Lauren Perlmutter is a \u201cGilmore Girls\u201d superfan. She\u2019s watched the show on a loop for the past 10 years. It\u2019s mostly been in chronological order, and sometimes just in the background while she\u2019s working on something else but craving the show\u2019s comforting familiarity.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like my bowl of chicken noodle soup,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Perlmutter, 23, like many fans of the beloved series, was born after it first debuted Oct. 5, 2000 on the WB. Her mom, Joelle, had caught \u201cGilmore Girls\u201d every now and then when it was airing, and she introduced it to her daughter years later, watching it more intently with her new viewing partner.<\/p>\n
The series, which starred Lauren Graham as Lorelai Gilmore, a young single mom, and Alexis Bledel as her teen daughter Rory, is beloved for its witty writing and the small-town charm of its fictional setting, Stars Hollow, Conn.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Fans walk through a recreated gazebo like the one in the fictional town of Stars Hollow. \u201cGilmore Girls\u201d is set in Connecticut, but much of the filming took place on a backlot at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank.<\/p>\n
(Etienne Laurent\/For The Times)<\/p>\n
Like the Gilmores, the Perlmutters established a Friday night tradition, except instead of a tense (mandatory) dinner with three generations, the pair would churn through episodes of the show and enjoy spending quality time together.<\/p>\n
Lauren said she saw herself in the bookish Rory.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was so academically oriented. I strived really hard, and I was valedictorian at UCLA, and [my mom] was there in the audience and we made the same faces they did during Rory\u2019s graduation, and I had a speech very similar to Rory\u2019s,\u201d she said. \u201cBeing able to have this background story of two women being raised, and then translated over into my life with my mom was just so special.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although their busy schedules make it hard to maintain their tradition weekly \u2014 Lauren is in graduate school at Pepperdine training to be a therapist (although she once considered pursuing journalism like Rory) \u2014 the Perlmutters still get an occasional Friday night viewing party in.<\/p>\n
In celebration of the show\u2019s 25th anniversary, Warner Bros. Television Group hosted an immersive pop-up event at the Grove that promised to give fans \u201ca weekend in Stars Hollow\u201d with set recreations and fall decor abound. The Perlmutters were first in line on Saturday morning, even with their drive from the San Fernando Valley.<\/p>\n
Despite a prominently displayed \u201cno cell phones\u201d sign like the one from Luke\u2019s Diner, fans couldn\u2019t help but take selfies and videos of the set recreations. The Stars Hollow gazebo, the famous town sign, a replica of Lorelai\u2019s beloved Jeep Wrangler and a display of 1,000 daisies from a romantic proposal scene in the first season were popular photo spots, and visitors cycled through Luke\u2019s to grab coffee and donuts. And plenty of themed merchandise \u2014 ranging from the typical stickers, hats and mugs to ultra-specific items like bath salts with branding from Lorelai\u2019s inn \u2014 was available for purchase.<\/p>\n
While the fanbase is largely made up of women, some men enjoy the show as well. As one husband and father who attended the event with his more enthusiastic wife and daughters put it, \u201cevery man had a crush on Lorelai.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Several hundreds of fans cycled through the Grove to celebrate the show\u2019s anniversary. <\/p>\n
(Etienne Laurent\/For The Times)<\/p>\n
\u201cGilmore Girls\u201d also starred Melissa McCarthy as Sookie St. James, Lorelai\u2019s longtime friend and chef at the inn she runs; Scott Patterson as the curmudgeonly but lovable eponymous diner owner Luke Danes; Kelly Bishop<\/a> and Edward Herrmann as Emily and Richard Gilmore, Lorelai\u2019s (very traditional) parents; and Keiko Agena as Lane Kim, Rory\u2019s rock music-loving best friend. It was created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, who went on to make the hit series \u201cThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,\u201d and several other major projects. <\/p>\n During its original run from 2000 to 2007, the series was popular among viewers but not so much among critics. The show was nominated for only a single Emmy in its seven year run \u2014 one for makeup, which it won.<\/p>\n Serri Ferrante and Winona Parks, longtime friends who both work in television, said they suspect the lack of critical acclaim the series got could be attributed to the small size of the WB network, where it aired, and the likelihood that its budget for awards campaigns was small.<\/p>\n \u201cI always voted for it,\u201d Ferrante said, \u201cbut it was like a throwaway vote.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, as the scores of young fans at Saturday\u2019s celebration at the Grove prove, \u201cGilmore Girls\u201d found a bountiful second life through streaming services.<\/p>\n Brittania Chacon, a 22-year-old from Mid-City, said she discovered the series when it kept popping up on her TikTok feed a year ago. It was autumn, which she says is the perfect time to watch \u2014 and many fans agree. (The show gets a seasonal boost in streaming<\/a> ratings every year, according to Nielsen.)<\/p>\n The young crop of fans makes Ferrante \u201cfeel old,\u201d she said, \u201cbut then it makes me feel connected to another generation.\u201d<\/p>\n While most fans said they return to the show repeatedly either because of its relatable plotlines, sharp writing or the friendly comfort of their favorite characters, for some, it also acts as a primer for difficult conversations between mothers and daughters.<\/p>\n \u201cIt helped me talk to her about things that are not easy to talk about \u2014 dating, relationships, growing up,\u201d Susie Park of Glendale said. Her 13-year-old daughter Ella, who started and finished the show over the course of the summer, confidently established herself as a member of \u201cTeam Jess,\u201d referencing fans\u2019 different camps of support for Rory\u2019s boyfriends throughout the show.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s amazing that it\u2019s intergenerational and that I can actually show my daughter and that it resonates with her. She\u2019s at an age where she\u2019s supposed to be taking sex education classes and it wasn\u2019t very helpful, but this was a lot more helpful,\u201d Susie said as Ella burst out laughing.<\/p>\n Emily Gilmore (Kelly Bishop), left, Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham), Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel) and Richard Gilmore (Edward Herrmann) in a scene from \u201cGilmore Girls.\u201d<\/p>\n (Mitchell Haddad \/ The WB)<\/p>\n Regardless of which team fans are on regarding Rory\u2019s boyfriends or which of the memorable recurring characters is their favorite, most can agree that they want to see more of the Gilmores and Stars Hollow. <\/p>\n In 2016, many original cast members and creatives reunited to make a revival miniseries, \u201cGilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.\u201d The Netflix series had four episodes representing the four seasons to continue the Gilmore family\u2019s story several years later. While it was hotly anticipated, it was not particularly well received<\/a> by critics and fans alike because some felt the characters seemed to stray from their core attributes and values that made them so loveable. <\/p>\n So more than two decades after the start of the story, many fans are clamoring for another slice of Stars Hollow life. Graham, who reunited with Bledel onstage at the Emmy Awards last month, said on the red carpet that she\u2019d like the idea of a \u201cGilmore Girls\u201d Christmas movie<\/a>. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n