The WB's Gilmore Girls recast the key role of Sookie St. James after the original pilot, with Melissa McCarthy stepping into the part of Lorelai's best friend - here's why. Gilmore Girls, created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, debuted back in 2000 and ran for seven seasons, before later being revived for a Netflix miniseries in 2016. The show revolved around mother-daughter duo Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory (Alexis Bledel), but introduced a number of beloved supporting characters in the town of Stars Hollow.
Among the most popular of these characters was Sookie St. James, a close friend of Lorelai and the head chef at the Independence Inn (later chef and co-owner of the Dragonfly). Sookie was a great source of humor for the show, but also had some strong arcs in her own right, especially through her relationship with Jackson Belleville (Jackson Douglas) and her work at both of the Inns. Gilmore Girls helped serve as something of a launchpad for Melissa McCarthy's career, with the actress appearing in all 153 episodes of its initial run before going on to achieve stardom through movies like Bridesmaids, but she wasn't actually the first choice for the part.
When Gilmore Girls was first being developed, Sherman-Palladino shot a pilot that never made it to air. While many of the key cast was already in place by this point, the role of Sookie was played by Alex Borstein (Family Guy), not Melissa McCarthy. However, after filming the pilot and with Gilmore Girls ordered to series, Borstein was unable to be released from her MAD TV contract, where she was among the main cast members on the show. That meant the role of Sookie had to be recast, with McCarthy landing the part and re-filming Sookie's scenes for what would be the broadcast version of the pilot.
This wasn't the only change to the show at this point. Luke Danes was originally a woman in Gilmore Girls' early development stages, while the unaired pilot also featured Nathan Wetherington in the role of Dean Forester, one of Rory's main love interests, before he was replaced by Jared Padalecki. Borstein did go on to appear in Gilmore Girls a number of times over the years as a variety of characters, first playing Drella and then later Miss Celine and Doris. She has maintained a close relationship with Sherman-Palladino too, and is one of many Gilmore Girls actors in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
While Borstein is a great comedic talent, it's fair to say that the Sookie recasting worked. Melissa McCarthy is superb in the role, bringing a great mix of charm, humor, and warmth in a way that's much more subtle and toned-down to her later, bigger movie roles. Borstein likely would've brought something very different to Sookie, so it was perhaps a good thing that the character was ultimately recast for Gilmore Girls.