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‘Ginny and Georgia’ Now Taking the Fame Away From ‘Gilmore Girls?’

“Ginny and Georgia” the new 2021 TV show appears to be copying “Gilmore Girls,” reusing its characters but updating the plot. *SPOILERS*

Kendra Jackson and Olivia Heizer|February 8, 2023

“Gilmore Girls,” an early 2000s show, is set in the small town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut. This family-friendly show made for mothers and daughters first aired in 2000 with the loving mother role of Loreali Gilmore played by Lauren Graham and her intelligent daughter Rory played by Alexis Bledel. The show released its final season in 2007, and then in 2016 came out with four episodes of “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life,” which shows their lifestyle 20 years later.

“Ginny and Georgia” is a newly made series targeting an audience of high school girls that came out in 2021 and is still ongoing, with new seasons scheduled to release in the next year. It is set in a small, wealthy town in Wellsbury, Massachusetts. Georgia, played by Brianne Howey, is a protective mother of two, son Austin, portrayed by Diesel La Torraca, and daughter Ginny, played by Antonia Gentry.

As Gen Z has begun to watch “Ginny and Georgia,” many have noticed the similarities between this new show and “Gilmore Girls,” especially after “Gilmore Girls” is mentioned in the Pilot.

“We’re like the “Gilmore Girls,” but with bigger boobs,” said main character Georgia.

Did “Ginny and Georgia” try to do a semi spin off of “Gilmore Girls”? Did they simply run out of ideas and decided to pick the personalities and stories of characters that are already known and loved?

Generally, students at Summit High School view “Gilmore Girls” as the better show.

“I liked Gilmore Girls better because I grew up with it and they had a way healthier relationship and set a better example than Ginny and Georgia,” said sophomore Annika Burke.

“Gilmore Girls” is a well loved chick flick known by many millennials and gen z. It’s a wholesome show with many fun characters. “Ginny and Georgia” has been viewed as very captivating, full of controversial topics which keeps many viewers interested in watching the show.

“Ginny and Georgia is kinda stupid, but it’s interesting,” said sophomore Matilda Morgan.

“Ginny and Georgia” focuses more on current problems in the world and how it affects this family. Ginny and her peers all are going through difficult yet realistic trials. Depression, self harm, anxiety, body image issues, and their parent’s divorce to name a few. “Ginny and Georgia” is a darker version of “Gilmore Girls”. “Gilmore Girls” is seen as family friendly, highlighting the loving relationship between a mother and daughter while

However, both of these shows have a lot of similarities. A teen mother getting pregnant, running away from her family and starting a new life. The other characters also have similar stories. They have restaurant owners as love interests to the mothers, bad boy boyfriends and awkward first love interests, and dads who come in and out of their daughters’ lives, often by riding motorcycles into town twice a year.

What We Like About Both Shows

These two shows have loving mothers, Loreali Gilmore, from “”Gilmore Girls,” and Georgia Miller, from “Giny and Georgia,” that would do anything for their daughters. Although they both may seem overprotective, they are only thinking about their children.

“They are obviously trying their best to be good parents, they don’t try to mess everything up, things just happen and they get stuck in the middle of everything” said by Rose Brandt.

“Ginny and Georgia” really highlights problems that normal people go through, which connects with the viewers in a deeper way and draws viewers in to watch more.

Although “Ginny and Georgia” are taking ideas from “Gilmore Girls,” it’s bringing in new plot lines and twists—which make it more engaging and interesting to watch.

The mothers, Loreali and Georgia, have bestfriends Sookie St. James, from “Gilmore Girls,” and Ellen Baker from “Ginny and Georgia,” that are both seen in Season 1 Episode 1, where they are depicted as being close to the main characters..

“I like Sookie, she’s an icon,” said senior Luna Schock.

Ginny and Rory end up having a love interest for a while, but both girls end up cheating on them with the bad boy types—that we can all agree are better for them. Marcus Baker, the motorcycle, smoker, dont care type of guy had always shown an interest in Ginny, ever since she moved into the neighborhood, he always cared for her, helping her even when he was going through depression. Jess Mariano, moves to Stars Hollow and immediately has his eyes on Rory. He acts tough, but is really a book loving softy, Jess challenges Rory and matches her intelligence in any way he can. Marcus and Jess have a soft spot and always will for the girls, even if they do or don’t show it.

Another character that any fan should know, from either show, are the diner guys, Loreali’s love interest is the owner of Luke’s Diner, Luke Danes. He’s also a father figure for Rory. Georgia’s interest is Joe, the owner of Blue Farm Cafe where Ginny works for him. Both have regular customers, Georgia and Lorelai, that come in for help, a cup of coffee or to drink wine and relax through conversations with the owners.These series’ show that the diner owners have some connection to the mothers near the beginning, closer to the end of both shows the connection becomes stronger. Loreali ends up falling in love with Luke after many years of him waiting. In comparison, Georgia realizes earlier in the show that she knows Joe from her childhood but never mentions it. Later on in Season 2 Episode 9, Joe confesses his feelings that he’s had for Georgia since they first met in highschool one time. Luke and Joe are both the type of people that would play the long game for any woman they love, another parallel between the shows.

