Steve and Becky - Him & Her
Steve and Becky in Stefan Golaszewski’s Him & Her are, I would argue, one of the best couples on TV. Him & Her is a British comedy in the vein of The Royle Family, a lot of navel gazing, sitting around and talking. Steve and Becky are gloriously simple and completely endearing. Their main aspirations in life are to finish the Inspector Morse boxset, drink lager and eat pizza in peace. Sarah Solemani and Russell Tovey work together brilliantly, their chemistry and ease with each other adding to the believability of the pairing. Tovey and Solemani manage to perfectly portray the day-to-day minutiae of an established couple living together. The comedy in Him & Her sprouts from the placing of Steve and Becky as the ‘straight men’ in a world of over-the-top characters as they are perpetually bothered by friends and family. Honourable mention here to Kerry Howard’s Laura, one of the great TV villains.
Steve and Becky are lazy, gross and utterly shameless as they scam free pizzas from their mates and spend entire days in bed. Despite all of this they are loveable, fun and a startlingly realistic depiction of a working-class 20 something couple. It’s a sitcom that is well worth your time.
Written by Beth Chrisp.
Gomez and Morticia - The Addam's Family
The conversation on what defines a great television couple begins and ends with the creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky heads of the all together ooky Addams family (click, click). Affection is their affliction and they’re hopelessly addicted - the Addams’ love for one another is quite literally to die for. In these times of shameful sexual misconduct Gomez is a role model for the male romantic; utterly devoted to his wife with fiery Castillan lust. The strength of their bond is both physical and emotional - unlike most television couples they never stray from one another and Gomez’ physical wellbeing is intrinsically bound to his relationship with his wife. Before they met Gomez was a sickly boy - she gives him life. If Gomez is the fire, Morticia is the ice. The matriarch of House Addams steers her husbands Latin spirit with adoration and calculation - she’s been his since the day he carved her name into his leg. When she’s not growing abominations in the garden Morticia maintains the transgressions that define the deplorable Addams family spirit. Cara Mía and her darling husband are the blackhearted Romeo and Juliet; lovable alone, intoxicating together, ’til death do they part.
Written by Callum Costello.
Santana and Brittany - Glee
For me, 'Best TV Couple' is synonymous with the concept of an 'OTP'. For those unfamiliar with the term, it simply means "one true pairing", i.e. your favourite couple of all in any given show, genre, ever etc. When I think of this, aside from Daphne and Fred from Scooby Doo who are a classic pair, my OTP are undeniably Glee's Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera) and Brittany Pierce (Heather Morris).
They're a couple who truly grow into themselves with one another; maturing and becoming better versions of themselves when they're together. Santana begins Glee as a cold-hearted bitch, truly, but through Brittany's love and their relationship, she becomes a much kinder individual, albeit with remnants of sass and wit. Similarly, Brittany is a ditzy genius whom only realises her full potential through Santana's acceptance and patience of her. Unlike other couples on the show (*cough* toxic Kurt and Blaine), 'Brittana', as they are more commonly known, never manipulate, cheat or use one another - their relationship is pure and genuine. They bring out the good in each other and that's the essence of a good TV couple. Furthermore, they're both individuals who aren't entirely defined by their relationship - it's just an aspect of their narratives.
The pair started as pinky-holding best friends, but through fan support (and killer chemistry between Rivera and Morris) became a huge romantic focus of the show. They're truly a fan favourite, and its no surprise that the pair have been praised for representing and inspiring so many LGBTQ+ youths. I mean, name me another couple that gives us dramatic, heartbreaking yet beautiful lines like: "I used to sit in this back row and secretly watch you. I counted the number of times you’d smile at me, and I’d die on days that you didn’t". In the words of Dido, I will go down with this ship and you should too!
Written by Joel Leaver.
