Gilmore Girls: Difference between revisions
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{{main|List of Gilmore Girls characters}} |
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*'''[[Lorelai Gilmore]]''' ( |
*'''[[Lorelai Gilmore]]''' ([[Lauren Graham]]) |
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*'''[[Rory Gilmore]]''' ([[Alexis Bledel]]) |
*'''[[Rory Gilmore]]''' ([[Alexis Bledel]]) |
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*'''[[Luke Danes]]''' ([[Scott Patterson]]) |
*'''[[Luke Danes]]''' ([[Scott Patterson]]) |
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Revision as of 21:36, 30 January 2007
| Gilmore Girls | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Amy Sherman-Palladino |
| Starring | Lauren Graham Alexis Bledel Scott Patterson Melissa McCarthy Keiko Agena Yanic Truesdale Liza Weil Sean Gunn Matt Czuchry Kelly Bishop Edward Herrmann |
| Opening theme | "Where You Lead" by Carole King and Louise Goffin |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 142 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | David S. Rosenthal |
| Running time | 42 minutes (approx.) |
| Original release | |
| Network | The WB (2000-2006) The CW (2006-Present) |
| Release | October 5 2000 – Present |
Gilmore Girls is an hour-long American television drama/comedy that has aired since October 2000. It is broadcast on The CW network — successor to The WB (following the merger of The WB and UPN after the respective networks ceased operations) — in the United States and in dozens of other countries. Re-runs in the US are shown on ABC Family. Amy Sherman-Palladino created the show and served as its executive producer with husband Daniel Palladino until the end of the sixth season. David S. Rosenthal, the current executive producer of the show, took over as show-runner in the wake of the Palladinos' departure. The seventh season premiere aired on September 26, 2006. The traditional U.S. time slot of the series, Tuesdays at 8 pm Eastern/7 pm Central, remained unchanged with the move to the CW from the WB.
The show follows single mother Lorelai Victoria Gilmore (Lauren Graham) and her daughter Lorelai Leigh "Rory" Gilmore (Alexis Bledel) in the fictional town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut, roughly thirty minutes from Hartford. The series explores family, friendship, generational divides and American class issues, set in a close-knit small town with many quirky characters.
Gilmore Girls features intricate, extremely fast-paced dialogue, with numerous modern pop culture references, along with many other references to politics, feminism, and high culture. It also has specific perspectives on social class, represented most regularly by Lorelai's sometimes contentious relationships with her wealthy upper class parents. The show's wit and character-based humor have won it a loyal following of both critics and viewers.
Characters
- Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham)
- Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel)
- Luke Danes (Scott Patterson)
- Sookie St. James (Melissa McCarthy)
- Lane Kim (Keiko Agena)
- Michel Gerard (Yanic Truesdale)
- Paris Geller (Liza Weil)
- Logan Huntzberger (Matt Czuchry)
- Kirk Gleason (Sean Gunn)
- Emily Gilmore (Kelly Bishop)
- Richard Gilmore (Edward Herrmann)
- Christopher Hayden (David Sutcliffe)
- Dean Forester (Jared Padalecki)
- Jess Mariano (Milo Ventimiglia)
Plot
Template:Spoilers Lorelai's conflict with her wealthy parents is central to the back-story for the series. Her headstrong mother, Emily (Kelly Bishop), and her father, Richard (Edward Herrmann), had high hopes for her, their only child. At the age of sixteen, she was a college-bound student attending an elite prep school. Lorelai dashed their hopes, however, by becoming the teenage mother of Rory, without marrying the baby's father, Christopher, (David Sutcliffe) a match approved of by everyone but Lorelai. Lorelai ran away from home when Rory was about a year old. She supported herself and Rory by working as a maid at the Independence Inn in Stars Hollow, a small town about half an hour away from her parents' house. Lorelai eventually became general manager of the inn, her position at the start of the series, and tried to minimize her parents' contact with Rory.
The first season of the show begins with 16-year-old Rory's acceptance to Chilton, an elite prep school in Hartford, Connecticut. Lorelai knows that she cannot afford the high cost of tuition and reluctantly decides to ask her parents for help. They give her a loan on the condition that Rory and Lorelai must join Emily and Richard for dinner at their Hartford mansion every Friday evening.
