Ginny and Georgia Miller are like ‘the Gilmore Girls but with bigger boobs’. At least that’s what Georgia wants Ginny (and us) to think. So there was no question about it – I had to binge the whole thing (right now!). Gilmore Girl’s holds a special place in my heart, it got me through a vicious bout of OCD during my A-Levels, and through the pandemic when I re-watched it with my housemate. So I had no doubt that if Ginny and Georgia were the new Gilmore Girls, I would love it. Now, after watching ten hours of Ginny and Georgia, I have to say, it’s not the new Gilmore Girls but I love it none-the-less.
Here are the ways in which I think that Ginny and Georgia is similar and dissimilar to Gilmore Girls.
Similar: Age difference
At the beginning of Gilmore Girls, Rory Gilmore is 15 and Lorelai Gilmore is 32. We first meet Ginny at age 15 and Georgia at 30. This allows for that amazingly close almost sisterly relationship that Lorelai and Rory share on Gilmore Girls to be replicated with Georgia or Ginny (although we quickly learn that their relationship is nowhere near as admirable as the Gilmore Girls).
By the same token, Lorelai prides herself as an independent woman who worked her way up from living in the shed with the newborn Rory next to the inn she worked as a maid at, to becoming the owner of her own inn and a central figure in Stars Hallow (with her new chosen family) and a daughter who is a private school and Harvard graduate. Although some people have criticised her for turning to her wealthy parents for money at times (like for Rory’s Chilton tuition), Lorelai is no doubt a great role model for someone who paved her own path in life (instead of marrying her daughter’s father at the age of 16 as her parents wished). Similarly, Georgia worked her way up in life. We see flashbacks of young Georgia (or Mary) run away from Ginny’s father’s parents who want to bring her up themselves, and we learn that Georgia’s parents abused her. Although Georgia did not take an as admirable path as Lorelai (and is probably not a role model) to her new life working in the Wellsbury Mayor’s Office (with the Mayor as her fiance), she did her best to give her children the best life possible and had a tougher time getting there than Lorelai did.
Dissimilar: Ginny and Georgia is dark
Whilst Wellsbery appears to be a Stars Hallowesque town, all of that changes when Ginny and Georgia come along. Gilmore Girls is easy watching, wholesome and family friendly. Ginny and Georgia, not so much. But I love both just the same.
Similar: Names
Rory’s full name is Lorelai, as when drugged up in labour, Lorelai decided she wanted to name her daughter after herself, as many dads do with their sons. Georgia has her own name traditions, she was originally called Mary but changed it to Georgia whilst in Georgia, Ginny’s real name is Virginia (where she was born), and little brother Austin is also named after his home state.
Dissimilar: Treatment of race
Despite there being a few main characters who are POC on Gilmore Girls, this is never addressed in a significant or constructive way. The Kim family (apart from Lane) are very stereotypical and one-dimensional and no one can forget about Emily Gilmore’s 59 maids (most being non-white and non-American) who were hired and fired ruthlessly.
Ginny and Georgia, on the other hand, did address race. Ginny Miller is biracial and we see her navigate her identity throughout the show. One part that sticks out is her moving essay in episode 8 that sheds light on her experiences of never quite feeling as though she fitted in, both because of her race and because her family moves around a lot, never letting her ‘put down roots’.
Later in the episode, Ginny and her boyfriend Hunter Chen (who is half-Tawainese) got into an argument over Hunter winning the essay competition, because Ginny thought she should have won. The argument quickly turns into what Hunter coins as an ‘Oppression Olympics’ where the couple fight over who’s more damaged by stereotypes and then who’s more white.
The Oppression Olympics scene was not well-received by all viewers, Alex Jung criticizes the story-line as beings surface-level ‘randomized violence’. Jung seems to be arguing that this scene is not there to teach us anything or develop Ginny and Hunter as characters, but instead is just a ‘plot device to clear the path for Marcus [Baker] to become Ginny’s main love interest’. For context, Marcus is Ginny’s neighbour (and best friend Max Baker’s twin brother) who has been sneaking into her window at night for the whole season.
Dissimilar: LGBT characters
In a similar vein to the previous point, Wellsbury, unlike Stars Hollow, has gay people! The bubbly and lovable Max is a lesbian who is excited to get into her first relationship and after an awkward rejection from her straight theatre cast-mate; we get to see her have a meaningful relationship with her first girlfriend Sophie Sanchez. Georgia’s colleague Nick is also an openly gay character who we get to see on the dating scene.
The original Gilmore Girls however has no gay characters, only some distasteful lesbian jokes from Lorelai (ironic since I have a huge crush on her). Despite fans suspecting that the moody yet relatable Independence (and Dragonfly) Inn concierge Michel Gerard is gay, this is not confirmed until the 2016 reboot, where a husband (Frederick) is mentioned in passing (and that’s the extent of it).
All in all, whilst Ginny and Georgia often makes nods to Gilmore Girls, they are completely different shows (both with their own merits and flaws). I just hope we get a Season Two of Ginny and Georgia as I am well and truly hooked. If you still haven’t seen Ginny and Georgia then what are you waiting for? It’s the perfect way to spend your Easter break if you ask me.
Words By: Alice Colton
Edited By: Dasha Pitts-Yushchenko