TV Series That Give Us #RelationshipGoals
No relationship is perfect. But for viewers tuning in for just 30 minutes to an hour, they can seem like they are.
Some comedies, like Amazon’s Catastrophe, Fox’s New Girl, and Hulu’s recently ended The Mindy Project, prove that the perils of dating, marriage, and parenting are far from the bill of Norman Rockwell–hued goods many of us were sold as children. The humor in those series, however, is something that critics clearly appreciate: Catastrophe is Certified Fresh at 100% for each of its three seasons; New Girl’s review count has dipped as its seasons have gone on, but dedicated critics have kept its score high; and Mindy has an 87% Fresh Tomatometer score.
Meanwhile, shows like NBC’s This Is Us, ABC’s black-ish, and former NBC series Friday Night Lights remind us that some couples do get relationships with marks almost as high as their Tomatometer scores if they’re willing to put in the work. Even teen dramas, like former Fox series The O.C. and Glee, are known for their devotion to the intricacies of relationships. And then there’s Homer and Marge Simpson, who have been going strong for decades and seem to have not aged a day.
In honor of Valentine’s Day, we’ve gathered a list of TV shows that offered the best portrayals of coupledom in all its funny, messy, emotional, complicated glory.
The series are arranged first by Tomatometer score, then alphabetically where the show does not currently have a series score.
Which is your favorite TV couple and why? Tell us in the comments!
#1
Synopsis: During a business trip in London, an American named Rob meets Sharon, an Irish teacher with whom he shares incredible
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#2
Synopsis: Jane Villanueva, the daughter of a teen mother, grew up determined not to repeat her mom's mistakes. Jane is studying
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#3
Synopsis: "Friday Night Lights" centers on the rural town of Dillon, Texas, where winning the state football championship is prized above
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#4
Synopsis: Stef, a dedicated police officer, is in a relationship with Lena. The two have built a close-knit family with Stef's
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#5
Synopsis: Dre Johnson (Anthony Anderson) has it all: a great job, a beautiful wife, Rainbow (Tracee Ellis Ross), four kids and
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#6
Synopsis: After serving as a British Army nurse in World War II, Claire Randall is enjoying a second honeymoon in Scotland
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#7
Synopsis: "You're the Worst" is a modern look at love and happiness told through the eyes of two people who haven't
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#8
Synopsis: The detectives of Brooklyn's 99th Precinct -- hotshot Jake Peralta, overachiever Amy Santiago, tough-as-nails Rosa Diaz, sweetheart Charles Boyle, devoted
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#9
Synopsis: After going through a rough breakup, awkward and upbeat Jess (Zooey Deschanel) moves in with three single guys. Intelligent and
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#10
Synopsis: The Pearson family's generational story unfolds in this emotional drama. In moments of love, joy, triumph and heartbreak, revelations emerge
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#11
Synopsis: The four grown Braverman siblings -- Adam, Sarah, Crosby and Julia -- share the joys, heartaches and headaches of parenthood
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#12
Synopsis: Leslie Knope, a midlevel bureaucrat in an Indiana Parks and Recreation Department, hopes to beautify her town (and boost her
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#13
Synopsis: Mindy Lahiri is a successful, skilled doctor, but when she leaves the office, all bets are off. She aspires to
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#14
Synopsis: Told from the perspective of an unseen documentary filmmaker, the series offers an honest, often-hilarious perspective of family life. Parents
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#15
Synopsis: This British drama series follows the lives of the Crawley family and its servants in the family's classic Georgian country
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#16
Synopsis: This high-intensity medical drama follows a team of doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital who are faced with life-or death
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#17
Synopsis: Optimistic teacher Will Schuester heads up McKinley High School's glee club -- New Directions -- a place where ambitious and
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#18
Synopsis: Samantha falls in love with New York ad exec Darrin Stephens and marries him in the first episode of the
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#19
Synopsis: Laid-back Sam Malone, a former relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, owns and runs Cheers, a cozy bar in
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#20
Synopsis: Behind the facade of a postcard-perfect subdivision live four women whose lives are anything but idyllic. Klutzy Susan is divorced
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#21
Synopsis: Considered to be one of television's classics, "The Dick Van Dyke Show" centers on the personal and professional lives Rob
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#22
Synopsis: Policeman Carl Winslow has enough to deal with on the job. But when he gets home, he still has to
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#23
Synopsis: Will Smith more or less plays himself in this good-natured NBC sitcom. As the show's popular theme song explains, fictional
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#24
Synopsis: Based on chef Eddie Huang's best-selling memoir of the same name, "Fresh Off the Boat" takes a humorous look at
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#25
Synopsis: Three young men and three young women -- of the BFF kind -- live in the same apartment complex and
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#26
Synopsis: Set in a storybook Connecticut town populated by an eclectic mix of dreamers, artists and everyday folk, this multigenerational drama
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#27
Synopsis: High school is over for the privileged former students at an exclusive prep school on Manhattan's Upper East Side, but
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#28
Synopsis: Ted has fallen in love. It all started when his best friend, Marshall, drops the bombshell that he plans to
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#29
Synopsis: Lucy Ricardo is the wacky wife of Cuban bandleader Ricky Ricardo. Living in New York, Ricky tries to succeed in
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#30
Critics Consensus: Houdini's cast is talented, but given the decades of fascination surrounding its subject, the show is oddly lacking in intrigue.
#31
Synopsis: This modern soap opera mines the intertwined lives of the Cohen, Cooper and Nichol families for drama, with a contemporary
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#32
Synopsis: This U.S. adaptation -- set at a paper company based in Scranton, Pa. -- has a similar documentary style to
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#33
Synopsis: Explore life, death and everything in between through the relatable, hilarious and brutally honest lens of the working-class Conner household,
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#34
Synopsis: A sex columnist, Carrie Bradshaw, and her three friends -- Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda -- explore Manhattan's dating scene, chronicling
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#35
Synopsis: This long-running animated comedy focuses on the eponymous family in the town of Springfield in an unnamed U.S. state. The
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#36
Synopsis: Sensitive, introspective adults or self-absorbed, whiny yuppies? That debate still rages around this drama series about a group of close-knit
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#37
Synopsis: "The Wonder Years" tracks life in the turbulent late 1960s and early '70s through the eyes of the increasingly less
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