1. The show’s fictional Stars Hollow—which has gone on to become one of TV’s most beloved settings—was inspired by Amy Sherman-Palladino‘s unexpected visit to Washington, Conn. Charmed by the people she met, traditions she witnessed and the inn she stayed at, she left the small town with the concept for the series—including some of the pilot’s dialogue.
“If I can make people feel this much of what I felt walking around this fairy town,” Sherman-Palladino told Deseret News, “I thought that would be wonderful.”
2. Alexis Bledel had only one uncredited acting role on her resume and was a student at New York University when she auditioned for Rory.
“I was very sick, I was a student at NYU, and they kept calling me back up to audition,” Bledel recalled during an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers. “I think I went, like, six times. Oddly, I wasn’t a very seasoned actor at all. I didn’t know the process. I grew a tad bit impatient. I had a little attitude and our boss really liked that a lot. She was like, ‘That’s our girl!’ I was like, ‘Are you guys going to bring me back again?’ and she was like, ‘I like that, that’s perfect.'”