Milo Ventimiglia can't believe Gilmore Girls has endured for over 25 years - but he has some idea why the iconic dramedy, which premiered October 5, 2000, remains so popular. "I think that show in particular is just evergreen," he exclusively told Us. "The writing on it, it's the same today. I think just the way that Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino had written that show, and what they were able to accomplish with creating this evergreen world, it's hard to pinpoint, because I think if you can pinpoint it, then everybody would try to do it and replicate that, but you can't necessarily replicate that one." Ventimiglia played Rory's (Alexis Bledel) on-again, off-again troubled high school boyfriend Jess Mariano on the show. "The relationship between Lorelei and Rory, I think that was huge because of communication [between a] mother and a daughter, and just finding strength in that as a duo," he said. "I think who Rory was in her decisions and her choices to seek higher education, I think that's super, super inspiring for young women." 'Gilmore Girls' Cast: Where Are They Now? "And then, of course, you throw in the classic Rory boyfriend [drama,]" he continued. "Whether it's Dean or Jess or Logan, it doesn't really matter. It's what every teenager deals with, you know, 'Do I pick this guy? Do I pick that guy?' or 'I like this guy and I like that guy.' We all dealt with that." Gilmore Girls may be earning new fans each autumn, but Ventimiglia - who has a new partnership with financial services firm Edward Jones - tells Us his wife, Jarah Mariano, only recently watched the show for the first time. "I think it was about a year and a half ago, my wife was pregnant. For some reason, she was like, 'I'm gonna start watching some of your stuff.' And I think we turned on the first episode of Gilmore just to see, you know, real troubled Jess and we just kind of laughed at it. And that was probably the last time I watched." Milo Ventimiglia for Edward Jones Edward Jones Ventimiglia may not be a regular viewer, but plenty of Gen Z teens have made one particular Season 6 Jess moment, where Jess yells at Rory about leaving college, into a popular TikTok clip. "Why did you drop out of Yale, Rory," the Gilmore clip shows. "Listen, how rad is it that kids are thinking so highly of that," Ventimiglia said with a laugh while wondering why that moment has become so popular for young fans. "That decision for higher education, I think that's great. I feel like for a period of time there was a moment where everybody wanted to be a DJ and an influencer, and now it's like, Oh. No. Maybe they want to go to school and maybe they want to learn something that will take them a little further." 'Gilmore Girls' Cast: Where Are They Now? "It's funny when 14-year-olds walk up to me, they're like, 'You don't look like Jess, but you look like Jess,'" Ventimiglia continued. "I'm like, 'Well, that was 25 years ago! ... It was a long time ago." These days, the This Is Us alum wants to make sure fans - and everyone else - are prepared for their financial futures, with his new "find your rich" partnership with Edward Jones. "I think just financial planning and strategizing is such an important thing that isn't always discussed, especially [with] younger people," Ventimiglia said. "I got some pretty harsh lessons when I was younger, but also some great advice when I was younger that helped for me align with Edward Jones and what they were wanting to do with [this] campaign." Check out a new TV ad featuring Ventimiglia below.