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No, Ginny & Georgia's Scott Porter Did Not Diss Gilmore Girls

In an exclusive chat with E! News, Ginny & Georgia star Scott Porter revealed how he accidentally upset Gilmore Girls fans.

By Alyssa Ray Feb 23, 2021 4:30 PMTags
Watch: A Blast From Interviews Past: "Gilmore Girls"

No shade to Gilmore Girls.

In an exclusive chat with E! News, Scott Porter clarified what he meant when he said his new Netflix show, Ginny & Georgia, was "so much more" than Gilmore Girls. For those who don't follow Porter on Twitter and Instagram, on Jan. 25, the 41-year-old actor took to social media to promote the upcoming dramedy.

Alongside the show's key art, he wrote, "Y'all ain't ready for this show or for these two forces of nature @Brianne_Howey and Antonia Gentry). And no, we're NOT just like Gilmore Girls, we are so much MORE. #GinnyAndGeorgia drops February 24th on @netlix."

According to Porter, who plays Mayor Paul Randolph on Ginny & Georgia, he got himself "in trouble" as Gilmore Girls fans felt his comment was a dig at the beloved '00s comedy-drama. "I didn't mean it in the way that we are a greater some of its parts than Gilmore Girls was. What I meant was we have a lot of different storylines that Gilmore Girls would never have stepped into," Porter exclusively told E! News. "We deliver a different kind of storytelling. And, yes, the mother-daughter comparisons, of course, are right there."

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2021 TV Premiere Dates

As he continued, Porter defended that Ginny & Georgia creator Sarah Lampert has leaned into the Gilmore Girls comparison. Case in point: The Lorelai-esque lead (played by Brianne Howey) even jokes in the trailer, "We're like the Gilmore Girls, but with bigger boobs."

Porter added, "It's not as though Sarah, our creator, shies away from that. She understands it, but then she wants to delve into different areas and tell different stories."

During our chat with the former Friday Night Lights star, he even praised the show for being "wildly unpredictable."

Netflix

"We, in 10 episodes, tell a very broad story with a lot of surprises. There is danger, I mean, present danger," he teased. "I don't want to spoil too much for everybody, I want them to see and be surprised. We go a little bit deeper and a little bit darker and there is more than meets the eye is what I meant by that initially with Ginny & Georgia."

And, as the show boasts a large ensemble cast, Porter said the creator and writers have been able to tell "many stories, as opposed to one streamlined six white people sitcom storyline." In fact, diversity is front and center in the show. Not only is the Ginny in Ginny & Georgia biracial, the series makes an effort to address tokenism, identity and class.

Netflix

"Our show deals in our current reality and diversity and individualism and inclusiveness and, you know, trying to celebrate that and lift that up," Porter expressed. "And one of the characters of the show is really the town of Wellsbury itself, and I think that's gonna speak to a lot of people and kind of open some eyes."

Porter highlighted that the "self-proclaimed modern-day utopia of progressiveness, as Wellsbury believes it is, starts to see its own cracks and its own flaws because of its lack of perspective."

"I think we can all gain perspective, we should be in the pursuit of perspective," he concluded. "That is where positive conversations begin, and I think this show tries to show as many perspectives as it can."

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Renewed and Canceled TV Shows 2021 Guide

Ginny & Georgia will be available to stream Wednesday, Feb. 24 on Netflix.

Peacock is live now! Check out NBCU's streaming service here.