Gilmore Girls

Premise

Gilmore Girls follows the lives of single mother Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) and her academically minded teenage daughter, Lorelai "Rory" Gilmore (Alexis Bledel), living in the quaint fictional town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut. Lorelai dreams of owning her own inn, and Rory plans to attend Harvard University. Eventually, Rory chooses Yale University, her grandfather's alma mater, while Lorelai opens and operates the Dragonfly Inn.

The show's pilot introduces Lorelai's wealthy estranged parents, Emily (Kelly Bishop) and Richard Gilmore (Edward Hermann), whom Lorelai must approach for assistance in paying Rory's tuition to attend the prestigious Chilton Preparatory School. They agree to a loan, on the condition that Lorelai and Rory have dinner with them every Friday. This arrangement sets up one of the show's primary conflicts, as the Gilmores are now forced to face their differences and complicated past.

Rory's best friend, Lane Kim (Keiko Agena), must conceal her "rebellious" interests from her authoritarian mother, Mrs. Kim (Emily Kuroda), a strict, religious, Korean immigrant, who runs an antique shop. She finds ways, many peculiar, to secretly date, listen to rock music, and express her love for pop culture, while Mrs. Kim repeatedly attempts to set her up with a Korean boy who will be a doctor. After many setups, Lane falls in love with a member of her band, Dave Rygalski (Adam Brody). Dave was written out in the following season to accommodate actor Adam Brody's exit. Lane then began dating another band member, Zach Van Gerbig (Todd Lowe), eventually marrying and having twin boys.

Sookie St. James (Melissa McCarthy) is Lorelai's "best friend" and chef at the Independence Inn, which Lorelai runs. She has a bubbly personality and is accident-prone, but is known for her cooking skills. Later, she becomes romantically involved with the inn's vegetable supplier, Jackson Belleville (Jackson Douglas). They end up marrying and having children together.

Also central to Gilmore Girls is Luke Danes (Scott Patterson), owner of Luke's Diner, where Lorelai and Rory frequently dine. Present for many of Rory's milestones, he becomes a surrogate father figure to her. Later, Luke and Lorelai begin a romantic relationship. In A Year in the Life, Lorelai and Luke marry in the last episode, Fall.

The townspeople of Stars Hollow are a constant presence—including the gossiping, flirtatious Miss Patty (Liz Torres) and the quirky Kirk Gleason (Sean Gunn). Along with series-long and season-long arcs, Gilmore Girls is also episodic in nature, with mini-plots within each episode, such as town events, problems at Lorelai's inn, or school projects of Rory's.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main article: List of Gilmore Girls characters{{!}}List of ''Gilmore Girls'' characters

Main

• Lauren Graham as Lorelai Gilmore: Independent, 32-year-old single mom who runs a local inn with a deep love for pop culture and coffee. She gave birth to Rory when she was 16 years old.
• Alexis Bledel as Rory Gilmore: Precocious and academically driven only daughter of Lorelai, almost 16 at the start of the show.
• Melissa McCarthy as Sookie St. James: Lorelai's chirpy best friend and chef at the inn.
• Keiko Agena as Lane Kim: Rory's best friend who lives a secret life, defying her strict, religious mother by becoming a rocker.
• Yanic Truesdale as Michel Gerard: The grumpy French concierge at Lorelai and Sookie's inn.
• Scott Patterson as Luke Danes: Grouchy but kind-hearted diner owner; Lorelai's friend and eventual love interest.
• Kelly Bishop as Emily Gilmore: Matriarch of the Gilmore family, who lives as a high society housewife. She and Lorelai have a strained relationship.
• Edward Herrmann as Richard Gilmore: Patriarch of the Gilmore family, who works in insurance. He and Emily aid in Rory's school fees and college fees.
• Liza Weil as Paris Geller: Rory's feisty nemesis and eventual best friend throughout high school and college. (main seasons 2–7; recurring season 1)
• Jared Padalecki as Dean Forester: Rory's first boyfriend, who moved to Stars Hollow from Chicago. (main seasons 2–3; recurring seasons 1, 4–5)
• Milo Ventimiglia as Jess Mariano: Luke's troubled nephew who falls for Rory and becomes an intense but short-lived boyfriend. (main seasons 2–3; recurring season 4; guest season 6)
• Sean Gunn as Kirk Gleason: Quirky resident of Stars Hollow who works numerous jobs around the town.
• Chris Eigeman as Jason Stiles: a boyfriend of Lorelai and short-lived business partner of Richard. (main season 4)
• Matt Czuchry as Logan Huntzberger: Rory's season 5–7 boyfriend, the heir of a New York Times-esque publishing family resembling that of the Ochs-Sulzberger family. (main seasons 6–7; recurring season 5)

