The Best Romantic TV Shows

Falling in love is always in season, no matter how hot or cold the weather is. While some may find comfort in laugh-out-loud comedies or epic fantasy dramas, for others there's deep satisfaction in feeling all the emotions while you're engrossed in a romantic love story that spans many, many episodes. From the first kisses to the will-they-won't-they tension to the swoon-worthy confessions, there's a reason why viewers can't help but "ship" their most beloved TV couples and pairings.

Whether you're in the mood for the iconic love affair between Meredith and Derek on Grey's Anatomy or the classic small-town teen love triangle of Dawson's Creek or the world of fancy balls and marriage marts on Bridgerton, we're confident you'll find something to watch. Here are some of the best romantic dramas to stream.

If there's one couple who's endured it all, it's Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan). Based on the bestselling novels by Diana Gabaldon, Outlander is the ultimate centuries-spanning love story with the help of some magical time-traveling stones to kick-start it all. Heart-stopping confessions, swoon-worthy gestures, and passionate nights in (wink wink) are all part of the romance equation here, and the undeniable chemistry between Balfe and Heughan may give you heart palpitations.

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Big-city nurse Mel Monroe (Alexandra Breckenridge) attempts to restart her life when she relocates from sunny Los Angeles to the leafy Northern California town of Virgin River with the hopes of leaving past trauma behind. One of the first people she meets when she arrives is Jack (Martin Henderson), a rugged ex-Marine and bar owner, who catches her eye. But they each have their own baggage they need to tend to first before they can think about crossing the friendship line, let alone kiss. If melodramatic romances are your cup of tea, then Virgin River — adapted from Robyn Carr's novel — is worth adding to the queue.

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Emily in Paris' Lily Collins lives every girl's dream as Emily Cooper, the super-chic social media strategist who moves to the City of Love to start a new job at a French marketing agency. While Emily takes big swings with her fashion adventures, just don't follow her lead when it comes to relationships. Her love life is the textbook definition of messy — getting caught up in love triangles and love squares are basically ingrained in her DNA — but that's exactly why we love Emily in Paris.

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Who else would you go to for relationship advice than your best girlfriends? Based on Sherryl Woods's books, the South Carolina-set Sweet Magnolias follows three childhood BFFs, Maddie (JoAnna Garcia Swisher), Dana Sue (Brooke Elliott), and Helen (Heather Headley), whose bond is impenetrable. They are each other's support systems as they go through marriage hardships, divorce, secret affairs, career challenges, and family woes. Also part of the cast is Justin Bruening, Chris Klein, Jamie Lynn Spears, and Brandon Quinn.

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A fan of sexy Regency dramas with a modern twist or two and toe-curling confessions? Then Bridgerton should be at the top of your list. Uber-producer Shonda Rhimes is behind the soapy historical romance based on Julia Quinn's popular book series, which follows eight Bridgerton siblings as they each navigate the marriage mart. Like Quinn's novels, each season focuses on a different sibling's journey and a distinct romantic trope: Season 1 centers on Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) and Simon (Rege-Jean Page), Season 2 on Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) and Kate (Simone Ashley), Season 3 on Colin (Luke Newton) and Penelope (Nicola Coughlan), and Season 4 on Benedict (Luke Thompson) and Sophie (Yerin Ha). With eight books in the series, we're just now reaching the halfway point so get comfortable!

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One of TV's most heartwarming shows, Heartstopper, will soften even the most stubborn of love cynics. The British LGBTQ+ series is based on the graphic novel by Alice Oseman, who adapts her own work for Netflix. The teen romantic comedy follows the burgeoning relationship between two high school classmates — Charlie Spring (Joe Locke), who was recently outed, and popular rugby player Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) — who navigate falling in love for the very first time. Heartstopper is endearing and sweet, and may even have you reaching for the tissue box a few times. There's nothing quite like this gem of a show.

