Fall Is for ‘Gilmore Girls’: The Data Says So, and Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino Agrees

Fall Is for ‘Gilmore Girls’: The Data Says So, and Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino Agrees

As a die-hard Gilmore Girls fan, I can confidently say that the show has become an integral part of my autumnal traditions. The series seems to have a magical charm that captivates viewers more during the fall season than any other time of the year.


Autumn brings a drop in temperatures, leaves turning vibrant colors… and it seems that oversized cups of coffee have become a staple at Luke’s Diner during this season too.

Over several years of monitoring viewing habits, it’s been observed that fall is the time when many people prefer to watch “Gilmore Girls” on Netflix. While not a show traditionally tied to a specific season, “Gilmore Girls,” the WB/CW dramedy starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel, has seen a noticeable surge in viewership during autumn since 2021. This is largely due to Nielsen’s weekly publication of the top 10 original and acquired streaming shows in the United States starting from that year.

Between 2021 and 2023, “Gilmore Girls” consistently ranked among the top 10 most-watched shows on streaming platforms, based on Nielsen’s annual streaming summaries. Specifically, in 2022 and 2023, the show made it to the top 10 streaming charts for a remarkable 65 out of 104 weeks. Notably, approximately half (31 instances) of its chart appearances occurred from September’s start through the end of each year.

Despite not being as prominent in the top 10s in 2021 or 2024, “Gilmore Girls” managed to secure seven and five spots on the charts respectively, with a majority of these occurrences happening after September in both years. Specifically, in 2021, seven appearances were recorded from September onwards, while in 2024, all six top 10 rankings were achieved between September 2nd and October 6th, the latest available data at the time of publication.

In the latter part of the year, the top 10 weeks typically see a 16% increase in viewership compared to weeks from January to August. Since 2021, the program’s highest-viewed week has consistently occurred in either late September or October.

Netflix typically doesn’t disclose its weekly viewing figures beyond the top ten titles, but their semi-annual data releases suggest a seasonal increase as well. The total watch time for all seven seasons of Gilmore Girls in the second half of 2023 was 46% greater than the first half of the year; however, viewership dropped by 26% from January to June of 2024. This trend is similar to what we saw with Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, Netflix’s four-episode continuation of the original series.

Among all streaming titles, none, except those tied to specific holidays like Christmas classics such as Home Alone and Elf, exhibit the consistent seasonal surge that Gilmore Girls does. This annual trend can’t merely be attributed to Netflix’s recommendation system. So, one must wonder: What about Gilmore Girls makes it so quintessentially associated with fall?

I sought guidance from the person most knowledgeable on the subject – Amy Sherman-Palladino, the show creator. Jokingly, she mentioned that a rule was established in our production to align with the release of pumpkin spice lattes. “As soon as the pumpkin spice latte appeared,” Sherman-Palladino said humorously, “we had to be ready.” [Note: Starbucks launched its Pumpkin Spice Latte in 2003, three years into Gilmore Girls’ run.]

Sherman-Palladino finds the topic of ‘The Fall’ intriguing, yet not entirely unexpected. If people were drawn to it due to its comfort factor, it seems logical that a certain part of it would live up to this expectation, even becoming a defining moment, albeit not iconic, but truly fulfilling the promise and the reason behind its popularity,” Sherman-Palladino shares with The Hollywood Reporter in an interview from Paris, where she’s nearly finished production on her next series for Prime Video, titled ‘Étoile’.

She too mentions that not long after selling Gilmore Girls, she and her husband Dan Palladino went on a trip to Connecticut during autumn. “We experienced the quaint small-town atmosphere, complete with hayrides, pumpkin patches, and steaming hot apple cider. It seemed almost comical – as a worldly woman, I found myself thinking ‘This is too perfect, like it was set up by a movie studio’. However, such scenes do exist in certain areas, and they inspired me creatively for the rest of the series. The show mainly revolves around Lorelai [Graham] constructing this environment where she and her daughter [Bledel] can both thrive together.

The transformation from summer to autumn is the most striking; it encompasses a change in temperature, but also a visual shift that feels significant. This seemed like the ideal setting for such a journey, and when we filmed the pilot, it was fall and it was chilly, capturing that specific atmosphere, so it naturally became our signature.

The popular TV show “Gilmore Girls” is currently being enjoyed by not only new viewers but also by second and third generations, as well as those who followed the series when it originally aired. When I brought up working on this story, many colleagues shared that they or their family members were rewatching it at the moment. This level of enduring appeal was unexpected by creator Sherman-Palladino.

I find it astounding! The show seems more captivating now than ever before, even surpassing its highest viewership during its initial run. It’s bizarre to me, really. You see, when we first embarked on this journey, children weren’t glued to their mobile devices like they are today. There was no social media back then; instead, I remember pagers being the trend, making everyone seem like they were part of a drug operation in “The Wire.” It’s intriguing to me that today’s tech-savvy kids, who are so engrossed in their phones and social media, can still find a connection with a show that feels so far removed from their own time. I think that’s truly remarkable.

It wasn’t something that could be anticipated. This business is more about luck and a touch of magic. The planets need to be in perfect alignment – you need the right concept at the right moment, along with the ideal cast and the perfect timing within the right production network or studio. A show barely manages to live beyond the pilot episode under such circumstances. This was an extraordinary, fortunate coincidence – the kind that one can only dream of.

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2024-11-04 19:58