Recurring

• Liz Torres as Patricia "Miss Patty" LaCosta, the friendly and kind-hearted town dance teacher and gossip
• Emily Kuroda as Mrs. Kim, Lane's strict Seventh-day Adventist mother who has a strained relationship with her daughter
• Sally Struthers as Babette Dell, Lorelai's eccentric but friendly neighbor and town gossip - she is close friends with Patty
• Jackson Douglas as Jackson Belleville, Sookie's husband and a local farmer. He and Sookie share two children, David and Martha, throughout the show
• Michael Winters as Taylor Doose, the uptight town Selectman who often irrates Luke with his requests and rules
• David Sutcliffe as Christopher Hayden, Rory's father and Lorelai's on-off love interest (seasons 1–3; 5–7)
• Shelly Cole as Madeline Lynn, Paris and Rory's high school friend (seasons 1–4)
• Teal Redmann as Louise Grant, Paris and Rory's high school friend (seasons 1–4)
• Scott Cohen as Max Medina, Lorelei's first boyfriend on the show and Rory's English teacher at Chilton (seasons 1–3)
• Chad Michael Murray as Tristin Dugray, a wealthy Chilton student who has a crush on Rory (season 1; guest season 2)
• Dakin Matthews as Hanlin Charleston, Headmaster of Chilton and friend of Richard and Emily (seasons 1–3, guest seasons 5 & 7)
• Marion Ross as Lorelai "Trix" Gilmore, Richard's mean mother (seasons 1; 3–4)
• Lisa Ann Hadley as Rachel, Luke's photographer and traveler ex-girlfriend (season 1)
• Alex Borstein as Drella, the Independence Inn harpist (season 1), and "Miss Celine", Emily Gilmore's seamstress (season 5)
• Rose Abdoo as Gypsy, the town mechanic (seasons 2–7)
• Carole King as Sophie Bloom, owner of Sophie's Music shop which Lane frequents (seasons 2, 5–6)
• Biff Yeager as Tom, a Stars Hollow contractor (seasons 2–4; 6)
• Emily Bergl as Francie Jarvis, a student at Chilton (seasons 2–3)
• Todd Lowe as Zach Van Gerbig, Lane's bandmate and eventual boyfriend (seasons 3–7)
• John Cabrera as Brian Fuller, Lane's bandmate (seasons 3–7)
• Tricia O'Kelley as Nicole Leahy, Luke's season 3–4 lawyer girlfriend and short-term wife (seasons 3–4)
• Arielle Kebbel as Lindsay Lister, Dean's girlfriend and wife (seasons 3–5)
• Adam Brody as Dave Rygalski, Lane's first boyfriend.
• Sebastian Bach as Gil, Lane's older bandmate (seasons 4–7)
• Danny Strong as Doyle McMaster, Paris's boyfriend and one-time editor of the Yale Daily News (seasons 4–7)
• Kathleen Wilhoite as Liz Danes, Luke's flighty and irresponsible sister and Jess's mother (seasons 4–7)
• Michael DeLuise as TJ, Luke's dopey but kind-hearted brother-in-law (seasons 4–7)
• Wayne Wilcox as Marty, Rory's friend at Yale who has unrequited feelings for her (seasons 4–5; 7)
• Rini Bell as Lulu Kuschner, Kirk's girlfriend (seasons 4–7)
• Alan Loayza as Colin McCrae, Logan's wealthy friend (seasons 5–6)
• Tanc Sade as Finn, Logan's wealthy friend (seasons 5–6)
• Gregg Henry as Mitchum Huntzberger, Logan's father and a newspaper mogul (seasons 5–7)
• Vanessa Marano as April Nardini, Luke's "long lost" pre-teen daughter whom he finds out about in season 6 (seasons 6–7)
• Sherilyn Fenn as Anna Nardini, April's mother and Luke's ex-girlfriend (seasons 6–7)
• Krysten Ritter as Lucy, Rory's friend (season 7)
• Michelle Ongkingco as Olivia Marquont, Rory's friend (season 7)

Production

Background

Amy Sherman-Palladino, who came from a background of writing for half-hour sitcoms, had Gilmore Girls approved by The WB after several of her previous pitches were turned down. On a whim, she suggested a show about a mother and daughter but had put little thought into the idea. Stars Hollow was inspired by and is loosely based on the villages of Washington Depot, Connecticut; West Hartford, Connecticut, and the town of New Milford.

