Gilmore Girls Leaves Netflix After 12 Years, Debuts on Amazon Prime Video July 1
After a decade‑long run on Netflix, the beloved comedy‑drama Gilmore Girls will arrive on Amazon Prime Video on July 1, 2026. The move follows the series’ removal from the streaming platform on June 30, after 12 years of availability and consistent popularity.
The show first aired on The WB on October 5, 2000, and ran for seven seasons until May 15, 2007, when it concluded on The CW. In 2014, Netflix secured the rights to the original series and later released a four‑part revival, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, in 2016. The original run remained on Netflix until the end of June 2026, when it was taken off the U.S. library.
Entertainment Weekly reports that the series will be added to Prime Video’s catalog on July 1. People notes that the show will also stay available on Disney+ and Hulu. The transition is part of a broader pattern of content moving between major streaming services.
Netflix’s decision to drop the series was one of several cancellations announced in 2026. Newsweek listed eleven shows that year, including The Lincoln Lawyer, The Abandons, Terminator Zero, F1: The Academy, and Tyler Perry’s Miss Governor. In a 2023 Bloomberg interview, Netflix co‑CEO Ted Sarandos said the company had never cancelled a successful show, citing budget constraints and audience size as factors.
Fans reacted strongly to the removal. Social media posts from viewers expressed disappointment, with some threatening to cancel their Netflix subscriptions. The backlash was amplified by a September 2025 report from The Wrap that identified Gilmore Girls as the ninth most‑watched show on Netflix and described it as a “fall rewatch staple.” The series celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2025.
Critically, the show remains well regarded. It holds an 83 % approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is frequently cited as a cult classic of 2000s television. Creator Amy Sherman‑Palladino and ensemble cast members Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel received widespread acclaim for the series’ rapid dialogue and intertextual references.
Amazon Prime Video, the second‑most‑subscribed video‑on‑demand service after Netflix, will now host the series. Launched in 2006 and expanded globally in 2016, Prime Video is available in the United States both as part of a Prime subscription and as a standalone service.
The move underscores the competitive nature of streaming rights. While Netflix held the series for over a decade, Amazon’s acquisition demonstrates the ongoing reshuffling of content libraries as platforms seek to differentiate their offerings.
In summary, Gilmore Girls will stream on Amazon Prime Video from July 1, 2026, following its removal from Netflix on June 30. The show will also remain on Disney+ and Hulu. The transition follows a broader pattern of content migration among major streaming services and comes amid a series of cancellations announced by Netflix in 2026.
Current status: subscribers to Amazon Prime Video can begin watching the original seven‑season series and the 2016 revival miniseries starting July 1. No further announcements have been made regarding additional releases or licensing agreements for the show.
