47 Best TV Couples of All Time, From Lucy and Ricky to Jim and Pam (Photos) (original) (raw)
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NBC/NBC/CBS/Sony Pictures TV/ABC
With Valentine’s Day right here, love is in the air yet again. And to mark the most romantic of occasions, TheWrap has rounded up the 47 best TV couples of all time. And while “best” is certainly a subjective term — meaning we’ve probably left at least one of your favorite sets of lovers off this list — we’re sure readers who click through this gallery will find many a pairing that makes their hearts go pitter-patter. And just to be *extra* clear here, these couples are listed in no particular order.
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CBS
Lily and Marshall, “How I Met Your Mother”: Forget Ted and how he met his kids’ mother, the true love story at the heart of this comedy was Marshmallow and his Lilypad.
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20th Century Fox TV
Buffy and Angel, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”: Theirs is a forever love. (Shut your mouths, Spuffy shippers.)
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NBC
Randall and Beth, “This Is Us”: Listen, Jack and Rebecca are great — and they are on this list, too — but R&B are the real #CoupleGoals in this NBC family drama.
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NBC
Jim and Pam, “The Office”: “To waiting.”
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CBS
Lucy and Ricky, “I Love Lucy”: We love Lucy — and Ricky.
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NBC
Eleanor and Chidi, “The Good Place”: The definition of soulmates.
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Sony Pictures TV
Archie and Edith, “All in the Family”: Back when these two were on our screens, those were the days.
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ABC
Snow White and Prince Charming, “Once Upon a Time”: He will always find her — and we will always stan.
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NBC
Dwight and Angela, “The Office”: Monkey and D were always meant to be, even if it took them until the series finale to finally tie the knot.
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ABC
Jin and Sun, “Lost”: Jin and Sun drowned us with their love. (Sorry, sorry, sorry.)
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ABC
Kevin and Winnie, “The Wonder Years”: What would we do if we didn’t have these two?
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NBC
Leslie and Ben, “Parks and Recreation”: We love them and we like them.
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CBS
George and Louise, “The Jeffersons”: This married couple moved on up into our hearts in the ’70s and have lived there ever since.
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Fox
Homer and Marge, “The Simpsons”: The only cartoon couple on this list, Marge and Homer have 31 seasons’ worth of animated love under their belts and are still going strong.
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Warner Bros TV
Monica and Chandler, “Friends”: Ross and Rachel may have kept us entertained with their drama, but Monica and Chandler taught us what a healthy, stable, loving relationship should look like.
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Freeform
Stef and Lena, “The Fosters”: Inspiring mothers, inspiring lovers.
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NBCU
Coach Eric and Tami, “Friday Night Lights”: Clear eyes, full hearts, these two can’t lose.
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20th Century Fox TV
Tara and Willow, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”: An important couple both in-universe and for the LGBTQ community in general, as Tara and Willow famously shared their first kiss in one of the most heartfelt and yet casual of ways, a moment that helped normalize same-sex relationships on television.
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Disney/ABC
Cory and Topanga, “Boy Meets World”: From childhood best friends to high school sweethearts to happily married, Cory and Topanga taught us the meaning of commitment. Like, serious commitment.
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ABC
Mitch and Cam, “Modern Family”: Mitch and Cam’s love gave us so many beautiful moments, and a few cringeworthy situations, sure. But mainly beautiful moments, yes.
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Warner Bros TV
Rory and Jess, “Gilmore Girls”: Reading is sexy.
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NBC
April and Andy, “Parks and Recreation”: He’s an adorable goofball, she could not be more cynical if she tried — and we couldn’t be more obsessed.
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CBS
Fran and Maxwell, “The Nanny”: Marrying your nanny probably wouldn’t be seen as adorable in this day and age — but it definitely was for viewers of “The Nanny,” who shipped these two hard for years.
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CBS TV Studios
Sam and Diane, “Cheers”: TV writers owe a debt of gratitude to the couple that started the “will they or won’t they?” dynamic that has been used time and again by so many shows since.
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Sony Pictures TV
Paul and Jamie, “Mad About You”: We’re still mad about them — in an endearing way, of course.
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20th Century Fox TV
Cece and Schmidt, “New Girl”: Nick and Jess are cute for sure — but Cece and Schmidt are the real alpha couple from Fox’s “Friends”-esque sitcom.
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Warner Bros TV
Veronica and Logan, “Veronica Mars”: We still hear the bells.
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CBS TV Studios
Mike and Carol, “The Brady Bunch”: Here’s the story of a quintessential married couple whose biggest problems could be resolved in under 30 minutes.
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Warner Bros TV
Martin and Gina, “Martin”: On-set drama between the actors aside, Martin and Gina gave broadcast viewers something they desperately needed in the ’90s and still don’t have enough today: an African-American relationship at the center of a show.
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CBS TV Studios
Piper and Leo, “Charmed”: Obstacles both supernatural and everyday got in this couple’s way throughout the show’s entire eight-season run. But in the end, there was nothing they could not overcome.
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Warner Bros TV
Seth and Summer, “The O.C.”: Complete opposites that completely complemented each other in the cutest of ways.
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20th Century Fox TV
Mulder and Scully, “The X-Files”: Proof that the truth is out there — and that if you write enough fan fiction about a potential couple then they will eventually get together on screen.
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Sony Pictures TV
Elaine and Puddy, “Seinfeld”: We can’t do this couple justice by summing them up in a few words — so here’s a video compilation that we think accurately sums up their charm and dysfunction.
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ABC
Dre and Rainbow, “Black-ish”: We got the very definition of “ride or die” right here.
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NBC
Zack and Kelly, “Saved by the Bell”: Arguably the most iconic high school sweethearts in the history of TV.
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ABC
J.D. and Elliot, “Scrubs”: What’s meant to be will always find a way — even if it takes many, many seasons.
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Sony Pictures TV
Joey and Pacey, “Dawson’s Creek”: If you’re a Joey-Dawson shipper, you definitely don’t know chemistry when you see it, because these two had it bad for each other and deserved the happy ending they got.
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ABC
Meredith and Derek, “Grey’s Anatomy”: He may have never been her person — and isn’t even alive anymore — but Derek will forever be Meredith’s one true love.
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HBO
Carrie and Mr. Big, “Sex and the City”: While you could say that Carrie and Mr. Big are far from a perfect — or even healthy — couple, they are clearly a perfect match.
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20th Century Fox
Kurt and Blaine, “Glee”: A stunning small-screen example of not just lovely young love — but of a same-sex couple experiencing all the same firsts as any heterosexual first loves.
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20th Century Fox
Nick and Jess, “New Girl”: These roommates-turned-lovers turned us into mush when they finally got together.
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Warner Bros TV
Ross and Rachel, “Friends”: There were a lot of problems with this pairing over the years, for sure — but he *is* her lobster.
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ABC/Viacom
Roseanne and Dan, “Roseanne”: In this particular case, we’re gonna ignore the behind-the-scenes drama that ended this on-screen couple’s relationship in the revival and focus on the joy they brought us during the sitcom’s original run.
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NBC
Jack and Rebecca, “This Is Us”: An everlasting love that only a slow cooker could kill. (Too soon?)
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20th Century Fox TV
Booth and Brennan, “Bones”: A woman of science, a man of faith, but make no bones about it, this couple belonged together from the start.
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CBS TV Studios
Niles and Daphne, “Frasier”: Sometimes pining pays off.