Once the setting was established, Gilmore Girls developed as a mixture of sitcom and family drama. The show's pace, dialogue, and focus on class divisions was heavily inspired by the screwball comedies of the 1930s and Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy films. Sherman-Palladino was also influenced by the "acerbic wit" of Dorothy Parker.

The pilot episode of Gilmore Girls received financial support from the script development fund of the Family Friendly Programming Forum, which includes some of the nation's leading advertisers, making it one of the first networks shows to reach the air with such funding. The show was green-lit by The WB, and Sherman-Palladino exercised control over all aspects of its production. Her husband Daniel Palladino was a consultant and occasional writer for the first season, then agreed to quit his producer position on Family Guy to commit to Gilmore Girls; he became an executive producer with the second season and also played a major role. The show's third executive producer was Gavin Polone.

Casting

Alexis Bledel was cast as Rory despite having no previous acting experience. Sherman-Palladino was drawn to her shyness and innocence, which she said was essential for the character, and felt she photographed well. Lauren Graham was pursued by the casting directors from the start of the process, but she was committed to another show on NBC. A week before the shooting, they had still failed to cast Lorelai, so they asked Graham to audition anyway. Sherman-Palladino cast her that day, on the hope that Graham's other show (M.Y.O.B., which was burned off as a summer replacement series several months before the premiere of Gilmore Girls) would be canceled, which it soon was. She later explained how Graham met all the criteria she had been looking for: "Lorelai's a hard fucking part. You've got to be funny, you've got to talk really fucking fast, you've got to be able to act, you've got to be sexy, but not scary sexy. You've got to be strong, but not like 'I hate men. Graham and Bledel met the night before they started filming the pilot.

In casting the grandparents, Sherman-Palladino had veteran actor Edward Herrmann in mind for Richard and was delighted when he agreed. Kelly Bishop, a fellow New York stage actress, was cast straight after her audition; Sherman-Palladino recalled knowing immediately "and there's Emily". The Stars Hollow diner owner was originally a woman, but the network said it needed more men and Scott Patterson was cast as Luke. It was advertised as a guest role, but Patterson said he treated the pilot as "a chemistry test" and he was promoted to series regular.

In the pilot, Sookie was played by Alex Borstein, but she could not be released from her Mad TV contract. She was replaced by Melissa McCarthy, who refilmed Sookie's scenes. The role of Dean also changed after the pilot, with the original actor replaced by newcomer Jared Padalecki. Lane was based on Sherman-Palladino's friend and fellow producer Helen Pai; Japanese-American actress Keiko Agena was cast in the role when they could not find an appropriate Korean-American actress. Liza Weil auditioned to play Rory, and while she was considered wrong for the part Sherman-Palladino liked her so much that she wrote the role of Paris especially for her.

Writing

Headed by Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino from seasons 1 to 6, Gilmore Girls had a small writing staff that changed regularly throughout the series. The Palladinos wrote most episodes and reviewed and reworked the dialogue in episodes allocated to others. As such, the show is considered to have a distinctive "voice". Sherman-Palladino said "every draft either I write, or it passes through my hands ... so that there is a consistency of tone. It's very important that it feels like the same show every week because it is so verbal." The main job of the writers' room was to help develop storylines and create detailed episode outlines. Notable writers who worked on the show include Jenji Kohan, Bill Prady, Jane Espenson, Rebecca Rand Kirshner, and Janet Leahy.

As signaled by its tagline "Life's short. Talk fast", Gilmore Girls is known for its fast-paced dialogue and "witty repartee". Sherman-Palladino wanted snappy delivery from the characters because she believes that "comedy dies slow", which required large volumes of dialogue to fill the hour-long time slot. Patterson later said that the pace of the dialogue led both him and Graham to quit smoking: "She needed her wind, and I needed my wind."

Much of the dialogue is peppered with references to film, television shows, music, literature, and celebrity culture. The range of references is broad, summarized by critic Ken Tucker as "some cross between Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Ulysses". At the start, she argued with the network about the frequently old-fashioned references; when she refused to remove a comment about Oscar Levant, she felt the executives adopted an attitude of "Let the crazy woman dig her own grave."

In contrast to the rapid-fire dialogue, the storylines move slowly. Sherman-Palladino's motto was "make the small big, make the big small", which she learned while writing for Roseanne. She chose to be "very stingy with events", and the drama is low-key because "sometimes the average everyday things are more impactful". Key incidents often take place off-screen and are only revealed through character conversations, which journalist Constance Grady says is because "On Gilmore Girls, the explosion is never what matters: It's the fallout." though there is speculation that she delivered scripts at the last minute to avoid its input.

