Entertainment

Our favorite TV couples

Updated 1:02 PM ET, Tue May 16, 2017
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It became clear this romance was doomed as soon as it turned out that a night of passion with Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) would turn vampire-with-a-soul Angel (David Boreanaz) back into his evil self, Angelus. Buffy ended up with another vamp; Spike and Angel ended up with a spinoff. Here's a look at other TV couples we've cheered on. Hulton Archives/Getty Images
Dylan McKay and Brenda Walsh (Luke Perry and Shannen Doherty) were the "It" couple on "Beverly Hills 90210," helping the show become one of Fox's first hits. But there was friction between Doherty and other cast members, and that was it for romance FOX Television
When Zooey Deschanel's Jess moved in with three guys in Fox's hit sitcom "New Girl," you knew she would end up with one of them. It soon became clear that she had a connection with Nick (Jake Johnson), but fans wondered how long before they would become a couple. FOX/Getty Images
Soaps never saw anything like Luke (Anthony Geary) and Laura (Genie Francis) and haven't since. The couple's wedding in 1981 broke ratings records, and "General Hospital" has brought them back off and on in the years since. Bob D'Amico/ABC/Getty Images
Few sitcom couples have had the impact of Ross Gellar (David Schwimmer) and Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston). Their romance was the major driving force behind the early success of "Friends," solidifying NBC's dominance on Thursday nights in the 1990s. Ten wildly popular seasons meant that we saw them on again, off again and on again. Yes, they even had a child together. Danny Feld/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images
For four seasons on "Castle," writer Richard Castle and detective Kate Beckett solved murders both grisly and outlandish -- and fell for each other. They finally made it official with a wedding in 2014. colleen hayes/abc
At first, the popular teen soap "Dawson's Creek" paired Joey (Katie Holmes) with Dawson, but as the years went by, it turned out that Pacey (Joshua Jackson) was her true love. sony pictures/getty images
Innocent Elena (Nina Dobrev) only had eyes for the nocturnally oriented Stefan on "The Vampire Diaries" at first, but sparks flew between her and bad boy Damon (Ian Somerhalder) as well. The two got married in real life, but things didn't work out. CW
It was love at first sight for viewers of "The Big Bang Theory" when Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) met the equally geeky, slightly more adventurous Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik) via an online dating site. Sonja Flemming/CBS/Getty Images
It's quite a feat to steal scenes regularly on one of the most acclaimed comedies on television, but Cam (Eric Stonestreet, left) and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) make it look easy on "Modern Family." Peter 'Hopper' Stone/abc
This Canadian cult series about a succubus gained a following in the United States as well, and Bo's (Anna Silk) relationship with Lauren (Zoie Palmer, as one of Bo's two lovers on the show) was the subject of much discussion by "Lost Girl" fans online. Prodigy Pictures
Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan and Seeley Booth were a mismatched pair from the start, but audiences have eaten up the chemistry of Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz. FOX/Getty Images
The "will they or won't they?" status of Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) and Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) remained the heart of "The Office" from early on. They did finally get married and have two children. Chris Haston/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images
Ted's quest to find a woman and Robin and Barney's long and winding quest for each other carried through the hit comedy "How I Met Your Mother," but Alyson Hannigan's Lily and Jason Segel's Marshall were the glue that held it all together (with the exception of their brief breakup early on). CBS/Getty Images
Adam Scott's Ben Wyatt married Amy Poehler's Leslie Knope in season five. The pair eventually had triplets and became -- it was implied -- political powerhouses. NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images
"Bang, zoom!" probably wouldn't fly these days on a TV sitcom, but audiences loved watching Jackie Gleason and Audrey Meadows spar (every bickering TV couple owes them a debt of gratitude), and they were reassured when so many episodes ended with Ralph telling Alice, "Baby, you're the greatest." cbs/Getty Images
The love life of Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) saw more than its share of twists and turns through the years on "True Blood," but fans seemed to embrace whoever her boyfriend was (such as Alexander Skarsgard, left, as Eric) at any given moment. John P. Johnson/hbo