Based on the David Nicholls' 2009 novel, One Day follows the turbulent relationship between Emma Morley (Ambika Mod) and Dexter Mayhew (Leo Woodall) that takes place over the span of two decades. From when they first meet as college students to their life as a young, married couple, the limited series checks all the romantic boxes. We will warn you, there is a devastating twist at the end of the 14-episode journey that may leave you sobbing.

There's a reason why Grey's Anatomy has stood the test of time. In many ways, the long-running medical drama about a group of attractive Seattle doctors wrote the book on how to fall in love — and out of love in some cases. With more than 20 seasons and 430 episodes under its belt, there's a lot of romantic tension, love triangles, elevator kisses, weddings, iconic speeches, and proposals to get through. While there's bound to be a couple for you to fall in love with (Cristina and Owen! Jackson and April! Alex and Izzie! Callie and Arizona! Lexie and Mark!), no pair is as vital to Grey's lore than Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Derek (Patrick Dempsey), who live on a pedestal all on their own.

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Emily Bader and Edward Bluemel star as Lady Jane Grey and Lord Guildford Dudley in the one-and-done historical fantasy drama, My Lady Jane. Adapted from Jodi Meadows's book, the series is set in alternate 16th-century England where supernatural shape-shifters exist. The man Jane has been set up to marry, Guildford, is secretly one of those fantastical beings who can't control his powers yet. He turns into a horse (yes, really!) by day and regains human form by night. On paper, it all sounds a bit ridiculous, but on screen, Bader and Bluemel's chemistry is red-hot and the show's saving grace.

Get ready to laugh, cry, and believe in love again! Hailing from the mind of creator Dan Fogelman, This Is Us tells the story of the Pearson family across several decades, with Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore leading the charge as parents Jack and Rebecca. Sterling K. Brown, Justin Hartley, and Chrissy Metz play the grown-up versions of their kids, also known collectively as The Big Three (there's a cute chant and everything!). More a family drama than a straight romance, the undercurrent of the series is fueled by love — all forms of it — and proves that not every relationship is the same.

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When Jenny Han's involved, you know you're getting quality romantic angst. The To All the Boys I've Loved Before author turns her own teen book trilogy, The Summer I Turned Pretty, into a summer escape of love, friendship, and coming of age. The series kicks off with Belly Conklin (Lola Tung), on the verge of celebrating her 16th birthday, reuniting in Cousins Beach with her childhood best friends, Fisher brothers Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) and Conrad (Christopher Briney) — the latter of whom she's had a crush for years. The classic teenage love triangle is born when both brothers show interest in her. Ah, young love! Rachel Blanchard, Tom Everett Scott, Kyra Sedgwick, Elsie Fisher, Sean Kaufman, and Rain Spencer also star.

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One of the most underrated shows of 2020, Zoe Kravitz headlines High Fidelity, the gender-swapped TV adaptation of the 1995 Nick Hornby novel and the 2000 John Cusack movie. In the series, Kravitz plays Robyn "Rob" Brooks, the owner of a Brooklyn record shop who is obsessed with making Top 5 lists and revisiting why her past relationships have all failed. It deserved more than the 10 episodes it got and by the end of it, you'll be rooting for Rob to finally get past her relationship curse. Jake Lacy, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, and Kingsley Ben-Adir are just some of the notable supporting players.

Donald Glover and Maya Erskine redefine what it means to be sexy spies in Prime Video's reimagining of the 2005 Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie film. In this version of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Glover and Erskine go undercover as married couple John and Jane Smith, and carry out missions for a secret corporation from their only point of contact, an enigmatic source named Hihi. The series, co-created by Glover and Atlanta's Francesca Sloane, may carry the same name as the movie, but this iteration is more a case study on marriage disguised as an explosive action spy thriller (and there are plenty of shock-and-awe moments).

Another book-to-screen adaptation, A Discovery of Witches brings Deborah Harkness' trilogy to life. Teresa Palmer plays reluctant witch Diana Bishop, who's also a history and science academic, and Matthew Goode portrays mysterious vampire Matthew Clairmont, whose day job is a biochemistry professor. (Hey, he has to pay the rent somehow!) Things start getting nutty when Diana, who's rejected her magical lineage but is possibly one of the most powerful witches to ever exist, accidentally summons an ancient manuscript, which attracts the attention of the supernatural world — and Matthew's brooding gaze. Who doesn't love a lust-filled romance with a dash of danger to drive up the adrenaline?