Sherman-Palladino treated Lorelai as a reflection of herself. Her husband said: "Amy writing for Lorelai Gilmore has always been really special. No surprise, they're kind of doppelgängers ... Amy and Lorelai are very, very similar. That character is a great cipher for a lot of what Amy is and has been, from the very beginning."

Filming

The pilot episode was shot in the Toronto suburb of Unionville. The rest of the series was filmed at the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California. Exterior scenes of Stars Hollow, along with those at Luke's Diner and Miss Patty's dance studio, were all filmed on the backlot—with dozens of background actors to make it look like a town. Production designers regularly decorated the town square with fake leaves or fake snow to make it look like a New England fall or winter. Interiors of Lorelai's house and inn, and all scenes at Yale and the Gilmore mansion, were filmed on a sound stage. Very occasionally, the show was filmed on location. The exterior shots of Rory's preparatory school, Chilton, were filmed at Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, California. Rory's visit to Harvard was filmed at UCLA, the first visit to Yale was filmed at Pomona College, and subsequent Yale shots were filmed at sound stages in Burbank, California, and USC.

The shot of Stars Hollow in the first frame of the show's opening credits is actually a panoramic view of South Royalton, Vermont.

Gilmore Girls relied on a master shot filming style, in which a scene is filmed to frame characters and their dialogue together within a long and uninterrupted single take; often illustrated through another method regularly employed on the show, the walk and talk. Sherman-Palladino said, "There's an energy and style to our show that's very simple, in my mind ... [it] almost needs to be shot like a play. That's how we get our pace, our energy, and our flow ... I don't think it could work any other way."

It took eight working days to shoot an episode, and days were regularly 14–20 hours long. Graham said: "We filmed alongside The West Wing, and Aaron Sorkin shows are known for having the worst hours ever, they go on and on, but we were always there even after they had gone home, because you couldn't change a word of the script." The cast was required to be word-perfect in every scene while also reciting large amounts of dialogue at speed. Matt Czuchry, who had a main role for the final three seasons, said, "The pace of the dialogue was what made that show incredibly unique, and also incredibly difficult as an actor. To be able to maintain that speed, tone, and at the same time, try to make layered choices was a great experience to have early in my career. It really challenged me." The combination of the difficult dialogue and long takes meant each scene had to be shot many times; Graham said in 2015: "never before or since have I done as many takes of anything". Bledel recalled that one scene required 38 takes. Graham added, "That show—as fun and breezy and light as it is—is technically really challenging."

Music

Gilmore Girls non-diegetic score was composed by singer-songwriter Sam Phillips throughout its entire run. Sherman-Palladino, who served as the music supervisor of the series, was a big fan of hers and secured her involvement. For the score's instrumental arrangement, Phillips primarily used her voice and an acoustic guitar, and on occasion included piano, violin, and drums. Many of the musical cues are accompanied by melodic "la-la"s and "ahh"s, which developed because Sherman-Palladino wanted the score to sound connected to the girls themselves, almost like "an extension of their thoughts ... if they had music going in their head during a certain emotional thing in their life." Sherman-Palladino felt the score elevated the series "because it wasn't a wasted element in the show. Everything was trying to say a little something, add a little something to it." Several of Phillips's album tracks are also played in the show, and she made an appearance in the season six finale "Partings", performing part of "Taking Pictures".

The theme song is a version of Carole King's 1971 song "Where You Lead". King made a new recording specially for Gilmore Girls: a duet with her daughter Louise Goffin. She was happy that it gave the song "a deeper meaning of love between a mother and her child". King appeared in several episodes as Sophie, the town music shop owner, and performed a brief portion of her song "I Feel the Earth Move" in the revival.

Music also plays a large part in the show as a frequent topic of conversation between characters and in live performances within scenes and at the end of episodes. Musical acts that made appearances include The Bangles, Sonic Youth, Sparks, and the Shins. Grant-Lee Phillips appears in at least one episode per season as the town's troubadour, singing his own songs and covers. In 2002, a Gilmore Girls soundtrack was released by Rhino Records, titled Our Little Corner of the World: Music from Gilmore Girls. The CD booklet features anecdotes from show producers Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino about the large part music has played in their lives.

