Ross JohnsonRoss JohnsonFreelance Writer
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Ross Johnson writes about television, film, and literature for Lifehacker. He has a degree in political science from the University of Rochester and has previously been a legal writer and editor for Thomson Reuters, for which he later traveled around India and the Middle East as an educator specializing in American English style and grammar for adults.
Ross has been an actor on stage, in commercials, and in independent films since childhood, and has written hundreds of articles and essays on genre literature and cinema for Barnes & Noble, Gizmodo, Kotaku, and Yahoo! Entertainment.
Ross produces the Swan Songs film podcast and hosts The Sound of Tomorrow, a pop culture and current affairs radio show based in Rochester, New York, where he lives with his husband and dogs and supports the local arts and cinema scene. You can find him on Bluesky.
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July 23, 2026
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Table of Contents
A cozy, nearly idyllic small town full of an ensemble of quirky characters, grounded in the loving but frequently spiky relationship between single mom Lorelei (Lauren Graham) and Rory (Alexis Bledel). I doubt that Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino was trying to create a formula, but there are elements here that other creators have tried to recapture for a couple of decades now, to greater and lesser effect. The sharp, fast-paced dialogue, chemistry, and complex relationship between mother and daughter balance the charming, cutesy appeal of the Stars Hollow setting. At its best, the show balances its coziness with a sharp wit that keeps it from ever feeling cloying—as is the case with all of these shows that put complicated women in the lead.
Jane the Virgin (2014 – 2019)
Wild setup here in this telenovela-inspired romcom, but that’s part of the fun. Gina Rodriguez is the title’s Jane Gloriana Villanueva, a religious-ish waitress with dreams of becoming a romance novelist. She’d promised her grandmother that she’d maintain her virginity until marriage, a vow thoroughly complicated when she’s artificially inseminated by mistake. The show has fun blending wild, telenovela-inspired, plot twists with more grounded character relationships, including among the three generations of women at the show’s heart. Creator Jennie Snyder Urman was a co-producer on Gilmore Girls, and much of that influence is felt here, including in the ways that the show makes Miami feel like a small town. Buy Jane the Virginfrom Prime Video.
Jane the Virgin (2014 – 2019)
at Prime Video
at Prime Video
Derry Girls (2018 – 2022)
A legitimate sitcom that just happens to be set in Northern Ireland during the violent Troubles of the 1990s, when clashes between nationalists and unionists frequently resulted in violence. It’s a fascinating contrast, brought to life by a writer and creator (Lisa McGee) who lived it. It’s also laugh-out-loud funny—though doesn’t make any allowances for audiences unaccustomed to Irish accents, so don’t feel bad if you need subtitles until you get the hang of it. Erin, Orla, Clare, and Michelle are joined by James, the only male student at their Catholic girls’ school, dealing with normal growing-up stuff in absurd times. This world is a far cry from that of Stars Hollow, but there’s the feel of a tight-knit community of quick-talking, quick-witted women (and one boy!) that strongly connects both shows. Stream Derry Girls on Netflix.
Derry Girls (2018 – 2022)
at Netflix
at Netflix
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017 – 2023)
Amy Sherman-Palladino followed up Gilmore Girls in a big way with Mrs. Maisel, one of Prime’s first and buzziest original series. It’s a comedy-drama about the title’s Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan), a New York housewife of the late 1950s who discovers a talent for stand-up comedy. Inspired by the real-life careers of comedians like Totie Fields and Joan Rivers, the show is both warm and funny, with great performances and dialogue; it also achieves something rare in being a show about comedy that’s actually funny. Mrs. Maisel and her ’50s New York milieu are far from Stars Hollow, but there’s a similar wit and quippiness to the dialogue, albeit with references that are more appropriately tailored to the era. And, as with Lorelei, our lead is a funny, complicated woman who’s not afraid to dream (and mess up) big. Stream The Marvelous Mrs. Maiselon Prime Video.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017 – 2023)
at Prime Video
at Prime Video
Ginny & Georgia(2021 – )
There’s a moment in the first episode of this show when single mom Georgia describes herself and daughter Ginny as “…like the Gilmore Girls, but with bigger boobs!” So there you have it. Brianne Howey plays Georgia, who became a mom at 15 and who’s been fleeing for much of that time, escaping from more than one abusive relationship and going to whatever lengths have been necessary (including possibly murder) in order to protect her two kids. As Ginny (Antonia Gentry) comes of age, she’s forced to come to terms with her mom’s actions (Ginny generally gets bits of backstory alongside us, the audience) and to try to understand the reasons behind them. Their relationship is close, but also complicated and sometimes antagonistic. StreamGinny & Georgia on Netflix.
