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!

Catastrophe (2015)
98%

#1

Synopsis: An unplanned pregnancy turns a weekend tryst into a serious commitment for a British woman and an American tourist.... [More]

Starring: Daniel Lapaine, Julie Perreault, Sharon Horgan, Rob Delaney

Directed By: Louise Archambault

Jane the Virgin (2014)
100%

#2

Synopsis: A comedy-drama following a chaste young woman who is accidentally impregnated via artificial insemination as she struggles to inform her... [More]

Starring: Gina Rodriguez, Justin Baldoni, Yael Grobglas, Andrea Navedo

Directed By: Stuart Gillard, Neema Barnette, Janice Cooke-Leonard, Stuart Guillard

Friday Night Lights (2006)
97%

#3

Synopsis: Creator Peter Berg's drama centering on the players and coach of a high-school football team in Dillon, Texas, a small... [More]

Starring: Kyle Chandler, Gaius Charles, Scott Porter, Michael B. Jordan

Directed By: Peter Berg, Jonas Pate, Stephen Kay, Joshua Pate

The Fosters (2013)
97%

#4

Synopsis: A lesbian couple head up a multiethnic family comprised of a biological son and a few adopted kids.... [More]

Starring: Teri Polo, Sherri Saum, David Lambert, Cierra Ramirez

Directed By: Michael Medico, Rob Morrow, Silas Howard, Lily Mariye

black-ish (2014)
91%

#5

Synopsis: A successful family man worries that his four children are losing touch with black culture because they are growing up... [More]

Starring: Anthony Anderson, Bill Maher, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Rapaport

Directed By: Kevin Bray, Rebecca Asher, Victor Nelli, John Putch

Outlander (2014)
91%

#6

Synopsis: A married British combat nurse time-travels between World War II and 1743 Scotland, where she falls for a Scottish warrior.... [More]

Starring: Caitriona Balfe, Sam Heughan, Tobias Menzies, Graham McTavish

Directed By: John Dahl, Richard Clark, Brian Kelly, Mike Barker

You're the Worst (2014)
95%

#7

Synopsis: Two anti-relationship people find themselves in a relationship together.... [More]

Starring: Aya Cash, Chris Geere, Kether Donohue, Desmin Borges

Directed By: Tamra Davis, Stephen Falk, Alex Hardcastle, Wendey Stanzler

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013)
97%

#8

Synopsis: A sitcom following the lives of a group of detectives in a New York precinct, including one slacker who is... [More]

Starring: Andy Samberg, Andre Braugher, Terry Crews, Melissa Fumero

Directed By: Jake Szymanski, Akiva Schaffer, Chris Miller, Julie Ann Robinson

New Girl (2011)
94%

#9

Synopsis: Sitcom centered on Jess Day, a sweet but naive twentysomething, who shares a loft with three single men.... [More]

Starring: Zooey Deschanel, Jake Johnson (XVI), Damon Wayans Jr., Lamorne Morris

Directed By: Michael Schultz, Neal Brennan, Josh Greenbaum, Lamorne Morris

This Is Us (2016)
92%

#10

Synopsis: The Pearson family's generational story unfolds in this emotional drama. In moments of joy and heartbreak, revelations emerge from parents... [More]

Starring: Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Justin Hartley, Chrissy Metz

Directed By: Dan Fogelman, Sarah Pia Anderson, John Requa, Uta Briesewitz

Parenthood (2010)
88%

#11

Synopsis: A comedy-drama following a large and imperfect family as they tackle the challenges of raising kids and starting over after... [More]

Starring: Lauren Graham, Michael Emerson, Craig T. Nelson, Bonnie Bedelia

Directed By: Bethany Rooney, Max Jenkins, Dax Shepard, Ken Whittingham

Parks and Recreation (2009)
93%

#12

Synopsis: A mockumentary following the inner workings of the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Ind. From the creators of... [More]

Starring: Kristen Bell, Tatiana Maslany, Amy Poehler, Sam Elliott

Directed By: Julie Ann Robinson, Alan Yang, Morgan Sackett, Adam Scott

The Mindy Project (2012)
86%

#13

Synopsis: A sitcom about an ob-gyn who wishes her personal life were as successful as her professional one and matched the... [More]

