Every 'Gilmore Girls' season, ranked

After a successful seven-season run on the WB and a well-deserved resurgence when a new generation of fans discovered it on Netflix, Gilmore Girls has become Gen Z and Millennials' go-to cozy show. Thanks to its lovable characters, the quirky small-town setting of Stars Hollow, and love letters to pop culture, it's the perfect series to rewatch any time of year.

But Gilmore Girls isn't just a cozy Connecticut-set show — it's also groundbreaking. The pilot aired on the WB in 2001, when it was still relatively unusual for shows to pass the Bechdel test, let alone feature two complex, hilarious women as protagonists. There were intense shipper debates about both characters' love lives, especially Rory's (Alexis Bledel, #TeamJess forever), but fans were also invested in the women's dreams and ambitions: whether Rory would go to an Ivy League school and become a reporter, whether Lorelai (Lauren Graham) would start her own inn, and whether everyone would survive the infamous Friday night dinners with grandparents Richard (Edward Herrmann) and Emily (Kelly Bishop).

So as you gear up for your annual binge, read EW's ranking of the Gilmore Girls seasons from worst to best. (For new viewers, plenty of spoilers ahead!)

01 of 08

8. Season 7 (2006–2007)

The heart of Gilmore Girls was always dialogue: the witty, pop-culture-laden, mile-a-minute conversations that the actors needed a coach to pull off. But in season 7, the only installment without original creator Amy Sherman-Palladino at the helm, the show lost its unique rhythm: The dialogue clunked, the bits went on for way too long, and the characters just didn't sound like themselves. Suddenly, the show lived up to that MADtv parody where they ask, "Is this funny or just fast?" Many fans were upset about melodramatic plot developments in season 7, like Lorelai and Chris' (David Sutcliffe) rushed and underdeveloped marriage, or both Lane (Keiko Agena) and Sookie (Melissa McCarthy) having unwanted pregnancies. But the real problem with season 7 was its sentimentality.

Viewers think of Gilmore Girls as a chatty, emotional show, and the characters do indeed talk a lot, but rarely about their feelings. In this season, all of the subtext became text. Lorelai spontaneously admitted that everything she does is a reaction to her parents, Rory and longtime love interest Logan (Matt Czuchry) had long conversations processing the tiniest conflicts, and the characters said "I love you" more in those 22 episodes than they do in all of the other seasons combined. Many fans would place the oft-misguided A Year in the Life at the bottom of their ranking, but season 7 was worse than bad: It was generic.

02 of 08

7. A Year in the Life (2016)

Alexis Bledel and Matt Czuchry on 'Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life'. Saeed Adyani/Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection

The Gilmore Girls revival evoked fond memories — at least, before it came out. Unfortunately, A Year in the Life didn't live up to the massive hype. All of the characters were in stasis, as if they were frozen in time since the Palladinos left the show at the end of season 6. Lorelai and Luke (Scott Patterson) were still avoiding conversations about marriage and children despite being in a long-term committed relationship. Rory was floundering in her career and having an affair with Logan, her now-engaged (though not to her) college boyfriend — behavior that makes much more sense for a twentysomething than a 32-year-old. Only Emily had a satisfying story arc as she processed Richard's passing, which was made all the more poignant by the real-life death of Edward Herrmann.

There were moments when the dialogue sparkled the way it did in the original series, but there were just as many bits that didn't land — Luke not understanding surrogacy was especially cringey — and despite the longer episodes, the reboot didn't spend enough time with the characters viewers care about. We barely saw Lane, but the audience did get a random magical realism sequence with the Life and Death Brigade and an interminable musical that can quite literally induce sleep. Worst of all, fans waited almost a decade to hear those final four words, and they were, well, a huge letdown. "I'm pregnant"? Really? That's the big ending for Rory we were all waiting for?

03 of 08

6. Season 6 (2005–2006)

GILMORE GIRLS, Lauren Graham, Edward Herrmann, Alexis Bledel, Kelly Bishop, 'Friday Night's Alright for Fighting' - Season 6 — Lauren Graham, Edward Herrmann, Alexis Bledel, and Kelly Bishop on 'Gilmore Girls'. Warner Bros./Courtesy Everett Collection

Season 6 may not be the worst season, but it's definitely the most depressing. Fans waited years for Luke and Lorelai to finally get engaged, only to watch their relationship die a slow, sad death. Lorelai and Rory's relationship was the heart of the show, and, for almost half the season, they weren't even speaking to each other. But mostly, fans decry season 6 thanks to one character: April Nardini (Vanessa Marano). And for good reason — surprise children have no place on any show that's not a daytime soap opera.

There were some bright spots here and there, like Jess (Milo Ventimiglia) returning to convince Rory to go back to Yale, or the stylistically ambitious episode "Friday Night's Alright for Fighting," in which Lorelai, Rory, Emily, and Richard spent 10 full minutes airing all of their grievances from the past 20 years. But, for most of the season, it feels like the Palladinos ran out of ideas.

04 of 08

5. Season 4 (2003–2004)

Alexis Bledel and Kelly Bishop on 'Gilmore Girls' Season 4 — Alexis Bledel and Kelly Bishop on 'Gilmore Girls'. Everett Collection

In teen dramas, the college years are usually the kiss of death. And while Gilmore Girls ultimately became the exception by returning to form in season 5, Rory's freshman year was a little rough. There were entire episodes where Lorelai and Rory barely interacted, and the writers didn't find anything compelling to fill the vacuum: Lorelai's relationship with Digger (Jason Stiles) was incredibly low-stakes, the drama with Richard's company was a yawn, and Rory (bizarrely) didn't make any new friends in her first year of college.

