‘Bunheads’: ‘Gilmore Girls’ Alumni Head Count

Kelly Bishop, Chris Eigeman, & Gregg Henry

As we embark on the finale of the first season of Amy Sherman-Palladino’s small-town ballet dramedy Bunheads (which airs tonight at 9 on ABC Family), let’s take the opportunity to review all the familiar faces we’ve seen so far this season. Not an episode went by when I didn’t recognize some former citizen of Stars Hollow. It was downright nostalgic seeing them all, plus the quirky-quaint small-town atmosphere and the fast-talking witty banter—it was the next-best thing to watching a Gilmore Girls rerun. I hope we’ll get to see some of them back (and some new GG folks!) in season 2. Here’s the roster so far of Gilmore Girls actors who’ve appeared on Bunheads as of episode 9:

Kelly Bishop (Emily Gilmore) as Fanny Flowers, owner of the dance studio (with Emily’s same glamor, grace, and dry sense of humor)

Sean Gunn (Kirk) as Bash the artisan barista

Rose Abdoo (Gypsy the mechanic) as Sam the terrible tap student

Todd Lowe (Zack, AKA Mr. Lane Kim) as Davis the one-eyed plumber

Gregg Henry (Mitchum Huntzberger) as Rico the shaggy-haired surfer bar owner (talk about a different character from his GG role)

Jon Polito (“Father” in Kirk’s cinematic masterpiece) as Sal, owner of Sal’s Dancy Pants and supplier of dance shoes to Fanny’s studio

Alex Borstein (sassy harpist Drella) as Michelle’s prostitute neighbor in the pilot episode

Chris Eigeman (Jason Stiles, better known as “Digger,” Lorelai’s brief beau) as Conor, the director that Michelle falls into bed with

Biff Yeager (Tom the contractor) as Bob the hardware store manager

Charles C. Stevenson Jr. (Richard’s club buddy Julian Edwards in the season 1 ep “Kill Me Now,” and Reverend Wilder in season 4′s “The Reigning Lorelai”) as “Old Man” in two episodes

Greg Lewis (a town elder) as Floyd the floor guy

Thankfully, some brilliant person who is much more skilled at the Internet than I am put together this photo compilation of almost all of the aforementioned actors in their roles on both shows. (What did we do before Tumblr?) For me, watching Bunheads has been a lot like watching all the former Veronica Mars actors parade through Party Down, and I’m loving it. One of my favorite things about watching TV is spotting actors from my favorite shows. It’s like a big scavenger hunt! So who did I miss in my Gilmore Girls alumni search of Bunheads? Leave any other notable cameos in the comments section, or tweet us @PopCultureNexus and tell us what you thought of the first season.