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“We’re like the Gilmore girls, but with bigger boobs,” Georgia Miller proclaims in the first episode of Ginny & Georgia. When the Netflix show first debuted in 2021, many viewers — and even Ginny & Georgia itself — compared it to Gilmore Girls. But, aside from their alliterative names, how much do they really have in common? In honor of Ginny & Georgia Season 2 landing on Netflix, here’s a breakdown of some traits the mother-daughter duo’s story shares with the Gilmores’. Plus, two major differences between the shows.
‘Ginny & Georgia’ and ‘Gilmore Girls’ both have small-town charm
One of the (many) things people love about Gilmore Girls is its Connecticut small-town setting. Everybody knows their neighbors in Stars Hollow, and somehow everything seems to be just a five-minute walk away, even though that can’t be physically possible. Ginny & Georgia replicates that charm in the fictional town of Wellsbury, Massachusetts.
Unlike Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel), Georgia Miller (Brianne Howey) and her kids are new to their town. However, the Millers very quickly establish themselves as members of the community by attending adorable town events, just like the ones in Stars Hollow.
‘Ginny & Georgia’ and ‘Gilmore Girls’ have similar love interests
Many of the storylines that Gilmore Girls and Ginny & Georgia have in common revolve around love interests. Sure, every drama has love triangles and will-they-won’t-they scenarios, but the parallels between the bachelors of these shows are uncanny. The most obvious parallels would be Gilmore Girls‘ Luke Danes (Scott Patterson) and Ginny & Georgia‘s Joe (Raymond Ablack), two restaurateurs who pine over Lorelai and Georgia.
Georgia also has a history with Ginny’s (Antonia Gentry) dad, Zion (Nathan Mitchell), a mostly absent parent with a motorcycle. That sure sounds a lot like Rory’s dad, Christopher Hayden (David Sutcliffe). Then, there’s Mayor Paul Randolph (Scott Porter), who quickly becomes engaged to Georgia — much like Max Medina (Scott Cohen) did with Lorelai.
Both shows are full of pop culture references
Gilmore Girls included so many pop culture references that the DVDs came with booklets to decipher them all. From name-dropping classic literature like Oliver Twist to calling out celebrities like Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale, Gilmore Girls has it all. Ginny & Georgia follows in its predecessor’s footsteps with things like an ill-received diss on Taylor Swift and tons of TV/movie references.
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Ginny and Georgia aren’t close like Lorelai and Rory
Now, one of the biggest things that set Gilmore Girls and Ginny & Georgia apart is the mother-daughter relationship. Lorelai and Rory are best friends, and that’s pretty much the whole point of Gilmore Girls.
Meanwhile, Georgia tries her hardest to be her daughter’s best friend, but her relationship with Ginny is much more complicated. Sure, they have their “Lorelai and Rory” moments. But as Ginny learns her mother’s secrets, she resents her more and more. Ginny also wishes Georgia would step up more as a responsible parent. She would rather have Georgia as a mom than a best friend.
‘Ginny & Georgia’ is much darker than ‘Gilmore Girls’
The overall tone of Ginny & Georgia is also on a different level than Gilmore Girls. The latter never steps very far out of lighthearted territory. On the other hand, Ginny & Georgia gets much heavier with murder, depression and self-harm, sexual abuse, and racism. Lorelai and Georgia are both young, single moms to 16-year-old daughters, but the paths that brought them to their small-town lives couldn’t be more different.
Gilmore Girls and Ginny & Georgia definitely feel similar on the surface. However, when it comes down to themes and storylines, it becomes much harder to compare the two. At the end of the day, they’re both entertaining and important in their own rights. Both Gilmore Girls and Ginny & Georgia are available to watch on Netflix.
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