Journal of Co-operative Studies, 59(2), 62-70
Gilmore Girls and the co-operative imaginary: Stars Hollow’s co-operative economics as comfort TV
| Open access |  | Short article (Editorial review) | Published online: November 2026 |
Gilmore Girls and the co-operative imaginary: Stars Hollow’s co-operative economics as comfort TV
Zoe Rasbash
Independent researcher, Barcelona, Spain
Vol 59 No 2, pp. 62-70
Abstract
This paper argues that Gilmore Girls (Sherman-Palladino et al., 2000–2007) derives much of its affective power from an implicit co-operative imaginary embedded in the fictional town of its setting, Stars Hollow, Connecticut. Drawing on the International Co-operative Alliance’s co-operative principles and values, the paper analyses how the show constructs an economy grounded in democratic member control, autonomy from corporate capital, mutual aid, and community-centred governance. Stars Hollow is situated within a longer tradition of US popular culture texts that project utopian alternatives to corporate capitalism through small-town or communitarian settings, yet there is an absence of formal co-operative structures to support the alternative economy of the town. The paper examines the absence of named co-operative institutions in Stars Hollow, arguing that this absence reflects both the show’s corporate origins and emphasis on the individual as the focal point in US narratives of economic life. Crucially, the paper contends that Stars Hollow’s co-operative imaginary depends on a post-racial and post-feminist fantasy: its frictionless mutuality is only possible through the erasure of racial and class inequality. For contemporary viewers navigating late-capitalist precarity, Stars Hollow offers a powerful but politically bounded vision of co-operative economics.
How to cite this article: Rasbah, Z. (2026). Gilmore Girls and the co-operative imaginary: Stars Hollow’s co-operative economics as comfort TV. Journal of Co-operative Studies, 59(2), 62-70. https://doi.org/10.61869/QOQN6894
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