Fair warning: Temperatures are about to rise! Shonda Rhimes sure knows how to create sexual tension, and Scandal's Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington), a powerful crisis manager, and Fitzgerald "Fitz" Grant III (Tony Goldwyn), the President of the United States, are about as spicy as it gets. Sure, the one-hour drama may be about political power players doing awful things, like murdering people and committing white-collar crimes, but really, Scandal is Oliva and Fitz's sizzling hot playground. Their love affair is one of the hottest things to ever play out on broadcast television, and for that, we thank you Shonda.

In Younger, Broadway star Sutton Foster plays 40-something divorcee Liza Miller, who decides to keep up with the lie that she's 26 after meeting hunky tattoo artist, Josh (Nico Tortorella), at a bar and landing a coveted publishing job at Empirical. Soon enough, she's caught in the crosshairs of a complicated love triangle (that later turns into a rhombus) with Josh and her buttoned-up boss, Charles (Peter Hermann). But secrets aren't meant to be kept for very long — especially on a television show by Sex and the City's Darren Star. Expect a ton of fireworks when the truth about Liza eventually does come out.

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In the mood for a classic teen drama? Look no further than Kevin Williamson's Dawson's Creek, where the main friend group — Dawson (James Van Der Beek), Joey (Katie Holmes), Pacey (Joshua Jackson), and Jen (Michelle Williams) — all use 20 dollar SAT words in their daily speech and date each other. Certain storylines don't age well, like Season 1's romanticization of Pacey's affair with his high school teacher, but it can't be denied the impact Dawson's Creek had and continues to have on generations of young viewers. And maybe by the end of the series (there's six seasons and 128 episodes total), you'll have an opinion on the never-ending Joey and Dawson or Joey and Pacey debate.

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There's something dark, dangerous, and sexy about two vampire brothers fighting over the same girl. Now, in the real world, The Vampire Diaries' central love triangle between Elena (Nina Dobrev), Stefan (Paul Wesley), and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) would raise a million red flags. But in the TV world, it has all the ingredients of an epic saga that makes you question which Salvatore brother is fit to be Elena's true love. A lot of crazy things happen to the trio and their friends in Mystic Falls (doppelgangers! the afterlife! a portal to the Other Side!) over eight seasons, but it's the ongoing tension between Elena, Sefan, and Damon that gives the Vampire Diaries its bite. 

Adapted from Sally Rooney's bestseller, Normal People introduced the world to Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones, whose careers would skyrocket after the critically-acclaimed limited series originally dropped in 2020. The story follows two students, Marianne (Edgar-Jones) and Connell (Mescal), who start an on-again, off-again relationship that spans their time in secondary school and later in university. Their romance is complex, layered, and contentious at times, and it's Edgar-Jones and Mescal's raw ability to channel their characters' inner emotions and frustrations that makes Normal People anything but normal.

Anna Kendrick leads the first season of the romantic comedy anthology series Love Life, which also has a mystery element. Each season focuses on a different character as they experience their first relationship to their very last one. In Season 1's first episode, Darby (Kendrick) randomly meets Augie (Jin Ha) at karaoke and they begin dating. The mystery comes at the end of the episode when it flash-forwards to a pregnant Darby walking down the street without a ring on her finger, leading you to wonder what happened. Season 2 chronicles the love story between William Jackson Harper's Marcus and Jessica Williams' Mia.

Inspired by the life of former Cosmopolitan editor-in-chief Joanna Coles, The Bold Type follows three millennial besties — Jane (Katie Stevens), Kat (Aisha Dee), and Sutton (Meghann Fahy) — who work in different departments at a fictional women's magazine, Scarlet, and their complicated romantic relationships. Though the series was aimed at Freeform's younger audience, it covered many hot-button topics like race, women's health, and gun control.

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