Let’s be honest: When you think of “Comfort TV,” Gilmore Girls is at the top of the list.
The mother-daughter dramedy premiered 25 years ago on October 5, 2000, on The WB. Back then, we had no idea the cultural impact it would still have on us today.
The series followed the iconic Lorelai Gilmore and her precocious daughter, Rory, as well as their family and friends, in the charming small town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut.
After the series ended in 2007, Netflix added it to its streaming library in 2014 and revived the series with the four-episode Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life in 2016.
But what motivates new and old fans to watch Gilmore Girls repeatedly? Let’s take a look.
Gilmore Girls Portrayed Three Generations of Strong Women
If you’re like me, you probably watched Gilmore Girls during its first run and related more to Rory. Who didn’t love a strong, nerdy girl who went after her dreams and still had boys flocking after her?
Many of us dreamed about being like Lorelai since she longed to open her own inn with Sookie, and she later achieved that goal.
Lorelai Gilmore was an icon for single mothers everywhere. She had no help from her parents or Rory’s dad, but she loved and raised her. It was them against the world.
While they were close, they were more like friends. It was a concept that hadn’t been attempted before, and viewers, especially women, appreciated it.
While I enjoyed several of Lorelai and Rory’s romantic relationships, it wasn’t what drove the series. They were strong with or without men. What a concept.
It’s something that even I initially had difficulty with, since I watched A Year in the Life, wondering which man won Rory’s heart (we all knew Lorelai would eventually marry Luke). I rooted for Logan.
Instead, I should have asked which paper Rory would write for, or if she’d use her journalism degree to try her hand at penning a book. Back then, shipping wars were fierce, but Rory still survived on her own.
We haven’t even begun to discuss the matriarch, Emily Gilmore. She was one of the most complex and well-written characters of the series.
As someone who loves parties, I would do anything to host a party like Emily Gilmore. She was elegant, direct, and knew how to take control. She often seems like she’s misunderstood. She’s not really a villain, though I don’t like the way she treated Lorelai.
Emily loved Lorelai and Rory, and anytime she thought she lost them, she crumbled. Sometimes her actions were manipulative, but she would do anything for them. She was adaptable and resilient as she adjusted to her new normal without Richard.
Fall is the Perfect Time to Watch Gilmore Girls Again
Fall is just starting, and while you can binge-watch Gilmore Girls anytime, it’s often associated with Fall.
Even the opening credits scream fall when you think of the red and orange leaves and pumpkin-spiced coffee.
The series spent the most time in Fall and Winter, with sprinklings in the other seasons. The fall decor, pumpkins, and fashion just hit you in the face. New England is stunning in the fall, when the changing colors are at their peak.
There were many fall events, including two episodes that feature Rory’s October 8th birthday and two Thanksgiving episodes.
The fall installments also showcased Rory returning to school, including escapades like a Dance-a-Thon, and the Life and Death Brigade’s Forest Party.
Fans Long For That Sense of Community of a Small Town
Many fans crave comfort shows as a way to escape from their everyday lives. Shows about small towns allow us to enjoy life at a slower pace than the everyday hustle and bustle.
Many times, we watched and learned about the town’s customs, such as the Town Meetings or the Bracebridge Dinner, complete with a Victorian-style dinner and horse-drawn carriage rides.
We felt like we were part of the celebration and romance, just like Luke and Lorelai or Jess and Rory.
It’s more than that, as we derived comfort from knowing that we’ll see cheery and upbeat themes and characters in these towns when we needed to believe in something.
Gilmore Girls isn’t the only show that showcases a charming small town. Netflix also houses recent hits like Sweet Magnolias and Ginny & Georgia.
While both series feature strong communities and local traditions, Ginny & Georgia also showcases a strong mother-daughter relationship, albeit more dramatic than that of Gilmore Girls.
Gilmore Girls knew how to appeal to audiences of all ages and show them how communities work together. Rory Gilmore became who she was because of Stars Hollow.
Gilmore Girls Featured Strong and Complex Friends That Modern TV Does Not
We’ve complained frequently that TV lately lacks genuine friendships. Gilmore Girls had that in spades.
I loved Rory’s friendships because they were so different from one another. She and Lane were childhood friends, and their friendship played a central role in the series.
Since Mrs. Kim was strict with Lane, Rory often hid Lane’s passion for music from her mother and even let her crash in her Yale dorm room.
Lorelai acted like a second mother to Rory’s friends, but especially Lane, encouraging her and her mother to make peace.
While Paris and Rory began as rivals, I loved how their friendship evolved. It’s one of the most underappreciated female friendships, but they challenged each other.
They were there for each other during dark times, such as when Paris got rejected from Harvard and Logan broke Rory’s heart.
Paris also felt close to Lorelai and visited her often when Rory dropped out of Yale, thinking up ways to help her friend.
It’s not that I didn’t enjoy Lorelai’s relationships. Who wouldn’t want to work with their best friend? That would have been my dream to own an inn like Lorelai and Sookie.
However, that came with the challenges of keeping personal issues at home and not overstepping, and they both wanted dirt on each other’s love life. Sookie always wanted to know more about Luke and Lorelai.
Michel sometimes felt like the younger brother who didn’t fit in, but he loved Lorelai, even when he teased her mercilessly.
They had a fun yet sarcastic sibling chemistry, where they teased each other but also supported one another. I loved it when Michel made Lorelai attend a cotillion, and he went with her.
He was supportive of her relationship with Luke, and it was a nice touch that Michel attended the wedding, given that they had been friends for years.
We barely see these types of moments on television anymore.
We Need Gilmore Girls In This Uncertain World
There is so much violence in the world and on television, and we’ve become bogged down with it.
Many fans prefer to watch Gilmore Girls because the series evokes cozy, warm feelings — the perfect ambiance for comfort TV.
There were no violent scenes. The only fight scene I recall was Luke and Christopher punching each other over Lorelai. That was just stupid love triangle stuff, and not graphic violence.
The series brings nostalgia and comfort, knowing that most problems would be resolved by the end of the episode.
I know it’s helped me beat the winter blahs. All I had to do was turn on an episode of Lorelai’s love of snow and the holidays, and be reminded of the good things about winter.
We need to kick back with junk food and Luke’s coffee and indulge in more Gilmore Girls episodes as the 25th Anniversary approaches.
Share your favorite episodes or seasons to inspire others to know where to start. Do you plan to binge the entire series or rewatch only a few episodes?
Don’t be shy. We’d love to discuss all things Gilmore Girls.
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