Upon debut, Gilmore Girls was lauded for the distinct, dialogue-infused style created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, the strength of the dynamic familial themes, and the performances of its cast, particularly leading star Lauren Graham. On Metacritic, the first season has an average rating of 81 out of 100 from 26 reviews, indicating "universal praise".

Viewer ratings for Gilmore Girls were not large, but the numbers were a relative success for the small WB network and it became one of their flagship series.[74][89][90] For its first season the show aired in the tough Thursday 8pm/7pm Central time slot dominated by Friends on NBC and Survivor on CBS.[89] Critical acclaim encouraged the network to move it to Tuesday evenings, as part of a push to promote the series and due to the move of Tuesday stalwart Buffy the Vampire Slayer to UPN in the same timeslot.[91] During season 2, ratings for Gilmore Girls surpassed Buffy[92] and it became The WB's third-highest-rated show,[93] with viewer numbers that grew by double digits in all major demographics.[92] For seasons 4–7, Gilmore Girls was up against the US's top-rated show American Idol, which led to a drop in viewers,[74] but with Season 5 it became The WB's second-most-watched prime time show.[94] The series was often in the top 3 most-viewed shows in its timeslot for women under 35.

Gilmore Girls earned several accolades, but did not receive much attention from the major awarding bodies.[103] Its only Emmy nomination was for Outstanding Makeup for a Series, for the episode "The Festival of Living Art", which it won in 2004.[104] Michael Ausiello has attributed this to "a notorious bias against the WB".[105] Recognition did come from the American Film Institute, who named Gilmore Girls one of the ten best shows of 2002,[106] and the Television Critics Association (TCA) who named it Outstanding New Program of the Year in 2001.[107] The TCA Awards also nominated the show for Outstanding Drama in 2001 and 2002, and Outstanding Comedy in 2005. The Satellite Awards nominated it for Best Series – Musical or Comedy in 2002 and 2004, while it was nominated for Favorite Television Drama at the People's Choice Awards 2005.[103] The show was honored by the Viewers for Quality Television with a "seal of quality" in 2000.[108] The series also achieved considerable attention from the Teen Choice Awards, where it received multiple nominations and wins including the award for Choice Comedy Series in 2005.

Gilmore Girls is considered a cult classic, with an "avid following".[115][116][117][118] During the run of the show this was mostly a small but dedicated group, predominantly of females, but its audience has grown steadily since it came off the air.[74][119][120] The series experienced a resurgence when it became available on Netflix in October 2014, introducing it to a new generation of viewers.[121][122][123] When the revival was announced in 2015, star Lauren Graham credited it to the campaigning and persistence of the fans.[124][125] At this point, according to The Washington Post, the show became "a quirky pop culture obsession."[126] The enduring popularity of Gilmore Girls is considered to come from its comforting quality and cross-generational appeal.[116][124][121][120] It is particularly known as a show that mothers and daughters watch together.