‘Gilmore Girls’ Star Liz Torres Appeared in Another Long-Forgotten Amy Sherman-Palladino Project
When Gilmore Girls fans see Liz Torres, they see Miss Patty. Torres, who portrayed the salacious dance instructor, for all seven seasons, also reprised her role in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. Torres seemed born to play Miss Patty, but she was also in a short-lived and long-forgotten Amy Sherman-Palladino project a few years before the premiere of Gilmore Girls. Her character was far less titillating and more practical than the ever-eccentric Miss Patty.
Liz Torres worked with Amy Sherman-Palladino before ‘Gilmore Girls’
Liz Torres might be best known as Miss Patty on Gilmore Girls, but once upon a time, she played a character named Rose on a short-lived series called Over the Top. Fame showrunner, Amy Sherman-Palladino, served as a producer on the ill-fated series.
Over the Top, starring Tim Curry and Annie Potts, focused on Simon Ferguson, an out-of-work actor whose on-set antics have made him almost unhirable. Ferguson moves into a hotel managed by his ex-wife, Hadley, played by Annie Potts. In the show, Torres played Rose, the hotel’s assistant manager. Along with Curry, Potts, and Torres, Steve Carell appeared as a chef named Yorgo.
Why was ‘Over the Top’ canceled?
The series might have had a blockbuster cast, but everything else was working against it. The show’s premiere was pushed from September 1997 until October 1997, and ABC barely promoted it before its release. The premiere episode also had the misfortune of airing against the 1997 World Series.
ABC pulled it from the schedule after three episodes aired and immediately halted production. While the network initially blamed dismal ratings for the show’s swift demise, industry experts cited other factors, too. According to a 1997 E! News article, a bitter romantic split between one of the show’s producers, Robert Morton, and network executive, Jamie Tarses, may have led to the show’s lackluster promotion, bad timeslot, and dismal performance. However, how much that factored into the show’s inability to take off is purely subjective.
While the series may have had some potential, its cancelation was good for Gilmore Girls fans. It gave Amy Sherman-Palladino time to think up the storyline for the much-beloved series. It also brought Liz Torres into her sights. Torres and Sherman-Palladino met on the set.
Would Liz Torres return for another round of ‘Gilmore Girls’?
Liz Torres had plenty of acting credits before Gilmore Girls and has had a run of interesting roles since leaving Stars Hollow. Does that mean she wouldn’t jump at the chance to return to the set of Gilmore Girls one more time? Absolutely not.
In 2016, Torres sat down with Starry Magazine to discuss all things Gilmore Girls. The veteran actor told the publication that she would sign up for more episodes of the famed series in a heartbeat. She went on to gush, calling Gilmore Girls one of her “favorite, favorite projects.”
Neither Netflix nor Amy Sherman-Palladino has announced any intention to revive the series for a second revival just yet. Fans, however, remain hopeful.
