Yahoo News The 12 TV Couples We Really Wanted (But Didn’t Get) in 2023
As 2023 comes to an end and we reflect on the past year in television, we’ve realized something: we don’t like not getting our way. For that very reason, we’ve decided to compile a list of the couples we really wanted this year, even if the TV gods decided to keep them apart.
And let’s be clear, we’re defining a “couple” as two people who have agreed to define their relationship as such. Some of the duos on our list have kissed, and some have done considerably more than that, but they failed to make it official. DTR-ing is very important here, people.
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And while we’re confident that some of these shows will eventually give us the couplings we want, our list also includes a few characters whose shows won’t be resuming in the new year, leaving us to wonder what could have been. Consider us haunted for life.
Read on for a breakdown of 12 TV we couples we wanted (but sadly didn’t get) in 2023, then drop a comment with your own additions to the list. Which pairs from your favorite shows are you hoping will finally get serious in 2024?
1. Janine and Gregory, Abbott Elementary
The elementary teachers are made for each other, and their failed relationships with other people in Season 2 only further confirmed that there’s something truly special about Janine and Gregory’s bond. And honestly, we don’t know how Janine didn’t just dissolve into a puddle when Gregory told her, “I take all of your recommendations seriously. I want to know why you like stuff.” Swoon!
2. Jack and Sadie, American Auto
Just when the Payne Motors exec decided to throw caution to the wind and agree to a real date with the co-worker for whom she was obviously made (and vice-versa), NBC threw cold water on the would-be couple as well as our hopes for them in the form of a cancellation notice.
3. Georgia and Joe, Ginny & Georgia
We were sure that Joe’s slow realization of the significant past connection – not to mention, the palpable chemistry – he and Georgia share would finally inch the pair towards each other in Season 2. Alas, she married someone else, but we’ve got our eye on the long game when it comes to these two.
4. Benson and Stabler, Law & Order: SVU and Organized Crime
‘Shippers have wanted Capt. Benson and Det. Stabler together for literal decades, and it seemed like maybe the show’s writers were on board this year. But despite some heavy flirting and heavier conversations about their feelings, we were left having to “Liv. Laugh. Love.” our way on to the next season.
5. Lee and Keiko, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
Since their very first appearance in the series premiere’s 1959 flashback — which hinted at Bill having ended up with the “right woman,” Keiko, that Lee didn’t — we have wondered, “Wait, what all transpired with this triangle of adventurers…?” Add in everything that happens in Episode 6 (streaming Dec. 15 on Apple TV+) and, well, our interest grew Titan-ic!
6. Nick and George, Nancy Drew
Blame it on final season-induced nostalgia if you want, but we were rooting for George and Nick to get back together before Nancy Drew came to a close. Don’t get us wrong, their respective new partners suit them in unique ways, but we were invested in this couple prior to their breakup. Remember when they almost got married?!
7. Maeve and Otis, Sex Education
Sure, Sex Education’s will-they-won’t-they it couple may have kissed and even had sex, but the series took far too long to get them together(-ish), before sending Maeve off to the States for school. By the time she returned, the couple’s moment seemed to have passed and in the end, they parted ways for good without ever experiencing the waves of a real relationship.
8. Spock and Chapel, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
The sizzling chemistry between the Vulcan science officer and the human nurse is absolutely out of this world, and it only got hotter in Season 2, with Spock gallantly using CPR when Chapel was barely clinging to life in the premiere. They even gave into their feelings after Spock was temporarily turned into a human — and shared a kiss! — but alas, Chapel’s decision to leave the Enterprise to take a prestigious fellowship meant that our dreams were dashed for now. Sigh.
9. Gerri and Roman, Succession
We knew these two were never destined for a traditional romance, something that didn’t really exist on HBO’s corporate drama. But we at least hoped they’d find their way back to the delightfully twisted, sorta-weird-sorta-hot situationship they developed in the show’s first three seasons, which could have softened the blow of Roman’s emotional implosion in Season 4. Alas, Roman was left to drink that series finale martini alone.
10. Roy and Jamie, Ted Lasso
The increasingly profound bond between AFC Richmond’s former foes was both a complete surprise and such an appealing plot development that we can’t believe we didn’t ‘ship these two from the start. With all due respect to Roy and Keeley’s ill-fated fling, we found ourselves more invested in Roy and Jamie going the beyond-platonic route, after a season of meaningful interactions — Uncle’s Day is our Roman Empire — that only scratched the surface of what these guys have come to mean to each other. But the finale went a different way, instead pitting Roy and Jamie against each other (?) in a fistfight for Keeley’s love (?!) and then asking her to choose between them (?!?). Well, we’ll always have Amsterdam.
11. Daryl and Isabelle, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon
Maybe it’s for the best that the fifth Walking Dead spinoff didn’t capitalize on the chemistry that we all some of us saw developing between young Laurent’s de-facto parent figures. Viewers didn’t seem to agree that Norman Reedus and Clémence Poésy’s characters felt more for one another than mere friendship.
12. Kat and Elliot, The Way Home
Redemption for the loyal high school best friend who stood by while Kat fell for and married the wrong guy! When Kat returned home after her divorce, her former bestie-turned-adorably handsome teacher Elliot was not only there for her, but also provided guidance, in the present and past, when her teenage daughter discovered a time-traveling pond. That’s what we call a good guy. Plus, that first kiss? Fire! Sadly, the complications of time travel led Elliot to decide he needs to forge his own path forward.
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