As soon as the first bright yellow leaf hits the ground, you can feel it in the air. The cooler temps suddenly give us the urge to throw on cable knit sweaters, make a pumpkin latte, and start our yearly rewatch of Gilmore Girls. The show spans seven seasons (plus a revival) and takes place year-round, but for many reasons, it feels like autumn is in its DNA.
A quick Google search of Gilmore Girls will show pictures of its main characters, Lorelei and Rory, most likely wearing fall fashion against some autumnal background. If you do a quick search on Spotify, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of playlists with names like “Gilmore Girls Cozy Fall Vibes.” Even just walking around campus, talking to students about why Gilmore Girls is still so popular, many of them said, “It’s fall, time for my yearly rewatch.” In talking to students, I conducted a poll of who was the best of Rory’s boyfriends (Logan, Jess, Dean, or even Marty). As you can probably guess, Team Logan won overwhelmingly (I’m still a Team Jess stan). The conversations I had with people and the overall excitement have shown how culturally relevant the show still is to a whole new generation. What is it about a show that first premiered twenty-five years ago that makes people of all genders and generations return to it fall after fall?
Warner Bros. Television
Gilmore Girls kind of started as a sleeper hit. It premiered on the WB (now CW) to little fanfare. In its original run, the show averaged around four million viewers per episode and peaked at over seven million. Even the revival, which was released on Netflix in 2016, saw the first episode (of four) drawing nearly six million viewers in the 18-49 demographic. It was created and written by the husband-and-wife team of Daniel and Amy Sherman-Palladino. Amy has talked about how she got the inspiration from a real-life trip to Washington Depot, Connecticut (during autumn, of course), and fell in love with the town. There was a little café that became the inspiration for Luke’s. There was a gorgeous inn that became the inspiration for The Independence Inn, and later, The Dragonfly Inn. There was even the signature gazebo in the middle of the town square that has become basically the iconic image for the show.
This little New England town of Washington Depot still has thousands of visitors year after year, looking to experience the real-life Stars Hollow all these years later. There have even been fan-run festivals formed all over the country over the years that attract thousands of fans. For example, The Fan Fest Society runs an annual weekend convention right down the road in Guilford, Connecticut. This event has real-life cast members who conduct panels, autograph signings, and interactive experiences. There are costume competitions and activities all weekend long, giving fans a chance to connect with other fans. This event, of course, takes place in…you guessed it, every October.
If you’re new to Gilmore Girls, you may be wondering, Why is it so popular? Or who is this for? Well, this show is for anyone who is a human (but even my corgi likes it). There’s something for anyone to relate to. Even if you can’t relate to the close mother-daughter bond of Lorelei and Rory, you may be able to relate to the complicated and often strained mother-daughter relationship of Lorelei and Emily. Or maybe you can relate to having an annoyingly clingy boyfriend like Dean, and you need to take a chance on the well-read bad boy like Jess, even though you know it will crash and burn. Maybe you just like the small-town charm of walking everywhere, knowing everyone (even if they drive you crazy…. looking at you, Taylor) and just having people be there for each other.
I had the pleasure of doing my annual rewatch of Gilmore Girls with my husband last year. He was watching for the first time, and it was a very cool experience seeing it with someone who had fresh eyes. I was careful not to influence his feelings towards characters (he liked Dean…) or spoil any plots. I was prepared for him to enjoy it and move on. He became hooked. He laughed, cried, and overall was swept up in the town of Stars Hollow. When I asked him what he loved the most, he said, “It feels like you’re part of this town. You keep wanting to go back and see Taylor annoy Luke or Michele annoy Lorelei. You’re rooting for Jess and Luke. I just loved the whole thing”. When asked what his favorite relationship from the show was, he stated, “Jess and Luke”.
So, as autumn is just around the corner, make sure to heat your lattes, grab a throw blanket (maybe a Gilmore Girls one from Target), put on a cozy sweater, and enjoy visiting Stars Hollow all over again. Whether this is your first watch through or your thirtieth, you can feel good about the fact that you’re now part of a global fandom of connection, love, and laughs. In the infamous words of Lorelei Gilmore, “It’s not just a show, it’s a lifestyle. It’s a religion”.
