TV Romance
13 TV Pairs We Want to See Couple Up Next Season
It’s officially summertime, but we’re already looking ahead to fall TV and beyond. When it comes to matters of the heart, our brains never rest here at Swooon.
While watching the latest seasons of our favorite shows, there are certain characters with an undeniable spark that we believe need to be fully explored next season. There’s the lingering Frank (Jon Bernthal) and Karen (Deborah Ann Woll) chemistry on Daredevil: Born Again, the ongoing will-they-won’t-they situation between Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Stabler (Christopher Meloni) on Law & Order: SVU, or the enemies-to-lovers potential between Rafe (Drew Starkey) and Kiara (Madison Bailey) on Outer Banks.
We’re not saying any of these relationships have to be endgame, but their chemistry deserves a chance in the spotlight. Embrace the romance! These are fictional characters—anything is possible.
Below, you’ll find a roundup of characters we want to see coupled up next season. Did we miss any potential romances? Sound off in the comments below!
Frank & Karen, Daredevil: Born Again
While the term Kastle means something special to a certain set of shipping fans, Marvel’s Daredevil: Born Again brought the duo back to the forefront of people’s minds as Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) and Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) reunited in the Season 1 finale. Reteaming to help out Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), a.k.a. Daredevil, the duo’s feelings for one another were acknowledged by the vigilante with superpowered hearing as he noted Frank and Karen’s heartbeats upon seeing one another. The underlying tension between this pairing has been present since The Punisher (and even Daredevil) days, making Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 a perfect time to finally pay off the feelings that have been brewing for years. While some viewers may be rooting for Karen and Matt to give their romance a second try, we’re all in on Frank and Karen. — Meaghan Darwish
Rafe & Kiara, Outer Banks
Look, it’s time to shake things up with the relationships on Outer Banks. No one can deny that there’s something between Rafe (Drew Starkey) and Kiara (Madison Bailey). You could say it’s just unintentional chemistry between the actors, but that spark has refused to flame out after four seasons. We’re not excusing the bad things Rafe has done, and Kiara shouldn’t either, but this is the kind of enemies-to-lovers arc that we’re craving on the sun-soaked series. She could be the one person he wants to change for, and we’ve already seen hints of thaWith Kiara’s quest to get revenge for JJ’s (Rudy Pankow) death, she’ll likely look to Rafe for help. Could working closely together eventually turn into something more? The romances on the show have been a little too clean-cut, and a Rafe and Kiara relationship would certainly cause conflict between the Pogues. These two have always held back in some regard, with Kiara refusing to embrace her Kook history, and Rafe denying the magnitude of his feelings for pretty much everything. If these two finally let go of any inhibitions, Riara could prove to be yet another great Outer Banks love story. — Avery Thompson
Mohan & Abbot, The Pitt
There may not be time for much romance on The Pitt, with the medical drama told in real time, each season a shift, but there are certainly hints of sparks — including here, as Shawn Hatosy himself noted after Abbot praised Mohan’s (Supriya Ganesh) work in Episode 14. “I think he’s kind of, in his own weird and ‘I’m not trying to be creepy’ way, flirting in the only way that he can. I think he actually has a ton of respect for Dr. Mohan,” he said. We don’t want anything to change about the show itself, but it would be great to get a low-key reveal that something happened in the 10 months between seasons. — Meredith Jacobs
Buck & Eddie, 9-1-1
To be honest, I didn’t think 9-1-1 would go there … until it was brought up, onscreen, in Season 8, with Buck’s (Oliver Stark) ex-boyfriend (Lou Ferrigno Jr.) raising the possibility, leading to Buck insisting he’s not in love with his straight best friend. But let’s be honest: Buck and Eddie’s (Ryan Guzman) most successful relationships have been with each other so far, and it’s never clearer how much they mean to one another than when one is in a dangerous situation. (Buck’s reaction to Eddie being buried after going down the well? Unforgettable.) It’s starting to feel like it’s not out of the realm of possibility for it to happen, and who doesn’t enjoy a good friends-to-lovers romance? — Meredith Jacobs
Rupert & Taggie, Rivals
“Rupert’s trying very hard to keep away from Taggie … but there’s a magnetic pull. In the kitchen, when he says, ‘I can’t breathe without you,’ that’s true,” executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins told TV Insider, essentially describing why I’ve fallen so hard for this slow-burn romance. Alex Hassell and Bella Maclean have brought the relationship we enjoyed on the pages of Jilly Cooper’s novel to life in such a way that I’m rooting even harder for them to get together. Add in the complications of Rupert’s relationship with Cameron (Nafessa Williams), who ends Season 1 thinking she could’ve killed Tony (David Tennant), and it makes for a messy, can’t stop watching journey for Rupert and Taggie. — Meredith Jacobs
