As soon as the leaves turn amber and the air smells like fall, almost every girl you know hits play on “Gilmore Girls.” Stars Hollow’s plaid shirts, coffee mugs and quirky town charm feel like autumn’s official love language. Rewatching isn’t just nostalgia; it’s a seasonal ritual, as essential as your first iced pumpkin drink from Starbucks.
Here at Her Campus Mizzou, almost half of our team reported they rewatch “Gilmore Girls” every fall. But why? Why do teenage girls have an excessive need to rewatch the iconic show?
At this year’s Emmys, Alexis Bledel and Lauren Graham, who played Rory and Lorelai Gilmore, presented the award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. For their reunion, they stood on a set recreation of the iconic Gilmore house in Stars Hollow, joking and sharing old stories from their time on the show.
This reunion was in celebration of the show’s 25th anniversary. Having previously won the Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series award, it’s a testament that the writing and production of a show holds the power to make a show immortal, or at least popular enough to last 25 years. “Gilmore Girls” is a show that is written so well, it touches you regardless of your age or stage of life.
For the younger audience, you resonate with Rory, the main character, because you get to watch her grow up. You watch her overly romanticize her first boyfriend and endure the soul-crushing devastation of the first breakup. She transfers to a new school and has to make new friends, something that many of us have been through. There’s a mean girl and a boy who’s trying to get in the middle of her relationship. Now, I don’t know if all of us have had to reenact the Romeo and Juliet play with our love triangle, but the overall themes are something we have lived through. I don’t know if we have all dropped out of Yale, but we definitely all have those big life decisions that we might regret.
Over the course of production, the show staffed 25 different writers, the main writer being Amy Sherman-Palladino. She’s also known for her work on “Bunheads” (2012-2013) and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (2017-2023). First airing in 2000, the show has a strong feel of nostalgia and warmth, something the writing staff reached for and successfully achieved.
Although I was born in 2006, this show reminds me a lot of my life growing up, and that’s what’s so special about the show. I moved to a new school when I was a young teenager and dealt with all the new mean girls and all the weird questions about where I was from. I dreaded the dinners at the grandparents’ house as an angsty teen, but I also loved walking around my small town for breakfast at our local diner.
Watching “Gilmore Girls” takes you back into your own life; that’s why it feels so nostalgic, and that’s why you are drawn to rewatch it every year.
You watched Rory grow up, you watched her date the guys you dated and you had the fights she had with her mom. She makes the mistakes you’ve made and everything in between. You relate to her life. Through all the problems and plot twists, it always seems to be autumn in Stars Hollow? It just adds to the charm and cozy vibes of the show.
Maybe that’s why “Gilmore Girls” continues to reign as the ultimate fall comfort show—it’s not just about Rory and Lorelai, but about us seeing pieces of our real selves in their fictional world. The cozy town square, the witty banters and the never-ending cups of coffee become symbols of a season that we all cherish. It’s a reminder of the messy, beautiful chaos of growing up and as long as the leaves keep changing, the girls of Stars Hollow will always be waiting with a story—and a cup of coffee—that feels like home.