George and Louise "Weezy" Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford) may have had their quarrels, but when it came to "Movin' On Up," they did it together. CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
When "Glee" producers set out to introduce a love interest for Chris Colfer's Kurt, they hit a home run when the virtually unknown Darren Criss was cast as Blaine. FOX/Getty Images
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz portrayed a show business couple on "I Love Lucy," while behind the scenes they invented the sitcom. The real-life couple controlled every aspect of their hit show, still one of the most beloved of all time. And it wouldn't have been a hit if these two didn't make people fall in love with Lucy (and Ricky) every week. MPI/Getty Images
Dysfunctional doesn't begin to describe the relationship between Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) and dean of medicine Lisa Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein). Fans got what they wanted at long last at the end of "House's" season six, but sadly it didn't last. Isabella Vosmikova/NBCU/Getty Images
Roseanne and Dan Connor (Roseanne Barr and John Goodman) were unlike any married couple before in sitcom history. Through nine seasons of wisecracks, put-downs and tough times, you knew at the end of the day they loved each other. Here they are with the cast at the 2008 TV Land Awards. kevin winter/getty images/file
Sam Malone (Ted Danson) and Diane Chambers (Shelley Long) bickered in the early years of "Cheers," and audiences loved it. When their wedding was called off and Long left the series, Kirstie Alley's Rebecca replaced her, but it was never the same -- despite high ratings for the rest of the show's run. NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images
Known more often as "McDreamy" than the character's name of Derek, Patrick Dempsey's hunky doctor swept Ellen Pompeo's Meredith off her feet when "Grey's Anatomy" first premiered (though there were plenty of complications). The couple married -- and then found tragedy. ron tom/abc
Meet sci-fi's power couple. Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully brought sex appeal to the paranormal as every glance between the two was analyzed by fans in the early days of the Internet. David Duchovny eventually left the series, and interest in "The X-Files" waned when Gillian Anderson paired up with Robert Patrick (any romance was out of the question). Duchovny returned for the poorly received finale and even more poorly received second movie. They're trying again in a new series. 20th century fox/getty images
The Fonz aside, the romance between Joanie (Erin Moran) and Chachi (Scott Baio) was one of the most memorable parts of the ABC hit sitcom "Happy Days." But their spinoff, "Joanie Loves Chachi," was decidedly less successful. cbs/hulton archive/getty images
The marriage of Paul and Jaime Buchman (Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt) put every relationship under a microscope (though often in a humorous vein), and "Mad About You" made Hunt into a star over its seven seasons. sony pictures/getty images
Lois Lane (Teri Hatcher) and Clark Kent (Dean Cain) were more the focus here than "The New Adventures of Superman," and initially, it was a hit for ABC. Once the writers brought the couple together (including a timed-with-the-"Superman"-comics wedding), ratings took a nose dive for "Lois & Clark." ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images
"Moonlighting" is also TV shorthand for a romantic series that succeeds so long as the couple never get together. As soon as Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd's characters made it official, viewers tuned out in droves (reports of tension off-screen between the actors didn't help). lionsgate/abc
The mysterious island from the hit drama could also wreak havoc to relationships as Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox) and Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly) learned over six seasons of "Lost." They tried to make it work, but it wasn't to be. Mario Perez/ABC/Getty Images
Rob and Laura Petrie set the standard for many a sitcom marriage. You had two gifted comic actors (Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore) with chemistry to beat the band. Plus sitcom wives weren't expected to be sex symbols when "The Dick Van Dyke Show" first appeared in 1961. CBS/Getty Images
When Lisa Bonet abruptly left college-based sitcom "A Different World" after one season, the focus shifted to Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison) and Southern belle Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy) and their unlikely romance. But their chemistry clicked. (Here are Hardison and Guy in 2006.) Frederick M. Brown/getty images/file
When spy Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski) took Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi) under her wing, the show's devoted fans quickly found a couple to cheer on -- all the way until the final bittersweet scene on "Chuck." kevin winter/getty images/file