Lorelai's various romantic entanglements also play a role in the show. Her relationship with Luke Danes (Scott Patterson) finally grows from friendship to a romantic relationship at the end of the fourth season, and they get engaged in the sixth season premiere — only to subsequently break up. Prior relationships included Max Medina (Scott Cohen), Rory's Chilton English teacher, to whom she was engaged, as well as Jason "Digger" Stiles, Richard's much younger business partner. Lorelai periodically reconnects with Christopher, another child of a wealthy family and Rory's father. In the seventh season, they take a romantic trip to Paris and decide to elope. As of November sweeps 2006, Lorelai is currently married to him.
Lorelai's career as the manager of The Independence Inn and aspirations to open an inn of her own are pivotal to the first few seasons of the show. After a fire at the Independence Inn, she and her best friend, chef Sookie St. James (Melissa McCarthy), finally open their own property, the Dragonfly Inn. Sookie and Lorelai are joined at the Dragonfly by their co-worker Michel Gerard (Yanic Truesdale), a Frenchman with attitude to spare.
Rory's coming of age is complicated by her close relationship with her mother. Rory is fifteen in the first episode (although Lorelai says she is sixteen in the pilot, she celebrates her sixteenth birthday several episodes later). She and Lorelai regard each other more as best friends than mother and daughter. Rory's burgeoning adulthood and occasional need to pull away begin to complicate this relationship, although the closeness between them remains a constant on the show.
Rory's academic aspirations also complicate matters. Rory had wanted to attend Harvard University since kindergarten; to achieve this she transfers to the private (fictional) Chilton Academy from the public Stars Hollow High at the beginning of her sophomore year. There, she encounters an unfamiliar world filled with rich and high-strung peers. Rory ultimately decides to go to Yale, her grandfather's alma mater, after making extensive pro and con lists and receiving her mother's blessing.
Paying for Rory's education is another recurring theme of the series that binds the main characters. Lorelai repays her parents' loan for Chilton just before Rory's graduation, but weeks later discovers Yale is not offering any financial aid for Rory, putting her education in financial jeopardy once again. This time, Rory goes to the elder Gilmores and asks for tuition money, once again in exchange for the continuance of the Friday night dinners. Emily and Richard agree and continue to pay for Yale until the spring semester of Rory's junior year, when Rory's father, Christopher, begins paying her tuition. This creates tension with her grandparents, but ultimately the Friday night dinner tradition continues.
As with Lorelai, Rory's romantic attractions also play a part in the show. Rory meets Dean Forester (Jared Padalecki) during the first season and maintains a relationship with him for the first two seasons. She does break up with Dean briefly in the first season, when Rory isn't able to say "I love you." It is during this time apart that Rory kisses Tristan Dugrey (Chad Michael Murray), a boy she has a love-hate relationship with at Chilton. However, by the end of the season, she is back together with Dean. She meets Luke's nephew, Jess Mariano (Milo Ventimiglia), during the second season. They become friends, but their relationship grows, and Rory kisses Jess in the second season finale. Early in the third season, Rory is torn between Dean and Jess, but she chooses Jess and remains with him throughout the third season. In season four, after Rory and Jess break up, she has a fling with now-married Dean, which ultimately ends his marriage and creates a short-lived rift between her and her mother. At Yale, Rory becomes involved with Logan Huntzberger (Matt Czuchry), an underachiever whose wealthy family owns a newspaper empire and immediately disapproves of Rory. Logan's father, the infamous Mitchum Huntzberger, hires Rory as an intern. His crushingly negative evaluation of her work leads to her leaving Yale temporarily at the end of the fifth season. The scenes of Logan's house are filmed at Doheny mansion on the Mount St. Mary's campus.
