Gilmore Girls Wouldn’t Exist Without This Emotional, Real-Life Experience

Amy Sherman-Palladino’s pitch for “Gilmore Girls” to Warner Bros. executives was whipped up on the spot, with little thought into the idea except, “It’s [a] mother and daughter and they’re more like friends than mother and daughter.” This is according to a 2015 interview with Sherman-Palladino on The Today Show, as reported in Vulture. 

The actual characters, setting, and plot wouldn’t come until later. The WB bought the series off that simple pitch, so Sherman-Palladino had to quickly construct an entire world based on this concept. Where was this mother-daughter story going to take place? How would that location impact the story?

Sherman-Palladino thought back to her trip to the Mayflower Inn in Washington, Connecticut, a stately piece of classic New England architecture that was formerly a boys’ school from the early 1900s. She also drew inspiration from cozy nearby locales that look like ceramic Christmas village sets come to life — complete with gazebos, white-steepled churches, and walkable rows of cute little shops.

Sherman-Palladino told Deseret News that the charm of this “fairy town” inspired her vision for the series: “At the time I was there, it was beautiful, it was magical, and it was a feeling of warmth and small-town camaraderie … There was a longing for that in my own life, and I thought — that’s something that I would really love to put out there.”

The “Gilmore Girls” creator was able to tap into that magic, creating a location that seemed to exist only in dreams: a warm and cozy haven where everyone looks out for one another. The fictional hamlet of Stars Hollow has become one of the most beloved and recognizable television towns of all time.

When Amy Sherman-Palladino visited the small, picturesque Connecticut communities, she was struck by how earnest and wholesome the townsfolk were, overhearing some asking where the pumpkin patch was. She continued: “And we went to a diner and everyone knew each other and someone got up and they walked behind the counter and they got their own coffee because the waitress was busy … And the inn was so beautiful. And everything looked like it was covered in sugar.”  These charming, storybook surroundings would inspire all the events that Stars Hollow hosts, like the Bid On A Basket auction or the Autumn Festival, and the intimate bustle of Luke’s Diner where Lorelai often helps herself to pots of coffee.

In “Gilmore Girls,” the close-knit town provides a safety net for Lorelai (Lauren Graham) when she’s a runaway teen mom. It allows her to build a life and raise Rory (Alexis Bledel) surrounded by genuine support and acceptance. After being estranged from her parents, she’s able to find a true home and develop a bond with her quirky neighbors. In our increasingly fragmented and impersonal world, we have a romanticized nostalgia for a place like Stars Hollow: somewhere walkable, with a sense of belonging, and a community that will be there for you. It’s easy to see why Amy Sherman-Palladino was moved and had a joyous reaction to the Connecticut villages she visited, and it’s no wonder that audiences have loved Stars Hollow for so long and keep wanting to return.