The Gilmore Guys Really Love Gilmore Girls

Gilmore Guys is a comedy podcast with a devoted following reminiscent of the TV show it chronicles. Kevin T. Porter and Demi Adejuyigbe are dissecting all seven seasons of Gilmore Girls, devoting a podcast episode to each episode of the show. Hundreds of thousands of listeners tune in each week and live recordings have started filling up theaters. Gilmore Guys will be at Texas Theatre this weekend.

Why did you start a podcast about the Gilmore Girls?

Kevin T. Porter: I had wanted to start a podcast for a while and couldn’t think of a good idea. Then I saw Netflix was getting the streaming rights for all the episodes of Gilmore Girls. I thought it would be a funny idea to revisit it because I was such a big fan of it growing up. I didn’t have much expectation for it. I tweeted the idea, half kidding. Demi, also kind of joking, responded to the tweet. We met up for lunch a couple days after that, kind of calling each other’s bluffs, and then we recorded our first episode.

What does someone unfamiliar with the podcast need to know?

Kevin: It’s a comedy podcast, first and foremost. The topic of conversation is Gilmore Girls and at this point we are both deeply invested in the show. We try to have sincerity and earnestness when we discuss the show. We try to have respect for the fans and the legacy of the show.

Do you have to be a Gilmore Girls fan? Are there people who just listen because it’s a funny show?

Demi Adejuyigbe: There are a few people, but it’s not as prevalent as you’d think. We’ll go on hour-long tangents about the show and that can’t be fun to listen to if you have no idea what we’re talking about.

Kevin: We try to make it a comedy show, but it is for Gilmore Girls fans at the end of the day.

What makes this television show something that so many people strongly identify with?

Kevin: I think it’s a show that is very reflective of the audience that watches it. People really see themselves in the relationships of the mother and daughter on the show, obviously Rory and Lorelai. While it’s done in a very stylized, fast-talking way, the stories and relationships at the core are very emotional to the audience. People see themselves in these characters.

The pace of the dialogue is particularly striking, not at all what you would expect from a television show.

Kevin: It’s a show that’s deeply funny, in a throwback, kind of Howard Hawks way. It’s very much like His Girl Friday or Bringing Up Baby, in terms of fast-talking people getting things done, and quirky characters.

It’s also surprising to see a television show with references like an Echo & the Bunnymen poster, a Fugazi shirt or an Edith Wharton novel.

Kevin: We have a few people listening to the show in other countries and it’s interesting to hear stories about how Gilmore Girls was sort of an American cultural education for them. They learn a lot about American culture from it, but so do American viewers. That was part of the fun of watching the show again, learning about these different things. Not only was the show making contemporary references, but then it would also reference Oscar Levant or Susan Sontag. I’m still learning all the references.

What is a major topic of contention among fans when you do Q&As at these shows?

Kevin: It would definitely be the boyfriend who Rory should end up with. There were three throughout the course of the seven seasons. To this day, the debate still continues. People have very strong opinions on that, as do we. They’re all pretty terrible in different ways. Ultimately none are right for Rory.

Demi: I’m also pretty firmly in the camp of they’re all pretty bad, but they have their merits in terms of their relationships to Rory over time.

Does the announcement of the upcoming Gilmore Girls reunion on Netflix make you guys nervous? The show has been off the air for eight years and the last season was considered the weakest.

Kevin: I think both Demi and I have what we would describe as cautious optimism for the new episodes. We hope that they are exactly what Amy wants them to be. (Amy Sherman-Palladino, you know, the main writer and show runner.) I try to have an open mind about it and proceed with caution.

You’ve had some of the cast from the show on your podcast. Do you think you will be able to get one of the Gilmore Girls to take part?

Kevin: I feel like we’ve had one of the Gilmore Girls on the show because we were able to talk to Kelly Bishop. I count her as one third of the Gilmore Girls. But as far as getting Lauren Graham or Alexis Bledel on the show, I assume that will happen sometime during the promotional push for the new season coming on Netflix. We’re hoping they stop by. Fingers crossed.

What did you think of Lauren Graham's character in Bad Santa?

Kevin: I haven’t seen Bad Santa.

Demi: I saw Bad Santa ages ago, before I saw Gilmore Girls. But in my mind, I don’t have any trouble separating different characters from different worlds they appear in. It was very different, just because of how raw, and more adult, her role in Bad Santa is. It’s never been an issue for me.

Do you ever meet people who obsess about Gilmore Girls the way some obsess over Twin Peaks or The Shining?

Kevin: I think the majority of Gilmore Girls fans are warm, thoughtful, intelligent people. There’s probably some obsessive people within it. But for the most part it’s been people who are sweet and lovely.

What happens to the show after all the episodes have been reviewed?

Kevin: We’re going to cover Amy Sherman-Pelladino’s show Bunheads, which she did a couple years after Gilmore Girls ended. And we’ll return for the reunion. But I think otherwise we’ll be done.

What can we expect from the live show?

Kevin: People can expect something that we hope merely listening to the show won’t be able to provide, which is a visceral, live experience. We really want to put a premium on the idea of performing a show and giving people their money’s worth because there are so many other things people could do with their time. There will be in-depth discussion, music, audience Q&A and participation, and we’ll meet anyone who wants to meet us after the show.


Gilmore Guys Live: A Stars Hollow Town Meeting starts at 7 p.m. Sunday, December 27, at Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson Blvd., thetexastheatre.com, $16.