Rory’s best friend, Lane Kim, and one of Ginny’s bestfriend ‘Abby Littman, are very much alike. Lane and Abby are usually forgotten by all their friends, but both of them are always there for either Rory or Ginny, no matter the consequences. Even if they have a fight or hardship, Abby and Lane would be the first to apologize—which is why they are both loved by viewers. The audience can connect with Lane and Abby through how they are treated by their friends. Abby always tries to be there for all her friends even when she goes through body image while taping her thighs to look more skinny to portray a perfect body. Lane always tries to talk but then gets interrupted by Rory then Rory turns it about her. Bracia is another friend of Ginny’s but she only goes to Bracia about her problems, then ditches her when she doesn’t need to talk, and Rory does the same thing to Lane in the later seasons. Lane, Abby and Bracia are very beloved characters that get treated badly for no reason throughout their friendship, but are all still highlights of these shows as they contribute to real life aspects regarding friends.

A reason most people enjoy “Ginny and Georgia” is because it draws on some similar character traits from earlier 2000s shows, another connection to “Gimore Girls.”

What We Dislike About Both Shows

Both daughters in “Ginny and Georgia” and “Gilmore Girls” generally aren’t liked. Ginny and Rory both have a tendency to make things all about themselves, are sometimes ungrateful for the sacrifices their mothers made and aren’t always good friends.

In Season 1 Episode 8 of “Gilmore Girls,” Rory’s best friend, Lane, is trying to talk to Rory— who is not focusing on her and instead ignores everything she is saying. Her friend is trying to confide in her and she is talking about a lost textbook. As an only child she’s likely used to having all of the attention on her and being the main focus. Similarly, in “Ginny and Georgia,” Ginny hurts many of her friends. In the first episode, she goes on a date then proceeds to sleep with her new best friend’s brother, later hiding it from everyone.

Ginny and Rory are very disrespectful to their moms and often don’t hear what they are being told. Ginny tries to put her brother in therapy behind her moms back. She also continuously asks for information about Georgia’s past, even after it’s made very clear Georgia wants to protect her from the past by not telling her everything. Ginny continues to badger her mom then gets upset when she does finally tell her more about her history. When Ginny finds out, she is very conflicted on how she should feel and continues to make bad decisions. This proves how Georgia always wants the best for her kids even if it means lying, stealing, or hurting others.

“I hate Ginny, she’s such a pick-me,” says sophomore Evi Brown.

Rory also goes behind her moms back specifically to her grandparents, who Lorelai doesn’t have a good relationship with. Rory asks them to go to her moms graduation after Lorelai told her to stay out of it. She also goes to her grandparents for support when she later drops out of college, which her mom disapproved of.

A few of Ginny and Rory’s boyfriends are also generally disliked. Dean is very clingy and jealous. His character development does not age very well and in Episode 2 Season 18, Dean calls Rory over a dozen times, just to check up on her. Hunter is awkward and cringy, singing multiple songs to Ginny and although the scenes are entertaining, you will definitely get second hand embarrassment.

“Hunter is so cringy,” said senior Luna Schock, “he makes me uncomfortable, just a little bit.”

In both shows, there are a number of dramatic endings to relationships. They are very emotional for all characters, but Ginny and Rory seem the least affected, oddly enough. In Season 1 Episode 8 of “Ginny and Georgia,” Hunter and Ginny yell at eachother about being biracial. They both feel misunderstood in life and at school and they take it out on eachother. In a later episode, viewers find out Hunter still loves Ginny and wants to be with her, however, Ginny has already moved on with her neighbor and best friend’s twin, Marcus. When Rory and Dean break up, a number of times, it was always very dramatic.

Rory and Ginny both have objectively annoying friends. Ginny has Maxine and Rory has Paris. Paris and Maxine both try to take charge of those around them and control their environments. They also have very strong emotions that they project onto others. In the pilot episode of “Ginny and Georgia,” Maxine will not stop talking to Ginny after she is introduced to Ginny’s friend group. Maxine also talks a lot about herself and ignores when her friends need help, like when Abby’s parents were getting divorced. Paris is very similar. She is centered on her own problems and getting into college. She takes control of projects and tells everyone what they should be doing, without considering others’ feelings.

Another annoyance of both shows is Georgia’s and Lorelai’s relationships. Many want Georgia to be with the restaurant owner, Joe, or Ginny’s dad, Zion. She instead dates the mayor. Paul. Although some like him, many think Georgia should still be with someone else and most predict that in later seasons, she won’t be with Paul anymore. Lorelai takes forever to get together with Luke. She dates just about everyone before her and Luke finally get together and even when they do, many complications cause too many ups and downs throughout their relationship.

Generally, a lot of the things people are annoyed by and don’t like in “Gilmore Girls” are the same things in “Ginny and Georgia.”

Shows are becoming less creative. “Ginny and Georgia” appear to be using many of the same characters as “Gilmore Girls.” At times, this seems almost intentional. They switched the plotline up to be more relevant to modern times but kept the basics of the characters the same.

In “Ginny and Georgia,” there’s a lot more violence, which takes the show to a newer level but also is becoming too much, which may cause this series to fall short. This is similar to many other shows and movies, as they add more violence to make it a series interesting. It often becomes too much and is generally less creative. When “Gilmore Girls” came out in the 2000s, shows were a lot more wholesome and creative, however, now shows are centered in violence, like 13 Reasons Why, On My Block, Riverdale, and How To Get Away With Murder are becoming more identical.

“Ginny and Georgia” is good, but not good enough to be better than “Gilmore Girls.” “Gilmore Girls” is loved by many. There are many generations who adore this series and anyone can watch it, especially mothers and daughters.

“Gilmore Girls it’s so much better,” said sophomore Matilda Morgan.

“I like the story line better,” said sophomore Bluesy Walker.

The characters are fun, loving and the series has amazing storylines to follow.

This show is perfect for anyone who is looking for a good show to watch. “Ginny and Georgia” tried to compete but “Gilmore Girls” took the win for this generation’s vote.