Abby & Max, Ginny & Georgia
Having Abby (Katie Douglas) explore her sexuality by dating Tris (Noah Lamanna) in Season 3 opened up the door for a potential future romance between her and Max (Sara Waisglass). The ladies didn’t end up in the best place in the Season 3 finale, but I have faith that their years of friendship will bring them back together. At the end of the day, the perfect partner is someone who’s also your best friend, and Max and Abby definitely have that going for them. Fans are shipping these two HARD and I am very on-board. — Alyssa Norwin
Bernadette & Chee, Dark Winds
Since Dark Winds‘ first season, there’s been a will-they-won’t-they vibe between colleagues Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten) and Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon), and while the duo seemingly sparked early on, they’ve never been a full-on couple… yet. Things looked promising for the pair at the end of Season 3 after Bernadette ditched her gig at Border Patrol, returning to the Navajo territory she calls home, back to Chee, and although there was no grand romantic reunion (unlike their farewell kiss at the end of Season 2, above), their smiles at one another indicated that things could finally turn serious for the pair as we look ahead to Season 4. We cannot wait! — Meaghan Darwish
George & Benny, Overcompensating
Sure, Benny (Benito Skinner) treated George (Owen Thiele) pretty poorly during the first season 1 of Overcompensating, but we foresee a redemption arc for their relationship in the future. If the moments that Benny and George had alone (Gatorade anyone?) were any indication, the chemistry is most certainly there. In our opinion, Benny needs to apologize to George ASAP for all of the things he said while he was, well, overcompensating, in front of his straight friends. Plus, if we know one thing about foreshadowing it’s that Benny’s gay awakening being George in the Jungle makes him infinitely more likely end up with a guy named George. — Rebecca Perlmutter
Kitty & Min Ho, XO, Kitty
Who doesn’t love a good enemies-to-friends-to-lovers? In Seasons 1 and 2, Kitty (Anna Cathcart) and Min-Ho (Sang Heon Lee) pursued different relationships, but none of them held a candle to their own. At the end of Season 1, Min Ho confessed his feelings for Kitty, which were unrequited. Cue the pining. Even though he was rejected, Min Ho still supported Kitty throughout Season 2, while she went on an emotional journey to learn more about her late mom. After all of that, we’re dying for Kitty and Minho to become a couple in Season 3! — Morgan Pryor
Benson & Stabler, Law & Order: SVU
The Bensler situation has been a source of massive debate amongst the Law & Order fandom. For years, these two have danced around their feelings for each other. There was that almost kiss, the letter, and lingering touches, but these two have still not acted on anything. Look, it’s time to lay down the law. Let Benson and Stabler explore whatever this is. It could just be a one time only deal. They embrace their feelings and realize they’re truly just friends, or it could be the start of long-simmering romance. Either way, we just need these two just KISS already. — Avery Thompson
Wrigley & Bree, Tell Me Lies
We know what you’re thinking, Bree (Cat Missal) and Wrigley (Spencer House) are perhaps the most random pairing of the ever so messy Tell Me Lies friend group, but you need to hear us out on this one. We’ve been stewing on this theory for a while, and we’re convinced that the person on the other end of Bree’s mysterious phone call in the 2015 timeline is Wrigley. Tell Me Lies loves a shocking couple and while Bree and Wrigley may be one of the only pairings yet to be explored, we stand by the fact that the characters are more alike than they are different. — Rebecca Perlmutter
Paul Baker & Anton, Adults
Sure, disrupting a friend group dynamic with a romance is potentially problematic, but we’d be lying if we said we didn’t want to see roommates and newlyweds Paul Baker (Jack Innanen) and Anton (Owen Thiele) become a real item on Adults. While the pair ended up marrying in Season 1’s finale, it was done to keep Canadian Paul Baker in America with the rest of the gang, as his visa was about to expire. Although you’d think he’d marry his girlfriend, Issa (Amita Rao), her inability to commit in this way left Paul Baker with his pick of the friend group, and he chose Anton. Their mutual connection over the course of the season was palpable, and it would feel like a crime to leave that chemistry unexplored in a potential second season. In the matter of Issa versus Anton for Paul Baker’s heart, we’re currently residing with Team Anton. — Meaghan Darwish
Gibbs & Lala, NCIS: Origins
This one is so complicated given the Season 1 finale, which saw Gibbs (Austin Stowell) and Lala (Mariel Molino) almost kiss, only for the episode to end with her involved in a potentially fatal car crash (after she put herself on the line protecting him) and him meeting one of his future ex-wives, Diane (Kathleen Kenny). As Stowell told TV Insider after the finale, “You want to see the moment where they finally get together, where Gibbs gives into the more personal side, that he puts away the soldier, the federal agent, and gives into some human emotion.” It would be great to see that with Gibbs and Lala in Season 2, even if we know it can’t last due to canon. — Meredith Jacobs
