Entertainment

Is This 'Grey's' Character the New Paris Geller?

by Rachel Simon

It's long been known that the Grey's Anatomy crew is made up of Gilmore Girls fans. Over the course of 10 seasons, they've employed several of the CW show's ensemble, most notably casting Edward Herrmann (Richard) as Norman, The World's Oldest Intern, for a few weeks back in 2007. Along the way, Gilmore alums Liza Weil (Paris), Emily Kuroda (Mrs. Kim), Danny Strong (Doyle), Kathleen Wilhoite (Liz), Vanessa Marano (April), and Gregg Henry (Mitchum) all made brief but memorable appearances on the series. It's clear that the people at Grey's miss Stars Hollow just as much as we do — and we haven't even gotten to Melissa McCarthy (Sookie), Liz Torres (Miss Patty), David Sutcliffe (Christopher), and Keiko Agena (Lane), who've all shown up, or in some cases, have even starred, on Grey's sister shows Private Practice and Scandal, both created by Shonda Rhimes.

Yet, this season, it seems that the writers have taken their Gilmore obsession one step further. With the character of Leah Murphy, an unfeeling, competitive intern first introduced last year, Grey's has done something Gilmore fans have been hoping for since the series' end back in 2007: It's created Paris Geller, 2.0.

For those of you who haven't seen Gilmore Girls since it went off the air (shame on you — it's on ABC Family all the time!), here'a refresher on Paris: She's brilliant, driven, and cutthroat. She's a master at sarcasm and throws out insults with ease, not caring who she hurts as long as it benefits her plan to succeed. Much of her anger comes from her lonely adolescence; an only child to never-there, filthy rich parents, Paris was primarily raised by her nanny.Yet, behind her cruel exterior, Paris is a decent person, a loyal friend to Rory and a loving girlfriend to Doyle.

And now, Leah. A trust fund brat whose mother briefly dated Mark Sloan, it's likely her childhood didn't consist of family dinners and group hugs. From an early age, she knew she wanted to be a doctor, and did whatever it took to get into med school. She's unfailingly sarcastic, oblivious to others' feelings, and incredibly competitive, even getting called a "shark" by her fellow interns. Despite this, though, Leah can be caring and nice — and, as we saw last episode when Arizona rejected her, even vulnerable.

The last time we saw Paris, she had been accepted to every medical and law school she applied to, and was making the tough decision of where to attend. Close to the series finale, she decided that she was going to Harvard Med School, where she would study to become a surgeon.

Starting to sound familiar? Leah, of course, is on the surgical track. It's too early to tell which specialty she'll end up choosing, but there's a decent chance it'll be cardio — a field that Paris would've been more than happy to explore. She even looks a bit like Paris, with her half-back hair and furrowed expression. With all of these similarities, it's hardly far-fetched to assume that the Grey's writers took a page out of Amy Sherman-Palladino's book and revived the character of Paris Geller in the form of Leah Murphy.

And we couldn't be happier. In the seven long years since Gilmore Girls went off the air, our love for the show hasn't waned; if anything, it's grown, with the constant re-runs available to watch and success of alums like Melissa McCarthy. We'd take any Gilmore throwback that came our way, let alone one as great as Grey's' creation of an intern (probably) based off Paris Geller, arguably the best supporting character the CW show ever had. So thank you, Shonda Rhimes and Co., for giving us Gilmore fans a shout-out and, in doing so, reviving one of the most irritating, complex, and lovable TV characters of all time.

Image: ABC/CW