In the sixth season premiere, Lorelai and Rory are estranged and Rory is living with her grandparents. She is taking time off from college and serving community service for stealing a yacht with Logan. Eventually, the mother and daughter reunite after Jess makes her realize her mistake. Logan gets upset at Rory because of Jess' appearance and leaves without resolution. Rory then returns to Yale for the spring semester of the 2005–2006 school year. Lorelai, who was engaged to Luke, was frustrated by his keeping his newly-discovered daughter (April) from her, and their relationship is on the rocks. Rory's relationship with Logan is on-again-off-again, after she attends the wedding of Logan's sister to discover that he slept with all of the bridesmaids during their brief "break up" earlier in season 6. The next episode, Rory takes Logan back, although she has not forgiven him. Logan leaves for three days on a Life and Death Brigade event, although Rory had expressed her concern. Meanwhile, Rory visits former love interest Jess and kisses him at his new bookstore and apologizes because she loves Logan. During the trip Logan is seriously injured. Rory takes care of Logan after his accident, and their relationship is repaired.
At the end of the season six finale, Logan leaves for London to work for his father's newspaper. Rory confronts Mitchum Huntzberger, in the elevator, about sending Logan away and he tells her it is time for Logan to grow up. She does not disagree and later she and Logan have a tearful farewell. Meanwhile, Lorelai is upset with Luke when he refuses to elope. She spends the night with Christopher and the episode ends with a shot of her in bed with him.
In the seventh season premiere, Lorelai tells Luke, who had shown up fully packed ready to elope, that she slept with Christopher the night before. In the next episode, Luke says that it would be best if they would go back to being individuals and for him to be "the guy in the diner who pours" her coffee. Later, Lorelai and Christopher begin a relationship.
Rory's friendships with long-time best friend Lane Kim (Keiko Agena)—a first-generation Korean American from a strict background—and Paris Geller (Liza Weil), a friend/rival at both Chilton and Yale, are also themes in the show. At the end of the sixth season, Lane marries Hep Alien band-mate Zach, a sweet but slightly dopey rocker. At the beginning of the seventh season, Lane discovers that she is unexpectedly pregnant with twins.
Lorelai and Christopher take Gigi to Paris to see her mom. They spend their time fighting jet lag and hunger, but also succumb to the romance of the city. Christopher proposes to Lorelai for the third time (the first being when she was pregnant with Rory 22 years ago, and the second being when he comes to visit from California in season one) and they elope in Paris. Zack and Lane learn that they're going to have twins and Lane finally tells Mrs. Kim she's pregnant. Mrs. Kim asks them to move in with her. After declining the offer, Zach and Lane find Mrs. Kim baby proofing their home. Mrs. Kim decides to move in with them. Rory retires as editor of the Yale Daily News and realizes she doesn't know what she wants to do after Yale; she later calls her new friends to cheer her up and discovers that Lucy's boyfriend is her old friend Marty (Wayne Wilcox). Rory is upset when Marty pretends not to know her. She decides to confront him about his completely rude and abrupt behavior with her. He starts to become talkative again, and it quickly becomes apparent that he still has feelings for her. Meanwhile, Logan announces that he has been relocated to New York, where he will be able to spend more time with Rory, but will have to get another apartment. After a confrontation with Logan about how she lives off of other people like the trust-fund children that she mocks, Rory decides to move out of the apartment. The couple reconciles, but Rory is set in her decision, stating that she has to "do this for her." In a later episode, Logan becomes upset and jealous at Marty's affectionate behavior towards Rory, and tells Lucy, Marty's girlfriend, that Marty and Rory have known each other since freshman year. Lucy is hurt and angry, and despite Rory's efforts to apologize, will not speak to her. Meanwhile, Rory and Logan have a fight over his betrayal, and Logan cuts his visit short and goes back to New York.
Episodes
Production
History
The pilot episode of Gilmore Girls received financial support from the script development fund of the Family Friendly Programming Forum. It was the first network show to reach the air with help from funding provided by that organization, which includes some of the nation's leading advertisers.
The show was not a ratings success initially, airing in the tough Thursday 8pm/7pm Central timeslot dominated by Survivor and Friends in its first season, but has grown a following that eventually saw it outdraw its timeslot competitor, popular series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in the ratings after it moved to Tuesday nights in September 2001 in the wake of Buffy's move to UPN, along with Sunday night encores of the first season in 2001-2002 under the banner Gilmore Girls Beginnings. Several of the writers of Buffy have been prolific writers on Gilmore Girls, such as Jane Espenson and Rebecca Rand Kirshner.
