PASADENA, Calif. — The CW would like to bring "Gilmore Girls" back next season, but whether that's going to happen is somewhat out of the network's hands.

The question is whether you could possibly do "Gilmore Girls" without the girls. Neither Lauren Graham (who plays Lorelai) nor Alexis Bledel (Rory) is under contract past the end of the current season.

"Obviously, 'Gilmore Girls' is a show that we're very proud of," said CW Entertainment president Dawn Ostroff. "It still is the second-highest rated show for The CW in women 18-34. And it consistently comes in second in the (Tuesday-at-7 p.m.) time period in women 18-34.

"So it's an important show for us, and we are talking to them."

Beyond that, there's nothing she was willing to say about the negotiations. Which might be bad news. Or not. It's not like Graham or Bledel has said anything categorical about their plans.

But it's getting really late in the season to work out some sort of wrap-up, series-finale episode. And Ostroff said the network wants to do that "when the time comes."

AT THE SAME TIME that Ostroff was telling critics how important "Gilmore Girls" is to The CW, she didn't exactly give the show's show-running executive producer a big vote of confidence.

Responding to complaints from some of the show's fans — many of whom attacked new executive producer David Rosenthal before the season even began — Ostroff began by saying it's "a given" that any show that's been on the air for seven seasons "has its ups and its downs."

"Clearly, with the loss of (series creator) Amy (Sherman-Palladino), we wanted to be able to maintain the quality of the show," Ostroff said. "David Rosenthal was one of her top lieutenants and actually hand-picked by Amy.

"And I think that the first half of the season was a little rocky. He was sort of painted into a story line by the end of last year that he kind of got out of. And I think the second half of the season is much stronger, and I think that the viewers will be pleasantly surprised."

That sounds like a, well, not-so-ringing endorsement.

YOU CAN COUNT on wrestling being a part of The CW lineup for the foreseeable future. Weirdly, Ostroff was more effusive in her praise of "Smackdown!" than she was in her praise of "Gilmore Girls."