‘Gilmore Girls’ and ‘Seinfeld’ Are Connected in More Ways Than You Think
Gilmore Girls and Seinfeld don’t seem like shows with much in common. Seinfeld, the show about “nothing,” followed a group of four friends as they navigated life in Manhattan. Gilmore Girls focused on the mother-daughter relationship between Lorelai and Rory Gilmore in a fictitious Connecticut town. Still, the shows do have a few things in common, including actors and a famous gazebo.
Lauren Graham and Scott Patterson both appeared in ‘Seinfeld’ before scoring their roles in ‘Gilmore Girls’
Before Jerry and his pals appeared to step foot in Stars Hollow, Seinfeld featured two of Gilmore Girls’ eventual stars. Before she became Lorelai Gilmore, famed actor Lauren Graham played Jerry’s girlfriend in “The Millenium.” Graham’s character, Valarie, only appeared in one episode, as was typical for Jerry’s love interests.
Scott Patterson, the actor who eventually played Lorelai’s love interest, Luke Danes, also appeared on Seinfeld. Patterson appeared as Billy, a man Elaine was dating but had not yet deemed spongeworthy. Like his future co-star, Patterson only appeared in one Seinfeld episode.
Graham and Patterson are far from the only future stars that appeared in Seinfeld. They are among the only Gilmore Girls cast members that appeared on the show, though.
The gazebo in the final episode of ‘Seinfeld’ played a pivotal role in ‘Gilmore Girls’
In the final episode of Seinfeld, Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer, end up in a fictitious Massachusetts town after their plane makes an emergency landing. While in the town, Jerry and his pals end up embroiled in plenty of problems. The finale’s storyline is controversial, but if you look past the odd decisions made to cap off the iconic show, you might notice something.
Jerry and his pals might have been in Massachusetts according to the show, but it sure looked like Stars Hollow. In one scene, the iconic Stars Hollow gazebo is featured front and center. The opening scene shows an aerial view of the town, including the gazebo. According to IMDb, the episode was filmed on the soundstage that eventually served as Stars Hollow for Gilmore Girls.
The Seinfeld finale aired in 1998. Gilmore Girls aired its very first episode two years later, in 2000. Even though the show’s never overlapped, it’s fun to imagine the likes of Jerry, George, Cosmo, and Elaine trying to navigate Stars Hollow and its wacky residents. One can only imagine what Taylor Doosey would have thought of Cosmo Kramer. He couldn’t even tolerate the town troubadours.
Stars Hollow appeared in other shows, too
Seinfeld wasn’t the only show to utilize the Warner Bros. soundstage that served as Stars Hollow for seven years. Pretty Little Liars, You, and LaLa Land all shot scenes on the set used for Gilmore Girls.
In the Netflix original, You, Luke’s Diner was used as a bakery. In LaLa Land, several street scenes were filmed on the set. Pretty Little Liars used the entire soundstage, renaming several main buildings but keeping the general Stars Hollow layout.