In its fifth season, Gilmore Girls blossomed into The WB's second most watched primetime show, with a fan base which grew by double digits in all major demographics [1]. In its syndicated release, the show airs exclusively on the ABC Family Channel. These reruns have helped draw viewers to the first-run broadcasts on the WB/CW.
By the time of its fifth season, Gilmore Girls received an American Film Institute Award and two Viewers for Quality Television Awards, and was named New Program of the Year by the Television Critics Association.
The WB was originally going to air a spin-off featuring Jess as the main character, called Windward Circle, in which he gets to know his estranged father better and befriends a bunch of California skateboarders. (The Gilmore Girls episode 3.21 "Here Comes the Son" acted as the pilot for the show.) However, the network canceled the show before it aired, citing high production costs to shoot on location in Venice Beach as the reason.[2] It was originally picked up as a mid-season show, set for January of 2004.
The show's actors have received many awards for their work on the series. Lauren Graham was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series — Drama in 2002, but lost to Jennifer Garner from Alias. Graham received two consecutive nominations for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series from the Screen Actors Guild but lost both times to Allison Janney from The West Wing. Graham won two Family Television Awards along with a Teen Choice Award for Best TV Mom. There has been much outcry and controversy as Graham has never been nominated for an Emmy award. Each year there has been talk about how she has been snubbed for the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.[citation needed] In 2006, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences redesigned their nomination process in an effort to give shows with a smaller viewing audience more equal footing in Emmy competition. The television community agreed that this would finally result in a nomination for Lauren Graham [3], however despite the changes, the WB and Gilmore Girls in turn were once again ignored in nominations, but for minor technical categories for the Creative Arts Emmys show. In turn, critics also said the 'reform' hadn't worked at all, once again highlighting unexceptional work from shows that had already been nominated many times over. After nominations were announced, the producers of "Gilmore Girls" announced that they would no longer submit Graham in the comedy categories, but submit her for consideration for the award for Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
Alexis Bledel has won a Young Artist Award and a Family Television Award. The series also won a Family Television Award for New Series, and was named Best Family TV Drama Series by the Young Artist Awards.
The show won an Emmy for its only nomination in six years: 2004's Outstanding Makeup for a Series (Non-Prosthetic) for the episode The Festival of Living Art.
The first season was released on DVD on May 4, 2004; the second season was released on December 7, 2004, the third on May 3, 2005, the fourth season was released on September 27, 2005, and the fifth season was released on December 13, 2005. All five seasons are framed in the traditional NTSC 4:3 format on the DVD box sets, despite the series transitioning to HDTV 16:9 framing in the fourth season; this was an artistic decision made by Sherman-Palladino to present the program as she envisioned it.
The sixth season of the series was released on DVD on September 19, one week before the season premiere for the seventh season on September 26 [4], and also framed in 4:3.
Cultural references
The Rocky Horror Picture Show has been referred to in a couple of episodes one in which Rory was planning to use it in a Film Festival.
In addition to fast-paced dialogue, Gilmore Girls is also known for numerous cultural references made by the characters. The references, which may point to anything from movies, television shows, music and books to quotes from celebrities, are frequently quite obscure and thus seem to be understood only by the characters.
To help the viewer understand what the characters are talking about, The WB has included "Gilmore-isms" booklets in the DVD sets of the seasons (except for season five and six, where purchasers of that set were referred to the site below). The booklets contain "the 411 on many of the show's pop culture references", along with comments from the show creators.
The "Gilmore-isms" booklets for seasons 2–5 can also be found on the series' DVD promotional website; the booklet files are in PDF format.
Music
Music plays a large part in the show. Most of the main or recurring characters on the show have had their musical tastes revealed at one time or another. Lorelai famously likes '80s music like that of The Bangles, The Go-Go's and David Bowie as well as Metallica, but Rory credits her with introducing her to new books and music throughout her life, and she and Rory often swap CDs. As we find out in 5th season Rory isn't a fan of the famous American singer Bob Dylan or The Smashing Pumpkins (whom Lane likes).
