Lauren Graham on Parenthood, Producing, and the Gilmore Girls Legacy

Although Gilmore Girls lives on at ABC Family and in the hearts of mothers and daughters around the world, Lauren Graham has moved on. After starring in a few films and trying her hand at television production, Graham returned to primetime last fall in NBC's ensemble drama Parenthood as Sarah Braverman, another character navigating the pitfalls of single motherhood in suburbia. This week, Movieline was among those meeting with Graham at Universal Studios to find out what project she'd like to tackle next, what confuses her about Gilmore Girls fandom, and what she considers to be a television success.

"First of all, Gilmore Girls was not a hit," Graham protested after she was asked about leaving the "hit" series. "Shows that have depth, I think, don't come out of the gate in a giant way because [viewers] need to get to know the characters. Parenthood is not a high-concept show either, but we do well with the people we are trying to reach. And anecdotally speaking, by the end of the season, friends of mine who didn't watch Gilmore Girls were like, 'Oh my god. We sit and we talk about your show.' That kind of feedback is as interesting as the numbers to me."

Still, Graham admitted that she had trouble finding her next project.

"I wanted to be on something that I was proud of. I did produce -- which I hope to continue [doing] after Parenthood -- a pilot (Let it Go) at ABC with Mitch Hurwitz, which was directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. It didn't turn out the way any of us was thinking, but it's a creative thing -- it's not going to work every time. I became frustrated with the process and instead of trying that for another cycle, I found [Parenthood], which made me feel the same way I felt when I found Gilmore Girls. Back when I got that script, people were telling me, 'You shouldn't play a mom. You're too young. You shouldn't be on the WB.' So rightly or wrongly, I just always make a gut decision."

Another perk of Parenthood is that as an ensemble cast member, Graham is no longer required to meticulously memorize 80-page scripts, a grueling task which ultimately cost the actress all memory of her character's lines.

"I can't remember anything from that show. Are you kidding me? Every week, that was like cramming for an exam. Then you take it and you're like 'I don't even know science. I don't remember anything that just happened.'"

Even if Graham herself can't remember many specifics from the series, she still has dedicated fans in all pockets of the world that can recite Lorelai's lines like they were televised yesterday. This fact, in addition to the way that young women keep discovering the show three years after it concluded, bewilders the actress.

"It's surprising, especially because of all of the pop culture references," she said. "But I think half of the people watching didn't catch all of the references the first time they heard them. If you catch one [of them for] every eight, you're fine. To me, what's more surprising is that the show does well in any other country. I've heard myself dubbed in other languages and the show sounds so American to me. I think it's really cool though. I'm just proud and happy about the choices I've made and the projects I've done."