Netflix could be losing the Gilmore Girls revival in 2026

Since its premiere 25 years ago, Gilmore Girls has been a mainstay in the hearts and homes of millions of fans around the world, and that number certainly grew when the series found renewed success on Netflix in the mid-2010s. So much so that we returned to Stars Hollow for the 2016 revival series Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life on Netflix. But it could soon be leaving the streamer.

According to a report from What's on Netflix, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life is just one of the many Netflix originals that could be poised for removal from the streaming service next year. Others include Arrested Development, The Last Kingdom, and The End of the F***ing World. The circumstances for each are different, but the possibility of their departures are certainly concerning.

For the case of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, the prospect of its departure from Netflix simply has to do with the fact that although it's a Netflix original series, the four-episode miniseries revival was also produced and owned by Warner Bros. It's unclear exactly what the terms of the deal were back in 2016, but What's on Netflix suggests November 2026 could be its last hurrah on Netflix.

But we're not so sure. Gilmore Girls has defied the odds on Netflix over the years. When many other Warner Bros.-owned shows were being plucked from the platform and moved over to HBO Max, the original seven seasons of Gilmore Girls managed to maintain its home on Netflix. Because of its popularity, Netflix has continued to pick up its license. Could the same happen with the revival?

It's definitely possible that Netflix won't renew the license for Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life by the time its 10 years on the streaming service is up in November 2026, but it would be an odd choice to separate the original seasons from the revival season. That's happened before and is happening again with Veronica Mars, which is coming to Netflix without its revival season in January.

For the less popular episodes of the series to be separated from the main event doesn't make much sense. Imagine A Year in the Life being on HBO Max without seasons 1-7. (It's also worth noting that the original series is on Hulu without the revival.) The scenario that makes sense would either be both shows remain on Netflix and/or get added to HBO Max or the revival leaves Netflix and joins HBO Max with the original seasons in tow. But we could be jumping the gun here.

In case you hadn't heard, Netflix recently placed a sizable bid to purchase Warner Bros., which would be a game-changing deal for the entertainment industry. It's entirely possible that by the time Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life could be threatening to leave Netflix in November 2026, the streaming service could already be the owner of Warner Bros. and maintain streaming rights to WB shows.

However, it's not out of the realm of possibility that Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life could depart Netflix for the first time since its premiere, along with a number of other Netflix originals unrelated to the WB deal, sometime in 2026. While we're currently skeptical that it will actually happen, make sure you add the revival series to your next rewatch of Gilmore Girls on Netflix.

Stay tuned for more news and updates from Netflix Life!