As the weather gets cooler and drinks get warmer, fall is the perfect time to spend cozy evenings inside watching your favorite television shows.
For me, every year when fall rolls around, there’s something that keeps drawing me to “Gilmore Girls,” despite the fact that I’ve seen the show multiple times from beginning to end and I have an ever-growing “New TV Shows to Watch” list. I love the characters as if they were family, and the show reminds me of home, so it’s cozy and comforting.
Whether it’s your first time through or your fifth, here are my top reasons you should definitely binge “Gilmore Girls” this fall.
The Title Sequence
I mean, just look at it. Leaves are changing, and the entire sequence has a tint that’s just so warm. Not only that, but many of the clips they show are heart-warming interactions between Rory and her mother, Lorelai.
The intro song, “Where You Lead” by Carole King, perfectly aligns with the show’s message as well as its cozy vibes.
Small Town Coziness
From almost daily visits to Luke’s diner to hearing town gossip from Babette and Miss Patty, Lorelai and Rory live in the very close-knit community of Stars Hollow, Connecticut. Everyone knows each other, cares about each other, and has genuine conversations with each other.
There’s something about following these characters in this town that starts to feel so familiar. Ever since my first time through the show, I’ve been dying to try a burger, pancakes and especially coffee from Luke’s—not just to fuel my fangirl spirits, but also because I almost feel like I’ve been there before. I’ve just never tasted the food.
In addition to general comfort and familiarity, Stars Hollow offers some adorable fall scenery throughout the show. As a small town, they’re often hosting community-wide events that Rory and Lorelai get roped into — both willingly and unwillingly. While they have different events for every season, fall definitely has some of the best ones — and the best decorations. Stars Hollow transforms into the fall destination of your dreams, lined with pumpkins and fall foliage galore.
Coffee, coffee, coffee
Almost every episode of “Gilmore Girls” has some kind of reference to coffee, whether it’s characters actually drinking it, or Rory and Lorelai talking about how much they need some.
While I love coffee in every season, my fall transition from iced coffee to hot coffee is both physically and emotionally warming. The Gilmore girls only drink hot coffee, but that just makes the show all the more appealing for the cooler months. I find myself craving coffee a lot more often in the fall and winter than in spring or summer, and Lorelai and Rory seem to agree.
Good Study Vibes
Fall is back-to-school season, and schoolwork can start to pile upright in the heart of fall. Rory is an incredibly diligent student, and that’s one of the show’s main focal points. In high school, Rory attends a premiere academy called Chilton, with dreams of going to Harvard. Whether she’s studying hard for an exam, up late writing a paper, or conducting research for a newspaper article, Rory is a great source of motivation for any student. Once Rory graduates, she goes on to attend an Ivy League school, where her studiousness continues.
Throughout both high school and college, Rory is also an avid reader. When she’s not studying or going to a town event, she can almost surely be found with her nose in a book, and her reading repertoire is quite expansive. As a reader myself, I often think of Rory when I’m searching for motivation to get myself through one of my many slumps. Buzzfeed created a list of all 339 books that are mentioned in “Gilmore Girls,” and one of my bucket list goals is to read at least half of them in my lifetime. How Rory does it in merely her first 22 years of life is beyond me.
Outfit Inspiration
“Gilmore Girls” first premiered in 2000, so the styles of the time were definitely different than fashion today. Some of Rory and Lorelai’s outfits are a little questionable to a 2019 watcher. However, some of their best outfits appear in the fall.
In the very first episode, Rory wears a cream-colored oversized sweater in some scenes and a corduroy skirt with Doc Martens later in the episode. In later seasons, both Rory and Lorelai wear some cute and classy cardigans as they transition into more professional roles.
And you never know – with the way fashion cycles, maybe some of the outfits I scoff at now will come back in style and I’ll love them later.
If you haven’t seen the show yet, I definitely recommend watching the episodes in order. The plotlines of “Gilmore Girls” are pretty light, but very in-depth, so skipping episodes will leave you confused. If you’ve already seen the show all the way through and can’t commit to a full re-watch of all seven seasons (and “A Year in the Life” while you’re at it), here are some of the best episodes for all the autumnal comfort.
S1:E7 – “Kiss and Tell”
S3:E8 – “Let the Games Begin”
S3:E9 – “A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving”
S4:E9 – “Ted Koppel’s Big Night Out”
S5:E6 – “Norman Mailer, I’m Pregnant”
S5:E9 – “Emily Says ‘Hello’”
“Gilmore Girls” is currently available to stream on Netflix.