15 feel-good shows to binge over the holidays

GILMORE GIRLS: A Year in the Life. Photo: Saeed Adyani/Netflix

Gilmore Girls

Series availability: 7 seasons, 153 episodes
Watch now on Netflix.

As someone who has watched Gilmore Girls all the way through at least a million times, I have to say it really is the perfect show to binge. The fast-paced dialogue of Gilmore-isms is enough to keep your energy up through 40-minute long episodes, and there’s always something exciting going on in the small town of Stars Hollow.

If you haven’t already watched Gilmore Girls and have been living under a rock for the last 18 years since the show first premiered (and later had a resurgence thanks to Netflix), the show is about Lorelai Gilmore and her daughter, Rory, birth name: Lorelai Gilmore, because if men can name their sons after themselves, so can women! Lorelai came from an affluent Connecticut family, but was always a rebel and hated the privileged life. When she got pregnant as a teen, she left home and never looked back, seeking refuge in the small town of Stars Hollow where she worked as a maid at the Independence Inn before eventually becoming the inn’s manager.

Since Lorelai was so young when she had her and because all they had was each other growing up (Rory’s father Christopher was around sometimes, but mostly absent), the two are impossibly close and talk at a rapid pace that most people couldn’t understand, and their endless pop culture references don’t make it any easier! Over the course of seven seasons, we see their bond strengthen and get tested, with a stream of boyfriends, family drama, legal issues, and big career moves.

By the time you’re done watching all the seasons, you’ll feel like you’ve known the Gilmores your entire life. If you have the time, you can also watch the Netflix original reboot, Gilmore Girls: A Year in The Life, but be warned: you may not like where everyone’s life has ended up.