Gilmore Girls’ Scott Reveals Whether He’s Team Dean, Jess or Logan (Exclusive)

For the last 25 years, Gilmore Girls fans have debated which teenage love interest was the best match for the show’s Rory Gilmore — between Dean, Jess and Logan.

While talking exclusively with PEOPLE, Scott Patterson, who played Luke Danes in the beloved series, gave a final answer on what “team” he’s on. 

“Don’t care about any of it,” Patterson, 67, jokes. “They’re all bums to me.” 

At the heart of the show is the mother-daughter duo Lorelai and Rory Gilmore — played by Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel, respectively — living in the fictional town of Stars Hollow. The two are regulars at Luke’s Diner, which is owned and run by Patterson’s character.

Over the course of the show, Rory has three main love interests: Dean, played by Jared Padalecki; Logan, played by Matt Czuchry; and Jess, played by Milo Ventimiglia, who was Patterson’s nephew in the series.

Patterson has been revisiting key moments and episodes from the series, which ran from 2000 to 2007, on his new podcast, iHeartRadio’s I Am All In…Again! with Scott Patterson. The actor says that rewatching the show has changed his mind on who Rory should end up with. 

“Rory needs to mature out of these experiences with these boys. There’s fresh blood out there for her. She needs to redefine what she wants with her life, for her life,” he tells PEOPLE. “And I think that’s with a completely new person.”

While he knows “the fans want one of the three,” he doesn’t think any of them are a good match.

“I’ve been in either camp one time or another in the past, but now I’d like to see her have a completely new experience. None of these relationships worked out, and there’s a reason for that because they weren’t meant to,” he says.

“You put the type of brain power and talent that [creator] Amy and Dan Palladino bring on an empty piece of paper, then they can create something really unique and wonderful in a new presence in Rory’s life,” he adds.

Patterson’s Luke is the slow-burning love interest for Graham’s Lorelai. Over the show’s seven seasons, plus the 2016 reboot, fans watched their relationship blossom, change, commit and grow. On what makes a good romantic hero, Patterson shares that it should be “unexpected” and a relationship “you can’t see coming.” 

“I don’t like to be hit over the head with it, and I don’t like people to get together and get along right away,” he says. “The best romantic situations and the best romantic heroes are the people who have to bridge a chasm, to get to the other side, to that person, because it isn’t working out, but they know they feel something special. There has to be an element of courage there.”

“You’re both gonna risk it all, see what happens,” he adds. “That’s what this provided, which is why I think the fans react the way they do. It’s just a brilliant way to do it, it’s the best way to approach it.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.  

As Patterson goes through the episodes on his podcast, sometimes joined by former members of the show, he further understands why people keep coming back to it for the “unique characters,” “perfect casting” and light-hearted jokes.

“Nothing bad can happen in the show. There’s some emotional damage, but it’s always reconciled and resolved,” he says. “There is a multi-tiered, multi-dimensional family dynamic here that has rarely been shown with such art and structure as the way Gilmore Girls approaches it.”

“It’s just a real story of two strong women building a third strong woman. And all of the mess that is involved in doing that is very compelling,” he continues. “I think for women, that hits very deeply because nobody was writing about that.”

The series, which celebrated its 25th anniversary on Oct. 5, has seen a huge resurgence in recent years thanks to streaming services. Fans boast seasonal rewatches of the comfort show, leading to significant boosts in viewership every fall.

Patterson says the show is “clever, it’s funny, it’s smart, and it’s edgy, so people love it.”

“I think every role was cast perfectly. The stars aligned on this, and this kind of a show won’t happen for a long time, if ever again. It’s a time capsule, but it seems to be right for every time,” he adds.

All episodes of Gilmore Girls are available to stream on Netflix. iHeartRadio’s I Am All In…Again! with Scott Patterson is available anywhere podcasts are streamed.