It’s one thing to fall in love with a character on television, it’s another to dedicate one’s entire life to the relationship of two fictional people. Alas, TV viewers have been doing so for a very long time; watching a pair go back and forth, wanting nothing more than for them to finally get together. It’s famously known as the will-they-won’t-they plot and every generation has an "It" couple when it comes to this. The ‘80s had Sam (Ted Danson) and Diane (Shelley Long) on Cheers; Generation X was enamored with Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) on Friends, and it’s hard to deny The Office romance of Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) owned the ‘00s. While all three are iconic in their own way, there have been a great deal of other will-they-won’t-they couples between then and now that have made fans just as addicted to their love story.
Devi and Ben - Never Have I Ever
With Mindy Kaling being a huge fan of romantic comedies, her name is going to come up a lot on this list because she didn’t just help drive home the Jim and Pam narrative as a writer on The Office, but also created a pairing just as sweet on Netflix’s Never Have I Ever. The teen dramedy follows the highs and mostly lows of Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) as she tries to navigate high school. Along the way, viewers are introduced to her frenemy/possible love interest, Ben (Jaren Lewison). Every time it seems like they’re going to work out, Kaling hits fans with a twist, turn, and backflip. Fans cannot wait to see if these two connect before graduation.
Max and Kyle - Living Single
Ross and Rachel got a lot of attention in the ‘90s, but a light must be shined on another will-they-won’t-they pair from that era because they not only came first but had a bit more sexual chemistry. There wasn’t a day that passed on Living Single that Max (Erika Alexander) didn’t let everybody have it, but the only one to ever match her level of cutthroat banter was Kyle (Terrence C. Carson). They appeared to loathe one another so much that fans couldn't help but want them together. So when they finally did wake up next to each other on the Season 2 premiere, fans got what they wanted - sort of. The will-they-won’t-they ensued after because there was a lot of back and forth between making their thing known or keeping it on the down-low.
Jonah and Amy - Superstore
Superstore filled the workplace-shaped hole The Office and Parks and Recreation left on NBC, and it was easy to see just how things were going to play out between Jonah (Ben Feldman) and Amy (America Ferrera) on the first episode. That is until Amy up and left the store during the season’s sixth and final season. It was reminiscent of Sam and Diane, with Amy coming back in the end to give fans that had shipped Jonah and Amy from day one their happily ever after.
Janine and Gregory - Abbott Elementary
Another couple fans quickly wanted a wedding episode from during the pilot is Janine (Quinta Brunson) and Gregory (Tyler James Williams). Abbott Elementary was an instant hit for ABC in late 2021, so hopefully, fans can accept and allow this couple’s story to marinate over a few seasons before they deliver a scene as sweet as the infamous The Office episode where Jim pops in and asks Pam on a date, leaving her flustered, relieved, and ecstatic.
Mindy and Danny - The Mindy Project
Mindy Kaling is back but this time as the titular character. Borrowing a page from Living Single’s playbook, Mindy and Danny (Chris Messina) weren’t exactly the biggest fans of one another when the show started, and while they eventually dated and had a child, it was looking like they may not wind up with one another as Mindy continued to find romance elsewhere. By the end though, Kaling poured her rom-com heart into a series finale that ended just right for this pair.
Schmidt and Cece - New Girl
New Girl had a few pairings anyone who’s a sucker for love could fall for, and while Nick (Jake Johnson) and Jess (Zooey Deschanel) were a fan favorite and their first kiss was one of the best moments on TV during the 2000s, Schmidt (Max Greenfield) and Cece (Hannah Simone) gave a bit more oomph. Schmidt was open about his feelings for Cece from the second she walked into their loft, but it did take some time for her to warm up to his douchebag ways. They had a drawn-out love story, a beautiful wedding complete with traditional sitcom tomfoolery, and a baby on the way reveal as cute as the one I Love Lucy did back in the day. How could fans not be addicted to these two?
Daphne and Niles - Frasier
It took forever for Daphne (Jane Leeves) and Niles (David Hyde Pierce) to get together. That’s because Frasier was a show from the ‘90s, back when sitcoms still delivered 20 or more episodes and lasted years. In the case of Frasier, 11 seasons to be exact. So yeah, fans watched on the edge of their seats every Thursday night from September 1993 to May 2000, waiting for Niles to get the girl he’d admired and longed for. The show went on for four more seasons once they were together, but seven seasons of will-they-won’t-they gets them on this list.
Otis and Maeve - Sex Education
There are so many couples to ship at Moordale Secondary School on Netflix’s Sex Education, but the core couple has always been Otis (Asa Butterfield) and Maeve (Emma Mackey). Ever since they started a side hustle in an abandoned bathroom together dishing out sex advice to their peers, fans have wanted them together. They finally got their wish at the end of the third season. Fans then had to watch Maeve get on a plane and head to the US for a study program, so in some ways, fans still don’t quite know if these two are even a thing.
Mulder and Scully - The X-Files
On top of The X-Files being so unlike anything at the time when it premiered in 1993, fans couldn’t help but attach themselves to the idea that the two incredibly hot leads with ridiculous chemistry would eventually hook up. Like Frasier, The X-Files waited six seasons before giving fans what they wanted from Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) in the form of a (mostly platonic) kiss. The agents didn't officially hook up until near the end of the seventh season, and by then, Duchovny had mostly left the show, leaving Scully - and viewers - heartbroken. They found their way back to each other, though.