Ranking the Best Will-They-Won't-They Couples on TV

'Law & Order: SVU'

Like many classic procedural dramas of its type, Law & Order: SVU tells self-contained episodic stories focusing around a “case of the week,” while simultaneously developing a slower-burning emotional arc between its central characters. The partnership between Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni) anchored Law & Order: SVU for its first 12 seasons, and now that Stabler is back in Benson’s life, their long-simmering romantic tension has reached a boiling point.

During a 2022 interview on Drew Barrymore’s talk show, Hargitay casually blew fans’ minds when she noted that Benson has been in love with Stabler “for many a year,” tipping her hand as to what was to come. Ever since then, the pair’s romantic feelings for each other have become gradually clearer and clearer on screen—and in the season 24 finale, Benson admitted that the fact Stabler was married had always created a “boundary” which no longer exists.

With Bensler poised to take things to the next level after 25 years of agonizing tension, here’s our ranking of eight of the greatest will-they-won’t-they relationships in TV history.

Related: Everything to Know About 'SVU' Season 25

The Best Will-They-Won't-They Couples on TV, Ranked

8. Josh & Donna (The West Wing)

Romance was never high on the agenda in Aaron Sorkin’s beloved White House drama, and yet the impeccably played banter between deputy Chief of Staff Josh (Bradley Whitford) and his assistant Donna (Janel Moloney) developed into a TV love story for the ages. It’s the definition of a slow burn, with nothing overtly romantic happening between the pair until well into the show’s final season, but after six-and-a-half seasons of richly developed tension, the payoff was worth the wait.

7. Veronica & Logan (Veronica Mars)

Like many of TV’s fan favorite relationships, Veronica and Logan weren’t originally intended to be together. In fact, when the high school sleuth drama first begins they’re bitter enemies, although a more complex backstory soon unfolds. The chemistry between Kristen Bell and Jason Dohring is so undeniable that it changed the whole trajectory of the show, and their passionate, turbulent relationship became the the emotional linchpin for three seasons, a Kickstarter-funded movie and a long-awaited fourth season which culminated in one of the most controversial endings of all time.

6. Harvey & Donna (Suits)

USA’s slick legal drama Suits has found a new lease of life on Netflix, breaking multiple streaming records last year, which means that a whole lot more viewers have now been treated to the delight that is Darvey. There were palpable sparks between Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) and his secretary Donna (Sarah Rafferty) from the jump, and fans soon began clamoring for a relationship to develop on-screen, but for a long time it was unclear whether that was in the cards. Despite a previous romantic dalliance, both Harvey and Donna are determined to keep things professional throughout much of the show’s run. But to quote series creator Aaron Korsh, they’re “repressing their feelings for each other," and that only works for so long.

5. Sam & Diane (Cheers)

This is arguably the first and most archetypal will-they-won’t-they in TV history, and the creators of Cheers knew just how important it would be to the series. Inspired by the screwball comedy genre, Sam (Ted Danson) and Diane’s (Shelley Long) brand of antagonistic romantic chemistry proved to be irresistible for viewers. The fact that the two don’t end up together—thanks at least partly to Long’s decision to leave the show after its fifth season—takes nothing away from their hugely entertaining dynamic.

Related: See the Cast of 'Cheers' Then and Now

4. Luke & Lorelai (Gilmore Girls)

The most important relationship in Gilmore Girls is of course the bond between single mom Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) and her daughter Rory (Alexis Bledel), but Lorelai’s utterly charming rapport with gruff diner owner Luke (Scott Patterson) also snuck its way into viewers’ hearts within a few episodes. Between Lorelai’s fierce self-reliance and Luke’s grouchy attitude to just about everything, they were never going to have the smoothest path to a happy ending, but their long-awaited first kiss in the Season 4 finale felt truly earned. While many fan favorite couples lose their spark once they get together, creator Amy Sherman Palladino was mostly able to sustain the magic with Luke and Lorelai, although just like most other aspects of the show, they went in some strange directions during the last two seasons and the Netflix revival.

3. Booth & Brennan (Bones)

The long-running procedural Bones owes much of its appeal to the opposites-attract chemistry between anthropologist Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and FBI agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz), whose initially tense dynamic develops into a grudging mutual respect, and then into much more. While the easygoing Booth and prickly Brennan couldn’t be more different on the surface, the similarities between them gradually emerge over the course of several seasons, making their slow burn romance feel satisfying and organic.

2. Benson & Stabler (Law & Order: SVU)

For the first 12 seasons of SVU’s run, Benson and Stabler were partners at the Special Victims Unit, and while fans were divided on whether they wanted their relationship to turn romantic or remain platonic, the intensity of their bond was undeniable. After a decade-long absence, Stabler returned to the Law & Order fold in 2021 to star in his own show, L&O: Organized Crime, and since then things have been gradually heating up between him and Benson, as the pair have regularly crossed over into each other’s shows. Though the Bensler situation remains very much unresolved, it feels like that TV’s longest ever slow burn may finally be about to catch fire.

1. Mulder & Scully (The X-Files)

The yin-yang contrast between Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is what grounds The X-Files in its exploration of bizarre and inexplicable paranormal phenomena. Scully, famously, is a skeptic who’s driven by science, while Mulder wants to believe, and that push-and-pull would be engaging to watch no matter what. But thanks to the sparks between Duchovny and Anderson, it was clear that their tension went way deeper than ideological differences. Though not all fans were thrilled with the way their romantic tension ultimately resolved, Mulder and Scully will always be the beating heart of The X-Files.

Next, Christopher Meloni Shares His Thoughts on 'Bensler' and Stabler's Evolution