Gilmore Girls Stars Matt Czuchry & Jared Padalecki Reunite In A Panera Ad

Fall is here, which means ‘tis officially the season for your annual Gilmore Girls rewatch. Panera Bread got the memo, too, and reunited Matt Czuchry and Jared Padalecki for a winky spot about the chain’s fall soups — on the surface, anyway. It really sounds like they’re talking about their characters’ unresolved relationship drama.

A Love Triangle, Revisited

“We do this every fall,” begins Padalecki, who played Rory’s first boyfriend, Dean, on Gilmore Girls. “And I’m tired of it, OK? What is wrong with being the reliable one? The one that’s always there for you? I’m sure I know what you’re gonna say. ‘It’s not that fancy.’ But it feels like home.”

The camera then cuts to his surprising lunch companion: Czuchry, who played Logan, the privileged classmate who once won Rory’s heart (much to Dean’s dismay).

“Hey, man, listen, some people just might want something a little more... sophisticated,” Czuchry says.

“No, all they really want is the bad boy,” replies Padalecki. “The one that left without even saying goodbye. And what, now, it’s back now and hotter than ever?”

Hmm... could they be talking about one Jess Mariano? While Milo Ventimiglia does not actually appear in the commercial, his character’s role in the Gilmore Girls love triangle is the subtext here. But in the ad, the “hotter than ever” return is actually Black Bean Soup, and Czuchry sees its charm. “It’s brooding, mysterious, hot,” he says.

“Fireside Chili is hot, too. It’s like the perfect first... bowl of soup,” argues Padalecki, seemingly reminiscing on first love.

“I don’t know, what about Autumn Squash Soup? I mean it’s so... rich,” is Czuchry’s ever-charming reply.

A Panera Bread employee remarks that these guys are “really passionate about soup,” then stirs an emotional reaction by announcing an order of Black Bean Soup for someone named Tess, which rhymes Jess. In fact, Padalecki drops his silverware and storms to the counter as if ready to square up against his high school nemesis.

Keep The Reunions Coming

The playful ad comes on the heels of several other Gilmore Girls reunions. At the 2025 Emmy Awards, Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel — who played the mother-daughter duo, Lorelai and Rory — appeared together to celebrate the show’s 25th anniversary.

And last year, Graham joined Scott Patterson (her on-screen beau, Luke) for a sweet Walmart commercial set in Stars Hollow. While the Panera Bread ad may not be in-universe, per se, it’s certainly a fun way to revive a love triangle that continues to inspire discourse to this day.