Ginny & Georgia (2021 – )
at Netflix
at Netflix
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015 – 2019)
Inexplicably underrated, the sitcom Crazy Ex-Girlfriend staged wildly ambitious, and consistently hilarious, musical numbers throughout its four season run. The show stars Rachel Bloom as Rebecca Bunch, a a Yale- and Harvard-educated lawyer who works for a major NYC firm, and who throws it all away to chase a crush from her teenage years to a small town in California. Most impressively, the show dives into real-life issues around mental illness and treatment with humor, but also genuine compassion and frankness, doing a way better job than most other shows. The connective thread here is a lead, like Lorelei, who gets to be a believable, fully realized character while making some very, very questionable decisions on her way toward a more authentic life. Buy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend on Prime Video.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015 – 2019)
at Prime Video
at Prime Video
Étoile (2025)
Amy Sherman-Palladino and David Palladino returned to TV, and to the ballet world (following Bunheads), for this series about two world-renowned ballet companies (one in NYC and one in Paris) that decide to spice things up by swapping their most talented dancers. Each company is on the brink of financial disaster, and so Jack McMillan (Luke Kirby), director of the Metropolitan Ballet, and Geneviève Lavigne (Charlotte Gainsbourg), director of of Le Ballet National, come up with the plan, and recruit an eccentric billionaire (Simon Callow) to pay for it. Much of the comedy comes from the mismatched natures of their swapped dancers, and there’s a tangible love of ballet that keeps things light, despite the fancy title. Stream Étoileon Prime Video.
Hart of Dixie (2011 – 2015)
A little more schmaltzy than Gilmore Girls, perhaps, but if you’re in the market for some more Gilmore-esque cutesy/quirky/townie vibes, then this one will fit the bill, all the more so because it’s kinda the same town. Rachel Bilson plays Zoe Hart, who moves from New York to the small town of Bluebell, Alabama, to take over part of her father’s medical practice—she didn’t have much choice, given that her poor bedside manner made her virtually unemployable. So now she has to rebuild a life among three generations of family in a town full of eccentrics who love to hold festivals and hang out at the gazebo—the exit same gazebo from Stars Hollow, it happens, as both shows were filmed on the same Warner Bros. lot, making Bluebell a very good vibe match. Stream Hart of Dixie on Prime Video.
What do you think so far?
Hart of Dixie (2011 – 2015)
at Prime Video
at Prime Video
Parenthood (2010 – 2015)
Following Gilmore Girls, Lauren Graham traded in her role as single mother Lorelei for the role of single mother Sarah, at the head of a large intergenerational ensemble. Craig T. Nelson plays the Braverman family patriarch with Graham, Peter Krause, Dax Shepard, and Erika Christensen as the four kids with families of their own. As with Gilmore, the comedy-drama revels in its distinctive characters and (relatively) low stakes. Stream Parenthood on Paramount+.
Parenthood (2010 – 2015)
at Paramount+
at Paramount+
The Summer I Turned Pretty (2022 – 2025)
The emphasis here is less on a mother-daughter relationship than in most of these other shows, but Summer still feels like a bit of a match for Gilmore Girls in its universe of flawed and quirky characters. Adapted from the trilogy of YA bestsellers by Jenny Han, this series focuses on the coming-of-age of teenager Belly Conklin (Lola Tung), who is 16 as the series starts. Belly and her family spend every summer at Cousins Beach with the Fisher family, a tradition that’s all well and good until she starts to develop a romantic attraction for first one Fisher brother (Christopher Briney), then the other (Gavin Casalegno), planting the seeds for a love triangle that unfolds over the course of several summers, and that sees Belly grow into young adulthood to a soundtrack made up largely of Taylor Swift tunes. They’re not identical, but Belly feels a bit like an updated take on Rory, and Cousins Beach has cozy Stars Hollow vibes. The three-season run is over, but there’s a continuation movie on the way. Stream The Summer I Turned Prettyon Prime Video.
The Summer I Turned Pretty (2022 – 2025)
at Prime Video
at Prime Video
The Café (2011 – 2013)
An intergenerational trio of women with quippy, fast-paced dialogue in a sleepy community full of quirky characters? Let’s head off to the town of to the seaside town of Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, England, where Londoner Sara (Michelle Terry) has returned home following job and romantic disappointments. She helps her mom, Carol (Ellie Haddington), to run the little café that she owns, while mom’s just hoping to get her married off and grandma Mary (June Ellis) is full of stories that people only occasionally want to hear. It’s dry in that British way and as cozy as they come, as long as you don’t mind a more leisurely pace. While only running for two seasons, the show wraps up nicely.Stream The Café on Peacockand Britbox.
The Café (2011 – 2013)
at Peacock
at Peacock
Ross Johnson
Ross Johnson writes about television, film, and literature for Lifehacker.
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