A selection of Phillips's score for the series was released on the Mutant label, in association with Warner Bros' WaterTower Music, in November 2025 on vinyl, cassette, CD and streaming platforms.{{cite web |title='Gilmore Girls' Official Soundtrack Releases 25 Years After Show's Premiere |access-date=November 16, 2025}}{{cite web |title=Gilmore Girls soundtrack finally available 25 years later |access-date=November 16, 2025}}{{cite web |title=Gilmore Girls - Soundtrack from the Original Series |access-date=November 6, 2025}}{{cite web |title=Gilmore Girls (Soundtrack from the Original Series) |access-date=November 16, 2025}}

Track Listing

Developments

Change of showrunner

In 2006, the WB merged with UPN to form a new network, The CW. Gilmore Girls survived the merger, selected as one of seven WB shows to be transferred for a new season, but it resulted in a significant change. In April that year, it was announced that Sherman-Palladino and her husband could not reach an agreement with The CW and would leave the show when their contracts expired that summer. Journalist Michael Ausiello said of the decision: "The thought of Gilmore Girls heading into what is likely to be its final season (and its first on a brand-new network) without its mama or her right-hand man is unfathomable." Discussing the departure later, Sherman-Palladino reflected on the contract dispute in an interview with Vulture, saying:

David S. Rosenthal, who worked on the show as a writer and producer for season 6, was selected by Sherman-Palladino to replace her as showrunner. Commenting on this change, an article in Wired says: "the Palladinos had written the majority of the episodes up to that point, and their distinctive rhythms and obsessions were what defined Gilmore Girls. What remains after their departure is something that seems like Gilmore Girls Adjacent more than anything."

Cancellation

There was speculation during the seventh season that it would be the show's final year, as Graham's and Bledel's contracts were both coming to an end. As negotiations continued between the actresses and the network, Rosenthal planned a finale that "could serve as an ending or a beginning of a new chapter and a new season". Graham later said that by the end of the filming schedule "there was a 50/50 chance we'd be returning", and she requested that the finale provide "an opportunity to say goodbye" to the characters, in case of cancellation. Due to the uncertainty, the cast and crew did not have a final wrap party or an opportunity to say farewells.

The CW initially considered bringing the show back for a shortened, 13-episode season, but decided against it. Graham said the possibility of returning fell through because "We were trying to find a way we [she and Bledel] could have a slightly easier schedule, and there was really no way to do that and still have it be Gilmore Girls."

Revival

Main article: Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life{{!}}Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life

Because the final season was not written by the series creator, and the new writers had not known that the finale was definitely the last episode, Graham noted that many fans "were disappointed with how it ended". In 2009, Sherman-Palladino expressed interest in a Gilmore Girls film, to finish the series as she originally intended. Over the following years, fans and journalists continued to ask if the show would return. Privately, Sherman-Palladino stayed in contact with Graham, Bledel, Patterson, and Bishop to discuss the possibility, but nothing came to fruition.

In June 2015, for the 15th anniversary of the show, the cast and showrunners reunited for a special panel at the ATX Television Festival. When asked about a possible revival, Sherman-Palladino told the audience "I'm sorry, there's nothing in the works at the moment." The hype generated by the reunion, however, empowered Sherman-Palladino to pitch new episodes and encouraged Netflix to produce them. In October 2015 – eight years after the show had ended – TVLine reported that the streaming channel struck a deal with Warner Bros to revive the series in a limited run, consisting of four 90-minute episodes, written and directed by Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino. The Palladinos explained that it felt like the right time creatively to continue the story, and that the freedom provided by Netflix made it possible.

The revival miniseries, titled Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, was filmed from February to May 2016. Aside from Edward Herrmann, who died two years prior, every cast member who received a main credit on the show returned for at least a scene, while many supporting characters also made an appearance. The sets all had to be rebuilt from scratch, using nothing but photos and footage from the original series. The revival was released on Netflix on November 25, 2016, to positive reviews. There is speculation regarding a possible second revival, with Netflix reportedly keen.

Broadcast history

Gilmore Girls first season commenced on The WB in the Thursday 8pm/7pm Central time slot, as a lead-in for Charmed. Renewed for a second season, the show was relocated on Tuesdays 8pm/7pm, the time slot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which transferred to UPN, and served as a lead-in for Smallville, which became an instant hit and always beat Gilmore Girls in the ratings. During seasons 4 and 5, it led into One Tree Hill, which slowly became a hit. In season 6, it led into Supernatural, which became another hit for The WB and continued on until 2020. Both series were led by former Gilmore Girls actors, with One Tree Hill starring Chad Michael Murray, and Jared Padalecki as a co-star in Supernatural.