Lane is a true audiophile, and her list of musical influences ran to five pages when she was writing her "drummer-seeks-rock-band" ad. David Bowie, the Ramones, Jackson Browne (Lane: "Ah, see, cool people know that he’s more than a mellow hippie-dippy folkie, that he actually wrote some of Nico’s best songs and was in fact her lover before he bored us with 'Doctor My Eyes.' That will separate the poseurs from the non-poseurs." —Season 3, Ep. 3 "Application Anxiety"), the Accelerators , The Adverts, Agent Orange, the Angelic Upstarts, and the Agnostic Front. Lane's band, Hep Alien (which is an anagram of producer Helen Pai's name), plays rock with different influences, and Sebastian Bach, formerly of Skid Row, plays Gil, the band's guitarist.
The Bangles made a guest appearance in the Season 1 episode "Concert Interruptus" while The Shins guest-starred (playing their song "So Says I" from the album Chutes Too Narrow") in the Season 4 episode "Girls in Bikinis, Boys Doin' the Twist" (also, their 2000 single "Know Your Onion!" is heard in season two "Like Mother, Like Daughter", while their album "Chutes Too Narrow" later appears). Carole King, who re-recorded her 1971 song "Where You Lead" as a duet with her daughter Louise Goffin as the Gilmore Girls theme song, appears occasionally as local music store owner Sophie Bloom. The original score to the show is performed by Sam Phillips. Grant-Lee Phillips appears in at least one episode per season (up to season 6) as Grant, the town troubadour. In the finale of the sixth season Stars Hollow is infested with musicians including Sonic Youth and Sparks.The aforementioned troubadour is "discovered" by a music producer and is set to open for Neil Young (who Kirk says is "one of the Monkees") but says he was booed off stage and never even got to meet Neil Young "Heart of Gold my ass" he tells Taylor. The famous singer Paul Anka appeared in season 6th as himself in the episode "The Real Paul Anka". Joel Gion, formerly of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, also appeared in an episode, playing tambourine for Zack's side project while Hep Alien is on hiatus.
In 2002, a soundtrack to the show was released by Rhino Records, entitled Our Little Corner of the World: Music from Gilmore Girls. The CD cover of the album features anecdotes from show producers Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino covering the large part music has played in their lives.
Food and drink
Food is another important part of the show. Lorelai and Rory are coffee addicts and they love all kinds of junk food. In reality, though, actress Alexis Bledel, who plays Rory, hates coffee. Check closely the next time you watch the show — there is usually nothing in the mug.
- Luke: So what'll you have?
- Lorelai: Coffee, in a vat.
- Rory: I'll have coffee also. And chili fries.
- Luke: That's quite a refined palate you got there.
- —Season 1, Ep. 1 "The Pilot Episode"
It is a running gag that the two of them can eat copious amounts of junk food but never seem to gain weight. When they aren't eating at Luke's Diner or having formal Friday night dinners at Emily and Richard's they often order pizza or take-out Chinese food. They eat tons of food, including fries or tater tots, various types of pies, and ice cream from the carton. Sookie, the chef at the Inn, is very passionate about cooking and often obsesses over the menu. Lane Kim's mother, Mrs. Kim, is a fan of health food, and Luke's healthy eating habits are sometimes contrasted with Lorelai's junk-food diet. They love to eat Mallomars which Rory uses to spell out "Happy Birthday Lorelai" on their kitchen table in the third season as well as doughnuts and various other chocolate and baked goods. They also enjoyed many international foods while on their European trip in the 4th season, and ate the Italian dessert, biscotti on the night before Rory left for Yale (see Season 4:Episode 1 Ballrooms and Biscotti). Rory has a fondness for Indian food, while Lorelai doesn't and complains that Indian food makes the house smell strongly of spices whenever Rory orders it. Additionally, pop-tarts occur on the show recurringly as both Lorelai's and Rory's favorite breakfast and snack food.
