Gilmore Girls fans have been left devastated by an update from Netflix about the ultimate comfort watch, but where can you watch the series for free in the UK?
The Show's Legacy
Premiering all the way back in 2000 on The WB, Gilmore Girls stars Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel as Lorelai and Rory Gilmore. The series followed the mother and daughter living in the fictional town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut.
The series also featured Bridesmaids’ Melissa McCarthy, Prodigal Sons’ Keiko Agena, God's Favorite Idiot’s Yanic Truesdale, Saw’s Scott Patterson, Prodigal Son’s Kelly Bishop, Dirty Dancing’s Liza Weil, Supernatural’s Jared Padalecki, This Is Us’ Milo Ventimiglia, Guardians of the Galaxy’s Sean Gunn and the late Edward Herrmann.
It was a sleeper hit for The WB, pulling in solid if not groundbreaking ratings over the course of its seven series run. Gilmore Girls initially came to an end in 2007, with no sign of it ever coming back.
A major reason why Gilmore Girls was a hit was creator Amy Sherman-Palladino’s frantic writing style, with characters speaking about everything and anything at a mile a minute. On top of this, it had plenty of love triangles and drama to keep viewers invested.
Netflix's Impact
When the streaming age began to blossom, Gilmore Girls turned out to be an unexpected hit for Netflix in its early days. For over a decade, it was often spotted on the streaming giant’s most watched shows of the year.
It was such a sensation that Netflix premiered Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life in 2016, which served as a sequel series set ten years after the series finale. It consisted of four episodes, with each one representing one of the four seasons.
A stunning cliffhanger ending saw Rory reveal to her mother that she was pregnant, with the father’s identity left up in the air. Sadly, ten years have passed without any answers to an abundance of questions.
Netflix Removal Announcement
In a further blow to fans, Netflix announced on Monday (June 15) that Gilmore Girls will no longer be able to stream on the platform. Those in the middle of a rewatch or watching for the first time only have two weeks to finish the programme.
A Netflix spokesperson said: “We are sorry to say that Gilmore Girls Season 1-7 will be leaving Netflix in the US on June 30. Raising a cup of coffee to every fan who visited Stars Hollow with us.”
Fans immediately rushed to X, previously known as Twitter, to express their sadness at no longer being able to watch Gilmore Girls. @armyeojin said: “they’re gonna lose so many viewers bc the amount of people ik that literally only have netflix bc of gilmore girls is insane.” @wrongsomehow wrote: “netflix is getting rid of gilmore girls????? cancel autumn.” @laurenlovesu13 posted: “I know the licensing is up, but you could renew it again since most people have Netflix BECAUSE OF Gilmore Girls. It’ll be worth the money bc you’re about to lose a lot of subscribers.” @shivlestat commented: “doesn’t netflix know all those fall gilmore girl rewatches are paying their bills.” @knighterrnt stated: “i feel like most big shows like this have gotten months notice ahead of removing it..... why did gilmore girls get 15 days.”
Where to Watch in the UK
While it’s being reported that Netflix will keep the series internationally for the foreseeable future, this is yet to be officially confirmed. This has led to many UK viewers fearing that they too will be affected.
However, in a great piece of news for Gilmore Girls fans, it is still available to stream on Disney+. On top of this, all seven seasons of the original series can be watched for free with ads on ITVX for anyone with a TV licence.
Those who pay for the broadcaster’s premium option can watch Gilmore Girls without ads. However, nowhere other than Netflix are streaming the sequel series, which is reported to be leaving the platform later in the year.