Starring: Mindy Kaling, Chris Messina, Ike Barinholtz, Zoe Jarman

Directed By: Linda Mendoza, Ryan Case, Alex Reid, Alex Hardcastle

Modern Family (2009)
85%

#14

Synopsis: A mockumentary-style sitcom chronicling the unusual kinship of the extended Pritchett clan, a brood that includes patriarch Jay; his younger... [More]

Starring: Ed O'Neill, Amy Yasbeck, Sofía Vergara, Diane Farr

Directed By: Jeff Melman, Jerry Jeff Walker, Steve Levitan, James R. Bagdonas

Downton Abbey (2011)
86%

#15

Synopsis: This period drama, set in the English countryside which is centered on the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and... [More]

Starring: Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Zoe Boyle

Directed By: Jon East, David Evans, Andy Goddard, Philip John

Grey's Anatomy (2005)
83%

#16

Synopsis: The story revolves around five surgical interns and their supervisors, showing their personal and professional lives.... [More]

Starring: Sendhil Ramamurthy, Grinnell Morris, Moe Irvin, Josh Bywater

Directed By: Jeff Melman, Peter Horton, Julie Ann Robinson, Michael N. Grossman

Glee (2009)
71%

#17

Synopsis: Musical comedy-drama about the misfits who make up a high-school singing club and teacher Will Schuester, the one-time glee-club star... [More]

Starring: Kristin Chenoweth, Josh Groban, Eve, Gregg Henry

Directed By: Michael Hitchcock, Dante di Loreto, Sanaa Hamri, Anthony Hemingway

Bewitched (1964)

#18

Synopsis: An enchanting sitcom about beautiful, nose-twitching witch Samantha Stevens, who moves to the suburbs to be with her strait-laced mortal... [More]

Starring: Cliff Hall, Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick Sargent, Lloyd Bochner

Directed By: Seymour Robbie, Alan Jay Factor, Richard Michaels, Luther James

Cheers (1982)

#19

Synopsis: This hugely successful, multi-Emmy-winning sitcom is set in a friendly Boston bar run by Sam Malone, a former Red Sox... [More]

Starring: Ted Danson, John McLaughlin, Harry Anderson, Daniel Gerroll

Directed By: David Lloyd, Thomas Lofaro, Thomas Lofario, John Ratzenberger

Desperate Housewives (2004)
72%

#20

Synopsis: Following her suicide, Mary Alice Young keeps tabs on friends and family she left behind on bucolic suburban Wisteria Lane.... [More]

Starring: Felicity Huffman, John Schneider, Roselyn Sanchez, Kathryn Harrold

Directed By: Charles McDougall, Jeff Melman, John David Coles, Jim Hayman

The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961)

#21

Synopsis: An often copied, rarely duplicated classic about TV writer Rob Petrie at home and work is as close as it... [More]

Starring: Lola Albright, Roger C. Carmel, Allan Melvin, John Rich

Directed By: Hal Cooper, Stanley Z. Cherry, Theodore J. Flicker, Peter Baldwin

Family Matters (1989)

#22

Synopsis: A suburban Chicago family is pestered by nerdy, nosy neighbor Steve Urkel in this long-running spin-off of 'Perfect Strangers' (Harriette... [More]

Starring: Peter Fitzsimmons, Reginald VelJohnson, Judyann Elder, Tony Edwards

Directed By: David W. Duclon, Mark Linn-Baker, Peter Baldwin, Jeffrey Ganz

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990)

#23

Synopsis: Teenage Will moves from the tough streets of West Philadelphia to a posh mansion in Bel-Air, California.... [More]

Starring: Daryl Mitchell, Nicholle Tom, Marj Dusay, Kathie Lee Gifford

Directed By: Rita Rogers Blye, Werner Walian, Chuck Vinson, Gil Michael Peters

Fresh Off the Boat (2015)
94%

#24

Synopsis: A Taiwanese family deal with culture shock after moving from Washington, D.C., to Orlando during the '90s.... [More]

Starring: Randall Park, Constance Wu, Hudson Yang, Forrest Wheeler

Directed By: Jake Kasdan, Max Winkler, Matt Sohn, Robert Cohen

Friends (0)
78%

#25

Synopsis: One of television's top-ranked series and the recipient of numerous Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations, "Friends" is a... [More]

Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Jon Favreau, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow

