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Kendall Myers
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Kendall Myers is a Senior Author with Collider. As part of the TV and Movies Features team, she writes about some of the most popular releases before, during, and after they premiere. In three years, she has written over 900 articles with topics ranging from classic sitcoms to fantasy epics.
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It's been 25 years since Gilmore Girls introduced the world to Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory (Alexis Bledel), and in that time, the series has made waves. In its seven seasons, Gilmore Girls gained popularity, in part because there is no series exactly like it, and even after so many years, it continues to pop up, especially in the Fall. There are many reasons the series is so beloved, and a lot of it has to do with the constant drama of the Gilmore family and the endlessly hilarious side characters that populate Stars Hollow. But beyond the story itself, one creative choice set Gilmore Girls apart from the competition and has never quite been duplicated.
While the series is remembered for many things, one part of its legacy that cannot be ignored is the rapid-fire dialogue. Lorelai, Rory, and the rest of the cast speak at an incredible pace, which can be difficult to keep up with as they drop one pop culture reference after another. The dialogue has been both praised and criticized, but it's hard to deny that it helped the series distinguish itself. Even after so many years, no show has truly been able to recreate Gilmore Girls' pace, though Amy Sherman-Palladino's other series have displayed a valiant effort. The fact is, speed-talking is part of what makes Gilmore Girls unique, and no one else can make it work like the iconic Gilmores.
Why Does 'Gilmore Girls' Dialogue Move So Quickly?
Lorelai and Rory sitting on a couch together at Richard and Emily's house in Gilmore Girls Season 4.Image via The WB
The fast-paced dialogue is easily the first thing people notice when turning on the beloved drama series, and that is part of a deliberate choice by creator Amy Sherman-Palladino. Over the years, there have been discussions about why the series moves so quickly, as it complicated things for the writers and actors, and made it more difficult to understand the series. Yet, it wasn't a mindless decision. Actor Yanic Truesdale, who not only plays Michel in Gilmore Girls but also worked on Sherman-Palladino's Etoile, explained that the pace is due to Amy Sherman-Palladino's belief that TV dialogue is slower than real life. In Gilmore Girls, she attempted to change that pace by writing roughly 25 more pages of dialogue per episode that had to be delivered in the same amount of time as the average series. To keep the episodes at a reasonable length, the cast had to talk fast.
This choice added pressure to the production, which had to film more pages in the same amount of time as an average drama, but it makes sense. Gilmore Girls largely follows Lorelai, whose frantic energy matches the show's pace. Throughout the series, she struggles to get everything done as a single mother and business owner, whose parents, Emily (Kelly Bishop) and Richard (Edward Herrmann), add another layer of complication to her life as they make their expectations clear. Likewise, the pressure Rory puts on herself through her schoolwork makes sense with the unrelenting pace of the series. With so much going on for the characters, the creative choice feels fitting despite the challenge it created for the production.
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Posts By Kendall Myers Nov 16, 2025'Gilmore Girls' Rapid Pace Is Divisive
There is a lot that fans enjoy about Gilmore Girls, or else they wouldn't continue to watch it so many years later, but the pace isn't universally loved. As fitting as it feels for the characters, some consider the speed-talking a barrier for casual fans who might otherwise be interested in family drama. It's true that when characters have a long-winded rant, it can be easy to lose track of what they are saying and, by extension, the thread of the story. Because the sheer number of words coming through the speakers overwhelms some people, putting them off the show, it's possible that the series could have found a larger audience had they slowed down. Yet, the unrelenting pace adds to the series as much as it detracts from it.
While some don't appreciate Gilmore Girls' pace, others love it. As Lorelai and Rory go back and forth, the conversations are full of wit and clever references that allow fans to discover something new on each rewatch. Because of how fast they are going, Gilmore Girls fits in more than its fair share of memorable quotes, ranging from nonsense phrases like "Oy, with the poodles, already," to masterful comebacks like Emily's line, "Buy me a boa and drive me to Reno, because I am open for business." As Kelly Bishop puts it, "I think the characters have a lot to say. There's a lot going on, and you have to be really quick to pick it up. The more intelligent you are, the more you get it." Gilmore Girls' pace may make it less accessible to the masses, but it sets the series apart. Considering it is still so widely recognizable after 25 years, it clearly didn't impede the series' success.
'Gilmore Girls' and Its Fast-Talking Created an Incredible Legacy
Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel as Lorelai and Rory Gilmore standing in the snow holding coffee cups, in the "Winter" episode of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the LifeImage via Netflix
Gilmore Girls became known for its unparalleled speed during its seven seasons, and even decades later, that pace is a definitive marker of the series. In fact, the two are so tightly associated that when Netflix created the revival series, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, they opened with a self-aware joke about the pace. The first episode features Rory running out of breath after a monologue because she hasn't spoken like that in a while (just like Bledel hadn't delivered such a line since the original series ended nine years earlier). There is a lot more to Gilmore Girls than its rapid-fire pace, but it is still one of the first things people think of because no one can recreate it.
Speed might have worked for Gilmore Girls, but it is a far cry from modern prestige TV. These days, it is more common for shows to take a serious approach, reflecting a larger shift in the medium as TV tends toward trauma-driven stories, even in comedies. However, Amy Sherman-Palladino has used her experience with Gilmore Girls, going on to create The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which uses the same whip-smart dialogue to great acclaim. Still, the Prime Video series does it a little differently, in part because it is set in the past, missing the pop culture references littered throughout Gilmore Girls' dialogue. While the unrelenting pace of Gilmore Girls isn't common on TV, now or 25 years ago, it is part of what makes the series so memorable because no one else has managed to do the same.
Gilmore Girls is streaming on Netflix in the U.S.
Gilmore Girls
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