Let’s talk about love, baby.
Here, EW ranks the 100 best small-screen romances of all time.
and we picked only one couple per show.)
Scandal: ABC; Teen Wolf: MTV Networks; SNL: Dana Edelson/NBC; Game of Thrones: HBO; All in the Family: CBS-TV/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock; Gossip Girl: The CW
(Better luck next time,Anderson Cooper.)
Chuck and Blair
Gossip Girl
Three words.
Eventually, they’d both say them.
Nashville: Mark Levine/CMT; The Nanny: CBS/Courtesy Everett Collection; Once Upon a Time: ABC; Twin Peaks: Courtesy of SHOWTIME; The Jeffersons: Courtesy Everett Collection
“When we’re understood, regardless of who we’re understood by, we’re understood.
There’s no replacing that.
It’s outside of the confines of gender.”
The Dick Van Dyke Show: The Everett Collection
Sydney Bucksbaum
97.
Then, Wade dated Zoe’s cousin (seriously!).
“Long Live the Hart,” indeed.
One Tree Hill: CW Network/Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection; The Good Place: NBC Universal Media; Grace and Frankie: Melissa Moseley/Netflix; Saved by the Bell: Everett Collection; That 70s Show: Everett Collection; Castle: Eric McCandless/ABC
Olivia and Fitz
Scandal
Most beloved television couples involve two (or three) single people.
Most beloved television couples also don’t include the president of the United States.
ButScandalliked to do things differently.
Lizzie McGuire: Walt Disney Co. The Everett Collection; Lizzie McGuire: Ali Goldstein/Disney Channel; The Lizzie McGuire Movie: Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
We met President Fitzgerald Grant (Tony Goldwyn) as he was running the country and married.
But, the show quickly established the forbidden romance between Olitz, as fans would begin to call them.
“There are people who don’t really think Olivia and Fitz should be together.
Family Ties: NBC via Getty Images; Insecure: Anne Marie Fox/HBO; Walking Dead: Gene Page/AMC; How I Met Your Mother: CBS; Wynonna Earp: Michelle Faye/Wynonna Earp Productions, Inc./SYFY; The Bob Newhart Show: CBS via Getty Images
There’s a lot of voices out there.”
And fans made sure those voices were heard throughout the ABC drama’s seven-season run.S.H.
A writer sets out to entertain.
BBC America
I’m satisfied with the ripple the pebble makes."
through Archie’s purposefully prejudiced eyes and long-suffering Edith’s quiet, tolerant ones.
Mary Margaret
93.
Bridgerton: LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIX; Arrow: The CW Network; Doctor Who: BBC; Fresh Off the Boat: American Broadcasting Companies; The L Word: Showtime Networks Inc, The Everett Collection.Clockwise: Netflix, The CW, BBC, ABC, Showtime
It’s always really cool when you’re challenged as an actress to play those subtle things."
They would have lived happily ever after."
Marcus Jones
92.
Watchmen: Mark Hill/HBO.HBO
“Bernie and I had an outing just to bond before we started shooting.
One of my favorite shows wasThe Jeffersons, but [George and Weezy] never embraced, really.
They never really kissed or told secrets or whispered in each other’s ear.
True Blood: Jaimie Trueblood/HBO, The X-Files: Michael Lavine/FOX; The Mindy Project, FOX, Bones, Kwaku Alston;
[This show] was the opportunity to do that.”
M.J.
91.
Scott and Allison
Teen Wolf
There’s nothing quite like your first love.
Survivor, CBS WORLDWIDE INC; GETTY IMAGES
He was a werewolf, and she came from a family of werewolf hunters.
From the moment the two appeared onscreen together in the pilot, they were undeniable.
“The chemistry between Posey and Crystal was electric,” pilot director Russell Mulcahypreviously told EW.
Moonlighting: ABC via Getty Images; Happy Endings: Adam Taylor/ABC; The Office: NBC; Killing Eve: Robert Viglasky/BBCAmerica; ER: Associated Press
“That scene really cemented the magic of the show.”
That’s why fans were so devastated when, three seasons later, Allison was killed.
I love you, Scott McCall."
Glee: FOX
No, we’re not over it.S.H.
Stef and Lena
The Fosters
The Adams-Foster family was hit by every curveball imaginable onThe Fosters.
It’s refreshing to get glimpses into the parents' post-Fosterslife on the show’s spin-off,Good Trouble.
FELICITY: EVERETT COLLECTION; BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: EVERETT COLLECTION; OUTLANDER: ED MILLER/STARZ; BOY MEETS WORLD: ABC PHOTO ARCHIVES/DISNEY GENERAL ENTERTAINMENT CONTENT VIA GETTY IMAGES. The Vampire Diaries, THE CW Network
Rachel Schonberger
89.
