*Article may contain spoilers ahead.*
In our ‘Ultimate Gilmore Girls’ series of articles, so far we have explored an Ultimate Guide and a Character Guide. After this Series Guide, you can find our Gilmore Girls‘ Book Guide too. So, whether you’re a Stars Hollow expert or a budding new fan of the show; you’re bound to learn something new about the dreamy world curated and shaped by show creator, Amy Sherman-Palladino. The early noughties nostalgia is about to kick in – anytime soon…
Gilmore Girls Series Guide:
Running from 2000 through to 2007, Gilmore Girls‘ long series run saw seven seasons following the lives of mother-and-daughter duo, Lorelai and Rory Gilmore. With each year sees fans rush to watch episode re-runs of the seven-season show throughout the autumn season.
Due to high fan demand a follow-up miniseries revival titled, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life was released back in 2016. The show was exclusively streamed on Netflix for devoted fans to discover an insight into the present-day lives of the Stars Hollow residents.
Season Summaries:
Season One:
In Stars Hollow, Connecticut we’re introduced to the mother-daughter duo, Lorelai and Rory Gilmore as they navigate different stages of life. For Lorelai she must deal with her demanding wealthy parents whilst exploring the path of single motherhood. But she also kind of has a thing for the owner of the diner, the hunky Luke Danes.
Whilst Rory begins life at Chilton – dealing with the stress of academics and high school drama. But both live somewhat complicated love lives – as Rory develops feelings for Dean, yet Lorelai still feels connected to her ex-husband, Christopher but she’s still trying to move on…
Season Two:
Lorelai’s now engaged to Rory’s Chilton teacher, Max but she calls off the wedding as she develops feelings for Luke. On a much lighter note, Lorelai celebrates completing business school and along with devoted friend, Sookie together they plan to open their very own inn.
But Rory’s love life is upended when Luke’s defiant nephew, Jess turns up to Stars Hollow and she starts developing feelings for him. This ultimately causes Rory to become torn between Dean and Jess. Meanwhile, Rory’s BFF, Lane tries to discover who she really is beyond her mother’s controlling nature.
Season Three:
Rory applies for colleges and is accepted into the same University her grandfather attended, Yale University much to the dismay of Lorelai. Whilst Rory originally had her heart set on attending Harvard, her acceptance into Yale causes an even greater divide between her mother and grandparents. But they are all there for Rory when celebrating her academic achievements when she graduates from Chilton prep school. However, Jess experiences personal issues and academic woes, which eventually culminate in his breakup with Rory.
Meanwhile, Lorelai and Sookie navigate the hardships of opening the Dragonfly Inn. And Lorelai must deal with her split feelings between Christopher and Luke. However, Lane is seeking her own level of independence when she joins a band against the knowledge of her mother.
Season Four:
Rory starts life at Yale University and is joined alongside her ‘frenemy’, Paris who navigates the pressures of dating a professor. Meanwhile, Rory handles a long-distance relationship with old flame, Dean as Jess returns to Stars Hollow. Whilst her mother, Lorelai and Sookie work endlessly to make the Dragonfly Inn work.
However, Luke has his own dilemma as he navigates fatherhood when he’s introduced to his daughter, April. But the pressure mounts this season as Lorelai and Luke finally kiss, and Rory makes a bad choice – to be with her ex-boyfriend and ‘married’, Dean.
Season Five:
Lorelai’s new romance with Luke causes a greater rift with her parents as they undermine his professional career. Meanwhile, Rory ends her affair with Dean and is smitten with fellow Yale student, the wealthy Logan. But his father tells her she’ll never make it as a journalist.
However, from this moment onwards Rory’s life spirals out of control. She gets arrested for stealing a yacht to ‘sail away’ from her troubles and eventually drops out of Yale University. This causes Lorelai and Rory to have a major rift in their bond. And while Lorelai proposes to Luke, Rory decides to move in with her grandparents and it seems as if the strong mother-daughter bond between the two would be broken forever.
Season Six:
After carrying out community service, Rory repairs her relationship with her mother, Lorelai and she returns to Yale. However, Lorelai has a set of her own problems too when Luke’s daughter arrives at Stars Hollow and he hides her well away. While Logan gets engaged, he starts an affair with Rory. She starts writing for the Stars Hollow Gazette and is advised by Jess to write her memoir against Lorelai’s wishes.
Meanwhile Lane starts dating Zack and their music band together even sees some success. But the season ends with some bombshell moments. While Luke postpones the wedding – Lorelai returns to Christopher, and Rory reveals she is pregnant and it may or may not be Logan’s child.
Season Seven:
Life becomes even more complicated for the Gilmore Girls when Lorelai remarries Christopher. But then later in the season they eventually part ways and divorce. Luke buys Lorelai a car and they rekindle their relationship. But Rory faces trouble in managing her long-distance relationship with Logan.
However, his proposal to her comes at the wrong time whilst Rory reports on a highly important presidential campaign. This causes her to prioritize her career over love. We see the town throw Rory a farewell party as she leaves Stars Hollow to continue on her journalism journey. While Lane becomes pregnant, later having twin boys named Kwan and Steve. However, at the same time her music band begins to fall apart. Meanwhile the fiercely intelligent, Paris gets accepted into multiple schools and she eventually decides to pursue medicine.
Series Revival: Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life (2016):
Returning for a four-episode series, the residents of Stars Hollow finally received their own follow-up miniseries revival. The long-awaited return featured long-form episodes or as the show refers to them as ’90-minute movies’ which focus on each of the four seasons. The episodes are titled as such, from “Winter” and “Spring” to “Summer” and “Fall.” As we gain a quite literal ‘year in the life’ of the characters.
Some storylines are carried over from the original show, such as Lorelai and Luke’s on-off relationship dynamic, Rory’s career troubles and her love life with Logan. But perhaps the biggest upset of the show comes at how Emily lives life without Richard by her side. The dramatic cliffhanger from the end of season seven also comes into fruition in this series revival as we soon discover who the father is to Rory’s baby.
Next up in our ‘Ultimate Gilmore Girls’ series of articles we will explore a Book Guide so watch out for the article which is coming very soon! Make sure to catch-up on reading our Gilmore Girls Ultimate Guide and Character Guide too.