That Mariano Magic: Today’s TV Bad Boys Can’t Eclipse Jess On ‘Gilmore Girls’

In the world of teen TV, Jess Mariano remains the gold standard crush.

The brooding bad boy (Milo Ventimiglia), who Gilmore Girls introduced in Season 2, stole my heart the second he stepped off the bus in Stars Hollow, and more than 20 years after he rolled into town, I’m still a proud member of Team Jess. The show’s signature choir of la la’s rang out like angels when he arrived in a long sleeve camouflage tee and blue vest, exuding a generally unimpressed demeanor.

Over the course of Jess’ first episode, he gives the town some major ‘tude, ditches his welcome dinner to drink a beer, gets pushed in a lake for being a little shit, and hands Rory (Alexis Bledel) her own copy of Howl — which he’s read 40 times but swiped from her so he could put some notes in the margins. Swoon! By the time the end credits rolled I knew I’d developed a crush of a lifetime. And I wasn’t alone.

With Jess Mariano, Amy Sherman-Palladino didn’t merely craft another predictable high school boy. She brought a rare, complex fantasy to life by mashing a misunderstood, leather-jacket wearing rebel; a clever bookworm; a pop culture buff; a social outcast; and a kind-hearted romantic into a single entity — then packaged that entity in an incredibly dreamy actor. In addition to tousled hair, expressive brows, a distinct voice, and his trademark slanted smile, Ventimiglia brought a certain sincerity and energy to the character that made him irresistible. No matter what heights Ventimiglia’s career rises to (This Is Us included), Gilmore Girls fans will always know him best as Jess. And in the decades since the iconic character first appeared on screens — especially after his triumphant return in the 2016 revival — shows like Never Have I Ever, Ginny & Georgia, and The Summer I Turned Pretty have desperately tried to replicate that Mariano magic.
It’s important to note that Jess Mariano wasn’t the first major James Dean wannabe to hit teen TV — nor was he was the last to differentiate himself from the pack. Major 90s crushes like 90210’s Dylan McKay (Luke Perry), My So-Called Life’s Jordan Catalano (Jared Leto), and Boy Meets World’s Shawn Hunter (Rider Strong) came before Jess, and The OC’s Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie), Gossip Girl’s Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick), Friday Night Lights’ Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch), and The Vampire Diaries’ Damon Salvator (Ian Somerhalder), to name a few, subsequently made their own names. But because of Gilmore Girls’ wide reach and Jess’ monumental impact, people can’t help but think of him whenever an angsty, “too cool for school” love interest shows up on screen.

In 2020, the steamy Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet) charmed Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) and viewers alike in Mindy Kaling’s Netflix show, Never Have I Ever. Despite the fact that, unlike Jess, Paxton is a sociable athlete who’s considered popular among fellow high schoolers, the Mariano comparisons rolled in. Barnet also played the teenage version of Ventimiglia’s character Jack on This Is Us, so it’s clear the actors have similar vibes.

A year later, the weed-smoking, motorcycle-riding Marcus Baker (Felix Mallard) Netflix’s elicited the same reactions. It was understandable, considering Ginny and Georgia — a show that follows a single mother and her teenage daughter, a fair share of love triangles, and life in a small town — has gigantic Gilmore Girls energy, with a splash of crime.

Most recently, Gilmore fans pointed out the likeness between Jess and The Summer I Turned Pretty’s mopish, withdrawn heartthrob Conrad Fisher (Christopher Briney). The Prime Video series was adapted from Jenny Han’s 2009 novel — published in a post-Mariano world — so perhaps Jess served as some inspo for Conrad’s character.

While Sherman-Palladino created a benchmark TV bad boy in Jess — one who can never truly be replicated — fans have noted her depiction of real-life comedian Lenny Bruce (Luke Kirby) on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel  is also reminiscent of the Gilmore Girls character. Some even called out parallels between Lenny’s romance with Midge and Jess’ with Rory.

No matter how much time passes since Gilmore Girls aired or how old or modern an onscreen bad boy is — it always comes back to Jess. The early 2000s character still lives on through a surplus of fancams, thirst tweets, and stan accounts, and while there may never be another teen TV crush as rousing and enduring as the troubled young adult turned mature author, it’s satisfying to remember him with every new attempt.