“Nobody wants to phone it in,“Lenz told EW in 2004.
We just get to stay out here in North Carolina and play dress-up!”
JANE THE VIRGIN: The CW Network
Sara and Ava
Legends of Tomorrow
Let’s hear it for the enemies-to-lovers pipeline!
In fact, their first meeting ended with Ava holding a gun to the trained assassin’s head.
“But the last thing we wanted to do was to make their relationship come too easily.
FLEABAG: Amazon Studios; DAWSON’S CREEK: COLUMBIA TRISTAR TELEVISION$EVERETT COLLECTION; GREY’S ANATOMY: KAREN NEAL/ABC; HANNIBAL:NBC UNIVERSAL
Chancellor Agard
86.
Rayna and Deacon
Nashville
Can someone have more than one true love?
If you’reConnie Britton, yes, you might.
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: VIRGINIA SHERWOOD/NBC; SCHITT’S CREEK: CBC/EVERETT COLLECTION; THE MUPPET SHOW: HENSON ASSOCIATES$EVERETT COLLECTION;
2 spot on our list!
Rayna and Deacon’s happy ending was tinged with grief, but their journey made an impact.
As Estentold EWin 2017: “This is fictional.
MARIO PEREZ/ABC
And yet, for some reasons, stories and characters they move our hearts.”
The 1960s CBS sitcom followed Rob, the head writer of a variety show.
Season 1 divulged that Rob met Laura, then a dancer in the USO, while in the Army.
After Rob accidentally broke Laura’s toes during a dance number, the rest was history.
Their romance was timeless, perhaps sustained by the stars' genuine adoration for one another.
Jessica Wang
84. the Double R Diner.
D.C.
83.
Lester Brathwaite
82.
She (Anna Friel) was a bubbly beekeeper and his childhood crush.
So yeah, it’s totally your typical boy-meets-girl story.
D.C.
81.
Emma Swan and Killian Jones
Once Upon a Time
Killian Jones (Colin O’Donoghue), a.k.a.
Maureen Lee Lenker
80.
A memorable season 5 episode revealed Philip proposed to Vivian onSoul Train.
A wounded Vivian attended with Will, but, alas, Philip turned up.
They shared a dance toMarvin Gayeand Tammi Terrell’s “You’re All I Need to Get By.”
In family sitcoms, it’s the loving parental figures needed to get by.
Ultimately, Leo gave up his magic for twilight years filled with Scrabble with Piper.
It doesn’t get more romantic than that.
Patrick Gomez
78.
Alamin Yohannes
77.
It would take a feature film to get them the real kiss fans longed for.
It’s more complicated than Jeremy Bearimy.)
“She’s going to choose to love Chidi even though he’s not able to reciprocate the feelings.
And, ultimately, they got their happy ending even if itwasn’t quite eternal.
Tyler Aquilina
75.
Crime novelist Rick Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Det.
They bickered like…well, the older married couple they were.
They disagreed on how to parent their teen son and his dope-loving friends.
They were complete opposites Red, constantly about to explode in all his “get off my lawn!”
anger, and Kitty, indefatigably bubbly and caring, always breaking out in her iconic, squinty-eyed giggle.
What’s more romantic than that?
Adam and Kristina
Parenthood
Parenthoodis best known as the show that made viewers cry.
From the jump, Adam and Kristina were established as longtime sweethearts who just seemed to fit together.
(And yes, it did make us cry.)S.H.
One detail that surprised her, though?
“I’m actually surprised they didn’t have more kids.
I always thought that they would’ve had at least four kids by now, if not more.”
M.J.
70.
But, all that mattered was the value they saw in each other.
“When I’m with you, I feel special,” Mallory replied.
“I never felt that way before.”
They may not have been the sharpest knives in the drawer, but they certainly were the sweetest.
Kristen Baldwin
69.
(As one does.)
Here on Earth or among the stars, a more complete love story is rare to find.
were, “I will find you.”
Great, we’re sobbing again.
That’s heavy,“Yeun told EW in 2016.
“I think he means a lot of things.
Part of it is that he’s just had his brain knocked in and is glitching.
And maybe he’s going back to a time when he was looking for Maggie when they were separated.
Glenn and Maggie deserved so much better and no, we will never get over their tragic ending.S.B.
But their enduring bond helped anchorKing of the Hillover its 13 seasons, withstanding allverbal tiradesand bone-shattering skydiving incidents.
“I’ll never forget that first handshake.
I wanted it to last forever.”
“That chemistry, you just don’t manufacture it.
It’s there,” Newhart told EW in 2014.
“I would go on stand-up tours with my wife and everybody would say, ‘Where’s Emily?’
I had to explain to them that that just happens on television.
Gerrad Hall
64.
Cosima and Delphine
Orphan Black
Cophine fans are a very vocal part ofOrphan Black’s legacy.