Directed By: David Schwimmer, Ben Weiss, Sam Simon, Michael Lembeck

Gilmore Girls (2000)
85%

#26

Synopsis: Set in Stars Hollow, a storybook Connecticut town populated with an eclectic mix of dreamers, artists and everyday folk, Gilmore... [More]

Starring: Judy Geeson, Brent Hinkley, Matt Jones, Alexis Rhee

Directed By: Bethany Rooney, Jamie Babbit, Joe Anne Fogle, Michael N. Grossman

Gossip Girl (2007)
84%

#27

Synopsis: Based on the best-selling series of young-adult novels by Cecily von Ziegesar and executive produced by Josh Schwartz ("Chuck," "The... [More]

Starring: Lydia Hearst, Blake Lively, Sienna Smith, Leighton Meester

Directed By: Wendey Stanzler, Jean Desegonzac, Tricia Brock, Janice Cooke-Leonard

How I Met Your Mother (2005)
83%

#28

Synopsis: A man named Ted tells his kids how he met the love of his life, through flashbacks, years in the... [More]

Starring: Jon Bernthal, Lucy Hale, Josh Radnor, Jason Segel

Directed By: Michael J. Shea, Neil Patrick Harris, Michael Shea, Rob Greenberg

I Love Lucy (0)

#29

Synopsis: TV's first great sitcom centered on a zany New York housewife who wants desperately to get into showbiz and her... [More]

Starring: Vernon Dent, Jim Hayward, Mary Ellen Kay, Larry Dobkin

Directed By: Bill Asher, Jame V. Kern, Marc Daniels, James V. Kern

Moonlighting (1985)
97%

#30

Synopsis: The sly, hip, often imitated romantic dramedy about an ex-model and a PI who team up to run the Blue... [More]

Starring: Bruce Willis, Mark Linn-Baker, Lisa Blount, Allyce Beasley

Directed By: Burt Brinckerhoff, Ron Osborn, Jeff Reno, Chris Hibler

The O.C. (2003)
68%

#31

Synopsis: An idealistic lawyer living in the affluent Orange County takes in a troubled L.A. teen.... [More]

Starring: John Waters, Santiago Douglas, Eric Balfour, Richard Herd

Directed By: Keith Samples, Ian Toynton, Jesús Salvador Treviño, Michael Lange

The Office (2005)
81%

#32

Synopsis: Based on the award-winning British comedy of the same name, this acclaimed sitcom is told through the lenses of a... [More]

Starring: David Koechner, Steve Carell, Amy Adams, Ed Helms

Directed By: Victor Nelli Jr., Bryan Gordon, Dennie Gordon, Amy Heckerling

Roseanne (1988)
76%

#33

Synopsis: A loving but imperfect working-class family led by its `domestic goddess' mother was the basis of this classic, long-running sitcom.... [More]

Starring: Bruce Willis, Edward Asner, Tony Curtis, Todd Field

Directed By: Mark K. Samuels, Ellen Falcon, John Pasquin, John Whitesell

Sex and the City (1998)
71%

#34

Synopsis: The story revolves around four sassy New-York based women, Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha who are in search of love,... [More]

Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall

Directed By: Alison Maclean, Matthew Harrison, Susan Seidelman, Daniel Algrant

The Simpsons (1989)
85%

#35

Synopsis: Matt Groening's subversive, animated satire about Springfield's hapless first family became a cult favourite when it premiered on Fox in... [More]

Starring: Dan Castellaneta, Matt Groening, Deb Lacusta, Jack La Lanne

Directed By: John Swartzwelder, Ken Keeler, Wesley M. Archer, Guillermo del Toro

Thirtysomething (1987)
85%

#36

Synopsis: An Emmy-winning chronicle of the angst-ridden lives of 1980s baby boomers in Philadelphia. Creators Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz drew... [More]

Starring: Mel Harris, Melanie Mayron, Peter Horton, Cassandra Peterson

Directed By: Randall Miller, Dan Lerner, Melanie Mayron, Peter Horton

The Wonder Years (1988)

#37

Synopsis: Wistful and whimsical nostalgia about a 12-year-old boy coming of age in the late 1960s and early '70s, this became... [More]

Starring: David Schwimmer, Fred Savage, Daniel Stern, Alley Mills

Directed By: Tom Moore, Peter Werner, Matia Karrell, Peter Horton