DVD releases
| The Complete First Season | ||||
| File:Gilmoregirls s1 cover.jpg | Set Details | Special Features | ||
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 United Kingdom
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Europe |  Australia
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| May 4, 2004 | February 6, 2006 | November 16, 2005 | April 5, 2006 | |
| The Complete Second Season | ||||
| File:Gilmoregirls s2 cover.jpg | Set Details | Special Features | ||
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| Release Dates | ||||
| United States
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United Kingdom
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Europe | Australia
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| December 7, 2004 | March 13, 2006 | March 15, 2006 | April 5, 2006 | |
| The Complete Third Season | ||||
| File:Gilmoregirls s3.jpg | Set Details | Special Features | ||
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| Release Dates | ||||
| United States
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United Kingdom
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Europe | Australia
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| May 3, 2005 | July 17, 2006 | April 12, 2006 | July 5, 2006 | |
| The Complete Fourth Season | ||||
| File:Gilmoregirls s4.jpg | Set Details | Special Features | ||
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| Release Dates | ||||
| United States
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United Kingdom
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Europe | Australia
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| September 27, 2005 | TBA | June 14, 2006 | July 5, 2006 | |
| The Complete Fifth Season | ||||
| File:Gilmoregirls s5.jpg | Set Details | Special Features | ||
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| Release Dates | ||||
| United States
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United Kingdom
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Europe | Australia
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| December 13, 2005 | TBA | August 16, 2006 | September 6, 2006 | |
| The Complete Sixth Season | ||||
| File:Gilmoregirls s6.jpg | Set Details | Special Features | ||
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| Release Dates | ||||
| United States
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United Kingdom
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Europe | Australia
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| September 19, 2006 | TBA | January 10, 2007 | February 7, 2007 | |
International
- Argentina — Warner Channel
- Australia — Nine Network, Arena TV
- Austria — ORF1
- Brazil — Warner Channel (original sound with subtitles); SBT (lipsynch in Portuguese), title in Portuguese "Tal Mãe, Tal Filha"
- Belgium — VijfTV, Kanaal 2, ClubRTL
- Canada — Global Tuesday at 10pm E/P (8:00pm AT),
VRAK.TV (French translation) - Central America — Warner Channel
- Chile — Warner Channel
- Croatia — HRT2
- Czech Republic — TV Nova
- Denmark — Kanal 4 up to the fifth season, but from mid-2006, the show was moved to the sister-channel, Kanal 5
- Estonia — Eesti Televisioon (ETV)
- Finland — YLE TV1, title in Finnish "Gilmoren tytöt" - "Gilmore's girls"
- France — Gulli
- Germany — Vox
- Greece — Star Channel, title in Greek "Οικογένεια Γκίλμορ" ("The Gilmores")
- Hungary — m1 (seasons 1-5), Viasat 3 (season 6-); title in Hungarian "Szívek szállodája" — "Hotel of Hearts"
- India — Zee English
- Ireland — RTÉ 1/Hallmark Channel/Nickelodeon
- Israel — first aired on Channel 3, later continued on Channel 10, Hallmark Channel; some seasons on Channel 10 — "בנות גילמור"
- Italy — Italia 1, title in Italian "Una Mamma per Amica" — "A mother as a friend"
- Malaysia — premiered on TV3, moved to 8TV.
- Mexico — Warner Channel
- Netherlands — Net 5
- Norway — TVNorge
- Poland — TVN7 (TVN Siedem), title in Polish "Kochane kłopoty" — "Dear trouble"
- New Zealand — TVNZ TV2
- Peru — Warner Channel
- Philippines — Studio 23
- Portugal — FOX Life, title in Portuguese "Tal Mãe, Tal Filha" — "Like Mother, Like Daughter"
- Romania — Acasă
- Serbia — RTV Pink
- Slovakia — Markiza
- Slovenia — A Kanal, title in Slovenian "Midve z mamo" — "Me and my mother"
- Spain — La 2, FOX, title in Spanish "Las chicas Gilmore"-Gilmore girls
- South Africa — M-Net , SABC 2
- South Korea — OnStyle network
- Sri Lanka - ETV
- Sweden — Kanal 5
- Switzerland — SF2
- Thailand — UBC Series
- Turkey — CNBC-E
- UAE — Dubai-One TV
- UK — Nickelodeon/Hallmark Channel
- US — CW
- Venezuela — Warner Channel