Watching the two brilliant minds meet, make scientific discoveries, and fall in love generated full-on fandom.
And somehow it happened!”
Going into the series finale, even the creator/star was unsure if the vacillating pair was the right endgame.
I think we were both simultaneously on a journey to recognize that we could be happy together.”
M.J.
61.
Even a truly tragic male perm couldn’t dull their ardor.
Lauren Morgan
60.
As for Dana’s death, the cast recalled how sad they were when we reunited them in 2017.
In fact, co-creator Ilene Chaiken revealed she regrets the choice, even though it was a good story.
“We told it with great sensitivity and verisimilitude, but the audience never forgave me for it.
Luckily, folks can continue to see Alice onThe L Word: Generation Q.A.Y.
Angela and Doctor Manhattan
Watchmen
“This is the moment.”
Yet, she still tried to fight for him anyway.
Christian Holub
58.
Jessica and Louis
Fresh Off the Boat
Over six (underappreciated!)
seasons, the Huang family brought comedic magic to the ‘burbs onFresh Off the Boat.
“I think that is what made this show so special.”
D.C.
56.
“This time it was the lady and the chauffeur.
People love the idea because what they symbolized was how love can conquer all.”
Except, sadly, mortality rates among pregnant women in the early 20th century.
“They’re such opposites.
I think that’s what draws everyone in a little bit,” showrunnerBeth Schwartz told EW in 2019.
She’s obviously a gorgeous woman, but what he really loves is her brain.”
Meanwhile, Amell attributes the couple’s success to the fans of Rickards’ performance.
“I don’t know that the show works if we don’t randomly find her.”
Alec and Magnus
Shadowhunters
Nothing not even Downworlder drama or archaic Institute intrigue could keep Malec apart.
There’s no way we wouldn’t go to that place.”
“We would’ve planned the wedding,” Slavkin says.
“That would’ve taken time.
The wedding would not have happened the same day.”
Great, yet another reason to mourn the canceled-too-soon series!
Martin and Gina
Martin
The couple that made “Daaaaaaamn, Gina!”
Lawrence and Campbell finally reconciled in early 2020.
From spoon licks to cunning library linguistics, Daphne and Simon made viewers burn for them.
“It is the female gaze.”
We see both Jimmy and Gretchen do that in different ways.
It’s the game where you play and you get played.
I was hoping I wasn’t getting played.”
Dalton Ross
48.
“They [initially] wanted a serious,X-Files-ish show, and we wanted a character show.”
It would’ve been deeply sad for Diane,” Baranskitold EW in 2021.
Nevertheless, the question of how sustainable their relationship is remains.
D.C.
45.
But Luke (Scott Patterson) and Lorelai’s Stars Hollow romance wasn’t always the plan.
Grahampreviously told EWthat a romantic relationship was “not a foregone conclusion” for the pair.
It always comes back to the coffee.
Well, that, and the connection.
Calie Schepp
43. the Flash (Grant Gustin) and Iris' (Candice Patton) love story.
“It’s the way we look at each other and the way the characters are written.”
Furthermore, showrunner Eric Wallace doesn’t think they’ve lost that spark.
The flirtation was instant.
The chemistry was incredible.
And yet, the show made viewers wait seven seasons before Josh and Donna so much as locked lips.
But, it turns out, we should just be thankful Donna stuck around.
“Janel built her role from scratch, basically,“creator Aaron Sorkin once told EW.
“Donna was a character who had two lines in the pilot episode.
Let’s just do a little bit more of that.'
She just built herself into one of the leads of the show.“S.H.
That’s sexual chemistry.'
That’s just Messina’s smoldering, Sicilian, black-eyed heartthrob-iness.
My little secret is he would have chemistry with a fire hydrant.
He’s just that kind of guy.”
the many,manyinstances they were forced apart on the hit spy thriller.
Even executive producer Jeff Pinkneradmitted to EW in 2006that “we could have handled that story line better.”
Thankfully, they finally got back together midway through season 4 and even got engaged.
Throughout 11 seasons ofModern Family, the couple grew together and challenged each other in hilarious and heartfelt ways.
Eve and Villanelle
Killing Eve
There are many ways to show someone you care about them.
A bouquet of flowers.
A fruit or vegetable emoji.
Best to keep a medic on standby for TV’s most captivating, demented, and unconsummated romance.
‘Til death do they part, clearly.
Dan Snierson
37.
Between the costumes and antics, they were a dynamic comedy duo.
Imagine what that comedy trio would have blessed us with.
Co-creatorsJosh Schwartzand Chris Fedak have always maintained that the answer is obvious if you’ve watched the entire show.
Nevertheless, almost 10 years later, fans are still begging for a definitive happy ending.
like, demanding an answer,“Schwartz told EW when we reunited the cast in 2020.