First-season reruns aired on Monday nights from March 5 until April 9, 2001, during a mid-season hiatus of Roswell, to build audience awareness of the series. An additional run of the first season aired in 2002 on Sunday nights under the title Gilmore Girls Beginnings (which featured a modified opening sequence voiced with a monologue detailing the premise from Graham), and was one of two shows on The WB to have "Beginnings" in its title for reruns, along with 7th Heaven.

Syndication

In the US, the show began its syndicated release on ABC Family in 2004. The network continued to air the show daily under its new name Freeform until the fall of 2018, when those rights moved to Pop. In October 2015, Gilmore Girls began running on Up TV, which continues to air it to this day. Josef Adalian of Vulture commented on the rarity of Freeform and Up TV carrying a series of its type in syndication: "not that many non-procedural, hour-long shows from the early part of the century—particularly those from a small network such as WB—are still even airing regularly on one cable network, let alone two." Up TV showed Gilmore Girls 1,100 times in its first year; Freeform aired it 400 times in the same period.

From 2009 to 2013, Gilmore Girls also aired in weekend timeslots on SOAPnet. The series began running on Logo TV in August 2020. Since 2016, UP TV has aired a weeklong marathon of all episodes of Gilmore Girls around the Thanksgiving holiday. As the network maintains a family-friendly focus and programming schedule, some minor dialogue edits are made in a number of episodes, mainly when "hell" and "damn" are said, though all episodes are carried. Start TV began airing Gilmore Girls on May 13, 2025, as part of Warner Bros.' commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the series. Hallmark Channel began airing Gilmore Girls on August 25, 2025.

In the UK, the series premiered on Nickelodeon in 2003. Only the first three seasons were shown, with episodes edited for content, and some, like "The Big One", dropped entirely. The series was subsequently picked up by the Hallmark Channel, which gave UK premieres to seasons four and five. It was rerun in its entirety on E4 until January 2012. The show moved to 5Star, then in 2018 changed to daily screenings on the Paramount Network.

In Ireland, the series aired its entire run on RTÉ One on Sundays, before moving to TG4. In Australia, on the Nine Network it premiered on December 12, 2001, at 7.30pm and from March 16, 2015, Gilmore Girls began airing again at 5.30pm weeknights on digital terrestrial network GEM. In 2025, it streamed on 7plus and Disney+.

Home media and online

Warner Home Video released all seven seasons of Gilmore Girls on DVD, in regions 1, 2 and 4, mainly in full-screen 4:3 ratio due to Amy Sherman-Palladino's preference at the time of original release. The full series DVD boxset was released in 2007. Special features include deleted scenes, three behind-the-scenes featurettes, cast interviews, montages, and one episode commentary (for "You Jump, I Jump, Jack").

On October 1, 2014, all seven seasons of the series began streaming on Netflix's "Watch Instantly" service in the United States; all episodes, including the three seasons before The WB transitioned the series to 16:9 HD broadcast from season four on, are in that format. On July 1, 2016, Gilmore Girls became available on Netflix worldwide. In an unprecedented move, Gilmore Girls became available to stream on Disney+ in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Canada and other regions via the Star hub from the start of early 2025. All seasons of Gilmore Girls are also streaming on Hulu, Disney+ and available for digital download on the iTunes Store, Amazon.com and other digital sales websites, with all digital sites offering all episodes in HD.

Gilmore Girls will be released on Blu-ray on May 5, 2026.

Merchandising

The merchandising and Tie-ins that came from the show have ranged through several official merchandise and fan driven merch. With the more recent rise of popularity of the show from it being added to streaming platform, we have been seeing more and more cutesy merchandise that is linked to the show, such as mugs, clothing, themed coffee with ties to Luke's Diner. With in recent year we saw some of the cast reunite for a Walmart advert, where they also carried certain items of merch. Through this advert who played Lorelai Gilmore, Luke Danes and Kirk Gleason, respectively, reunited for a new Walmart holiday advert.

Reception

Critical response

Gilmore Girls premiered to critical acclaim. Upon debut, Gilmore Girls was lauded for the distinct, dialogue-infused style created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, the strength of the dynamic familial themes, and the performances of its cast, particularly leading star Lauren Graham. On Metacritic, the first season has an average rating of 81 out of 100 from 26 reviews, indicating "universal praise".

In the San Francisco Chronicle, John Carman wrote "It's cross-generational, warm-the-cockles viewing, and it's a terrific show. Can this really be the WB, niche broadcaster to horny mall rats?" Caryn James of The New York Times called it a "witty, charming show" that "is redefining family in a realistic, entertaining way for today's audience, all the while avoiding the sappiness that makes sophisticated viewers run from anything labeled a 'family show. Ray Richmond of The Hollywood Reporter declared it "a genuine gem in the making, a family-friendly hour unburdened by trite cliche or precocious pablum," while Jonathan Storm of The Philadelphia Inquirer dubbed it "a touching, funny, lively show that really does appeal to all ages". David Zurawik of The Baltimore Sun called Gilmore Girls "One of the most pleasant surprises of the new season".