But, while the overarching plot left something to be desired, season 4 was consistently funny and high-quality on an episode-to-episode basis. The last few episodes, especially, remain some of the best of the series, mostly due to Luke and Lorelai's early courtship, starting with a hilariously earnest self-help tape and ending with one of the best first kisses of all time.

05 of 08

4. Season 5 (2004–2005)

The 'I Love Jesus!' mannequin from 'Gilmore Girls' season 5. Warner Bros.

After a bumpy transition to college, Gilmore Girls found a new rhythm in season 5, which was just as funny and self-assured as the first three installments (if not quite as charming). This particular season contained some of the best gags of the whole series, such as Luke and Rory's first boyfriend Dean's (Jared Padalecki) Bop-It battle or the "I love Jesus!" mannequins, as well as ambitious set pieces like the Life and Death Brigade stunt in "You Jump, I Jump, Jack."

Best of all, the class conflict that was mostly absent in season 4 was back in full swing. Emily tried to break up Lorelai and Luke so the former could marry someone with "better breeding," while Rory became enamored with her Yale love interest Logan's world of money and excess. It all ended with Rory stealing a yacht, dropping out of college, and moving in with her grandparents over her mother's protests. This may not have been the best development for Rory's likability, but it made for damn good television.

06 of 08

3. Season 1 (2000–2001)

Gilmore Girls (WB) TV Series Season 1 Episode 5: Cinnamon's Wake November 2, 2000 Shown from left: Lauren Graham (as Lorelai Gilmore), Scott Cohen — Lauren Graham and Scott Cohen on 'Gilmore Girls'. Warner Bros.

Gilmore Girls' debut season had its share of awkward moments while the writers and actors were discovering the characters we all know and love: Rory's voice was weirdly low, Stars Hollow eccentric Kirk's (Sean Gunn) name was "Mick," Rory and Lorelai kept insisting that they never fight even as they literally fought all the time, and Lorelai ate a salad(!). But, despite these growing pains, Gilmore Girls developed a unique identity right out of the gate, from Rory getting hit by a deer to the very first time we heard Lorelai say, "I smell snow..." And while Dean overstayed his welcome later in the series, his early relationship with Rory was almost painfully adorable.

But even as both of the main protagonists had ups and downs in their love lives, what made Gilmore Girls special from the very beginning was the focus on the mother-daughter relationship. In the season finale, Lorelai's then-boyfriend Max (Scott Cohen) proposed to her with a thousand yellow daisies and Rory finally said, "I love you, you idiot!" to Dean. But it was the last shot, with Lorelai and Rory running toward each other in the town square and jumping up and down to the sounds of "My Little Corner of the World," that capped the season with pure magic.

07 of 08

2. Season 2 (2001–2002)

GILMORE GIRLS, Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, 'The Bracebridge Dinner', (Season 2) — Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel on 'Gilmore Girls'. WB/Ron Batzdorff/Warner Bros./Everett Collection

The first three seasons of Gilmore Girls are all wonderful, and the difference in quality is honestly negligible. Season 2, however, had the most high-stakes romantic drama, as Lorelai broke off her engagement to Max and Jess arrived in town to kick off the Rory/Dean/Jess love triangle. It's also the coziest season, with time-honored Stars Hollow traditions like Bid-a-Basket, Revolutionary War reenactments, and a classic love letter to snow in "The Bracebridge Dinner" — complete with horse-drawn carriage rides and a snowman-building contest (for which Lorelai and Rory built a snowwoman that looks like Björk).

Season 2 was also the best showcase for the signature writing style of the series, in which some of the most dramatic events happened offscreen. For instance, Lorelai ended her engagement in a scene that we didn't get to see, because all that mattered was Rory's expression when Lorelai choked out, "I didn't want to try on my wedding dress every night." Meanwhile, Rory and Jess also got into a car accident offscreen, but we only found out when Lorelai's babbling about takeout menus was interrupted by the news that Rory was in the hospital. However, the spotlight always remained on the relationships, mostly the unbreakable bond between Lorelai and Rory.

08 of 08

1. Season 3 (2002–2003)

Gilmore Girls Season 3 Alexis Bledel — Alexis Bledel on 'Gilmore Girls'. Warner Bros.

Season 3 was classic Gilmore Girls. Every episode was a banger, from Lorelai flashing back to her teen pregnancy to Rory's love triangle exploding at the town dance marathon in "They Shoot Gilmores, Don't They?" Jess and Rory finally embarked on a relationship, and Adam Brody showed up to give the most romantic speech about carbonation you've ever heard.

But season 3 was at its best when Lorelai and Rory were just being their charming selves, eating four Thanksgiving dinners, devil-egging Jess' car, and making their famous pro-con lists to decide where Rory should go to college. And who didn't cry when Rory finally graduated from Chilton and delivered a heartfelt valedictorian speech about her mother? "As she guided me through these incredible 18 years, I don't know if she ever realized that the person I most wanted to be was her." Even Luke was blubbering.

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