It’s up to the audience to decide.”
You didn’t deserve that, Alicia.
But then, neither did he.
Lynette Rice
34.
M.J.
33.
Kwapis added that the scene marked a major “turning point in the Pam-Jim relationship.”
Ashley Boucher
32.
But, after five seasons of following their relationship, Clooney left the show.
Margulies, however, had one more year on her contract.
Clooney added, “The rest of the cast didn’t know.
[Anthony] Edwardsdidn’t know.
Nobody said happy endings weren’t complicated.S.H.
Is it Byronic dreamboat Angel (David Boreanaz)?
Or punk-rock baddie Spike (James Marsters)?
“But for me as Buffy, I think Angel.”
Mary Sollosi
29.
But their romance had an early nemesis: the corset.
“Talk about spoiling the moment.
Female clothing seems to be like a puzzle for a man,” an uninitiatedHeughan told EW in 2015.
“But that all adds to the scene as well.
Ruth Kinane
28.
“We loved this, because it was exactly what we were trying to do.
Jane, Michael, and Rafael
Jane the Virgin
Talk about a love triangle befitting a telenovela.
But, after being accidentally artificially inseminated, things took a (very dramatic) turn.
The series ended with Jane’s second wedding, this time to Rafael.
“They balance each other out,“Fishel told EW in 2014.
“It’s what makes them a good pair.”
and lows (the entirety ofRivals II).
Sometimes, reality is more powerful than fiction.
But that’s probably because their souls were already so connected, their energy so synchronous.
As Kevin once told Raymond: “You make me want to have…a wetter brain.”
By its third season, the CW hit had taken shipping to an epic level.
But, somewhere along the way, Joey’s chemistry with Pacey (Joshua Jackson) had become undeniable.
“I didn’t realize how many people wanted Pacey and Joey together.
I even wrote it, and it didn’t feel right.
Something was wrong, so I rewrote it.”
That rewrite was Joey and Pacey’s time-jump happy ending.
“It was magic,” added Ross.
Since that fateful Valentine’s Day (of course!
I just feel like I can fly, and we just dance,” Ross says.
M.J.
18.
Mickey and Ian
Shameless
There are two signs a TV couple has made it.
The first is a passionate fandom, and the second is a nickname.
Enter: “Gallavich.
“That was something that felt worth going back to,“he told EW in 2019.
Added Fisher: “Everyone can relate on some level to watching two people fight for each other.”
Derek Lawrence
17.
“We had a total crush on each other,” McKellar recalls.
“He actually wrote me a love letter in real life.”
But, after the pilot, “things quickly devolved into this annoying brother-sister relationship.
“The gay agenda came later.”
Derek and Meredith
Grey’s Anatomy
He picked her.
(We don’t want to talk about it.)
But, since the very beginning, that story was rooted in one thing: undeniable connection.
“Chemistry wins above everything else,“Pompeo told EW in 2008.
“When you have chemistry with someone, you could’t stay away from them.”
“It’s hard to do those mushy Dwayne-Whitley love scenes,“Guy told EW in 1991.
“I have to make a serious face at Kadeem until they calm down.
The last show we did, there were just too manyooohs.”
It became very clear in that moment that this was it.”
Lauren Huff
12.
Making out in a confessional?
Sexy, and oh-so-wrong.
Pass the canned G&T, because our obsession with this pair will never pass.M.L.L.
A reservoir of existential pain that they hid from the world but recognized in each other.
(Cue Brenda: “I hate you both!
Never talk to me again!")
The original series ended with Kelly and Dylan together (“Dance with me?
It’s not a one-time offer.")
and that’s the only90210canon we recognize.
Is there hope for a reconciliation?
Kermit is very busy with various projects, and Miss Piggy is even busier being Miss Piggy.
Whether they reunite as a couple remains an open question.
When you’re talking about the world’s greatest interspecies romance, anything is possible.”
Providing laughs (and tears) while avoiding any will-they-or-won’t-they, David and Patrick were simply the best.
“The whole crew started applauding,” she said.
“It just felt like we ignited something.”
Jessica Derschowitz
7.
Seth and Summer
The O.C.
Madcap redhead Lucy and bandleader Ricky gave audiences a groundbreaking marriage in the 1950s that still makes us laugh.
And so do we.
“Coach and Tami had the kind of marriage we all aspire to have,” showrunnerJason Katimssays.
“You wanted to be around them because they wanted to be around each other.
“Jin and Sun became the heart ofLost.”
But they sure didn’t start that way.
“I was worried about representing the Asian community because it was a sensitive topic,” Yunjin says.
“It sealed our fate for the rest of the run.”
A version of this story appears in the March 2022 issue ofEntertainment Weekly,available for purchase here.