For the second-season premiere, Hal Boedeker of the Orlando Sentinel praised the show as "one of television's great, unsung pleasures", and said "Series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino writes clever dialogue and ingratiating comedy, but she also knows how to do bittersweet drama." Emily Yahr of The Washington Post retrospectively called the second installment "Pretty much a perfect season of television". Viewers were concerned that the show would suffer when Rory left for college after season 3, and Yahr commented that the show was not "the same" from this point but gave seasons four and five a positive 7/10.

The last two seasons were less positively received. Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune described the sixth season as "uneven at best", explaining, "the protracted fight between Lorelai and Rory Gilmore left the writers scrambling to cram the show with filler plots that stretched many fans' patience to the limit." The introduction of Luke's daughter has been described as "pretty much the most hated plot device in Gilmore Girls history".

Gilmore Girls was listed as one of Time magazine's "All-Time 100 TV Shows". and was ranked the 87th greatest American television series in TV (The Book), authored by critics Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz in 2016. Entertainment Weekly placed Gilmore Girls 32nd on its "New TV Classics" list, and included the show on its end-of-the-2000s "best-of" list, and The A.V. Club named "They Shoot Gilmores, Don't They?" as one of the best TV episodes of the decade. Alan Sepinwall included the show in his "Best of the 00s in Comedies" list, saying: "Gilmore offered up an unconventional but enormously appealing family ... As the quippy, pop culture-quoting younger Gilmores were forced to reconnect with their repressed elders, creator Amy Sherman-Palladino got plenty of laughs and tears out of the generational divide, and out of showing the family Lorelai created for herself and her daughter in the idealized, Norman Rockwell-esque town of Stars Hollow. At its best, Gilmore Girls was pure, concentrated happiness."

In 2016, Amy Plitt of Rolling Stone reflected on the enduring appeal of Gilmore Girls, and noted that it stood out from other family shows like 7th Heaven, The O.C. and Everwood by being "far richer, deeper ... The characters were funny and relatable, the banter was zinger-heavy, the familial drama was poignant and the romantic chemistry ... was off the charts."

Television ratings

Viewer ratings for Gilmore Girls were not relatively large, but the numbers were a success for the smaller WB network and it became one of their flagship series. For its first season the show aired in the tough Thursday 8pm/7pm Central time slot dominated by Friends on NBC and Survivor on CBS. During season 2, ratings for Gilmore Girls surpassed Buffy and it became The WB's third-highest-rated show, with viewer numbers that grew by double digits in all major demographics. For seasons 4–7, Gilmore Girls was up against the US's top-rated show American Idol, which led to a drop in viewers, but with Season 5 it became The WB's second-most-watched prime time show. The series was often in the top 3 most-viewed shows in its time slot for women under 35.

In its 2016 syndicated release, Gilmore Girls averaged 100,000–120,000 viewers per episode, for an annual viewership of 11 million on each of its networks. According to data from Nielsen, Gilmore Girls was one of the top ten most watched television programs on all platforms in 2021, 2022, and 2023.

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Gilmore Girls{{!}}List of awards and nominations received by ''Gilmore Girls''

Gilmore Girls earned several accolades, but did not receive much attention from the major awarding bodies. Its only Emmy nomination was for Outstanding Makeup for a Series, for the episode "The Festival of Living Art", which it won at the 56th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2004. Michael Ausiello has attributed this to "a notorious bias against the WB". Recognition did come from the American Film Institute, who named Gilmore Girls one of the ten best shows at the American Film Institute Awards of 2002, and the Television Critics Association (TCA) who named it Outstanding New Program of the Year at the 17th TCA Awards in 2001. The TCA Awards also nominated the show for Outstanding Drama in 2001 and at the 18th TCA Awards in 2002, and Outstanding Comedy at the 21st TCA Awards in 2005. The Satellite Awards nominated it for Best Series – Musical or Comedy at the 7th Golden Satellite Awards in 2002 and the 9th Golden Satellite Awards in 2004, while it was nominated for Favorite Television Drama at the 31st People's Choice Awards in 2005. The show was honored by the Viewers for Quality Television with a "seal of quality" in 2000. The series also achieved considerable attention from the Teen Choice Awards, where it received multiple nominations and wins including the award for Choice Comedy Series at the 2005 Teen Choice Awards.

