop up again in a different job? And I guess Amy took a couple days to think about it, thought it was sort of a funny idea and said, ‘Yeah, go ahead and hire him.’”

The double casting doesn’t stop there. Sherylin Fenn played both Sasha, the girlfriend of Jess’ father, and Anna Nardini, April’s mother. Alex Borstein played angry harpist Drella as well as whimsical stylist Miss Celine. Marion Ross portrayed both Richard’s mother as well as cousin Marilyn, which made it very interesting when Marilyn attended Gran’s funeral.

Will more double casting happen? Maybe. It isn’t clear yet if “Gilmore Girls” is over. Netflix hasn’t yet renewed the series for a second batch of episodes.

“Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life” is now available on Netflix.