Lauren Graham was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama at the 59th Golden Globe Awards and twice for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series for her work on the first and second seasons, and received five successive nominations for the Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy. and she won the Teen Choice Award for Parental Unit three times. Alexis Bledel won a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Drama Series: Leading Young Actress at the 22nd Young Artist Awards, two Teen Choice Awards for Choice TV Actress Comedy, and a Family Television Award. She was also nominated by the Satellite Awards in 2002. Kelly Bishop was twice nominated for the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Television Series in 2002 and 2004.

Fandom and cultural impact

Gilmore Girls is considered a cult classic, with an "avid following". During the run of the show this was mostly a small but dedicated group, predominantly of females, but its audience has grown steadily since it came off the air. The series experienced a resurgence when it became available on Netflix in October 2014, introducing it to a new generation of viewers. When the revival was announced in 2015, star Lauren Graham credited it to the campaigning and persistence of the fans. At this point, according to The Washington Post, the show became "a quirky pop culture obsession". The enduring popularity of Gilmore Girls is considered to come from its comforting quality and cross-generational appeal. It is particularly known as a show that mothers and daughters watch together.

The Gilmore Girls Fan Fest has become an annual event since its inauguration in 2016. The unofficial festival takes place in Connecticut over an October weekend, and includes panels with cast and crew, themed activities, and screenings. For the 16th anniversary of the show, 200 coffee houses around the US and Canada were transformed into "Luke's Diners". For two weeks in winter 2018–19, Warner Bros. added a special feature to their studio tour that recreated the Stars Hollow set and displayed props and costumes from the series. The show has an active fandom, posting in internet forums and creating work such as fan fiction. Special Gilmore Girls trivia nights have been held at venues in multiple different cities. Actor from the show, Scott Patterson, who played Luke started his coffee brand which features blends themed after the show. His brand, Scotty P's Big Mug Coffee, sells blends themed after places in the show, such as Luke's blend, named after Patterson's character's diner. These coffees can be found on the Warner Bros website and in person at the Warner Bros Studio Tours, allowing fans to feel like they're actually visiting Luke's during the tour.

The Irish Independent has commented that "Even though it preceded social media, Gilmore Girls has been internet gold for the past few years. Thanks to its snappy one-liners, it's spawned thousands of memes that have introduced the BuzzFeed generation to its coffee-swilling, cheeseburger-loving, critically thinking characters." and Family Guy, and featured in an episode of Six Feet Under. A cocktail bar in Brooklyn devised a menu inspired by the show. Warner Bros. has produced a range of Gilmore Girls merchandise, including T-shirts, mugs, and dolls.

Three collections of academic essays that analyze the show have been published: Gilmore Girls and the Politics of Identity (2008); Screwball Television: Critical Perspectives on Gilmore Girls (2010); and Gilmore Girls: A Cultural History (2019). In 2002, four young adult novels were published that adapted scripts from the first and second seasons into novel form, told from Rory's first-person point of view. There have also been several unofficial, fan-based guides to the series, including Coffee At Luke's: An Unauthorized Gilmore Girls Gab Fest (2007), The Gilmore Girls Companion (2010), You've Been Gilmored!: The Unofficial Encyclopedia and Complete Guide to Gilmore Girls (2020), and But I'm a Gilmore!: Stories and Experiences of Honorary Gilmore Girls: Cast, Crew, and Fans The program is also the source of a book club, in which followers aim to read all 339 books referenced on the show, and the inspiration for a cookbook called Eat Like a Gilmore.

Gilmore Girls is the basis for the successful podcast Gilmore Guys (2014–2017), which was named by Time as one of the 50 best podcasts of 2017 – the only television-based inclusion. It follows the hosts, Kevin T. Porter and Demi Adejuyigbe, as they watch every episode of the series. Sadaf Ahsan of the National Post commented that it "helped reignite – and, for some, initiate – fan fervour" towards Gilmore Girls.

Online Fandom

The show has sparked new love from a new form of audience through the show becoming available via platforms like Netflix in 2014. This introduced the show to new type of younger audience who weren't there for the original release of the show.

More example of how annual streaming has become a part of the new fandom, with articles highlighting how during autumn there's an increase in views of Gilmore Girls and related content online through posts and meme posted on social media platforms related to the show. Based on several years of streaming data, the show has gotten a significant boost in viewership every autumn since 2021, when Nielsen began issuing weekly top 10 lists of original and acquired streaming shows in the United States.

Notes

References

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