TV is full of onscreen relationships.
We’re inundated with characters who are either dating, have dated or whose entire storyline revolves around their unresolved sexual tension.
There are also plenty of good bromances and best girlfriends and we love them all.
But what about the men and women who are truly just friends?
Sometimes, despite the theory in the movie When Harry Met Sally, purely platonic relationships can be some of the most fulfilling. To prove it, we’ve compiled a list of some of TV’s best friends.
Sometimes they fight, but they always work through it and they never fail to have one another’s backs.
Check out our list of 23 of the best platonic friends on TV!!
Alex Karev and Meredith Grey – Grey’s Anatomy
Ever since Meredith lost her “twisted sister” Christina, she made Alex her new person. They have no boundaries whatsoever, and it often interferes with Alex’s relationship with Jo, but they’re the last ones of the original gang left and they are now inseparable.
Mal and Zoe – Firefly
Zoe was Mal’s first mate and closest friend. They had been through war together and knew each other like the backs of their own hands. Zoe was also happily married to Serenity’s goofy, fun-loving pilot Wash, while Mal was busy denying his love for resident courtesan Inara. Mal once endured extended torture so Zoe could save her less-torture-resilient husband before charging back to save him. These two always knew they could rely on one another, no matter what.
Bonnie and Damon – The Vampire Diaries
If you told Bonnie in season 1 that one day she would call Damon her best friend, she’d cast a nasty spell on you. After being trapped in a prison world together, they bonded. Their friendship stood a huge test when they found out that Bonnie’s life was tethered to Elena’s. As long as Bonnie lives, Elena remains asleep. Even so, Damon would do anything to keep his Bon Bon safe, even if that means he won’t see his true love for 60 years.
Peggy and Jarvis – Marvel’s Agent Carter
These two British expats came together to make quite the entertaining comedy spy duo, but the friendship that evolved out of their dangerous work together proved stronger than vibranium.
Garcia and Morgan – Criminal Minds
From the first time Morgan deemed Garcia his “baby girl,” their friendship has been unique, flirty, and funny. They deal with so much darkness every day, and their hilarious flirtations have always been an injection of levity. There’s a reason Morgan has to warn her any time he puts her on speaker! They shared a deep bond that will definitely be missed now that he’s left the show.
Javier Esposito and Kate Beckett – Castle
Detectives Kate Beckett and Javier Esposito met while working at the 12th precinct and had a brother/sister vibe from the very beginning of the series. We wish we knew more about the start of their friendship but the show never filled in their back story. Loyalty was very important to both Beckett and Esposito and the two had one another’s backs through both personal and professional ordeals.
John and Dutch – Killjoys
These two bounty-hunting partners are more like family than co-workers. Even more so, because Johnny is closer to Dutch than his own brother D’avin. Though when D’avin strikes up a relationship with Dutch, Johnny is somewhat squicked out, describing it as his brother and sister having at it. Johnny and Dutch are incredibly close, and threatening one is likely to bring the other (plus D’avin) down on your head like a ton of bricks.
Will and Diane – The Good Wife
When Will was shot and killed, Diane admited that he was her best friend and she loved him. The two had a profound working partnership and friendship. Their relationship survived arguments and disagreements both personal and professional. Will’s death left a hole in Diane’s world that was never really filled by any other partnership.
Claudia and Steve – Warehouse 13
After some initial misunderstandings (Steve is actually gay, to Claudia’s chagrin), these two “junior” Warehouse agents formed a tight bond. Their brother-sister relationship was so incredibly strong that when Steve was killed, Claudia actually went way beyond the pale to resurrect him using an artifact, despite knowing that there was a downside to every artifact.
Agents Coulson and May – Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
She is his right hand and she will follow him until the end. Coulson may give the orders, but it’s his trusting relationship with May that keeps the team in line. He runs everything past her and holds her opinion higher than even his own.
John Sheridan and Susan Ivanova – Babylon 5
These two EarthForce officers knew each other long before being stationed together on Babylon 5, and their friendship shows it. Interstellar wars did nothing to diminish it, either, and Susan was highly supportive of John in his romance with Delenn. After John’s apparent death, Susan takes the reins of leadership of the Rangers.
Xander and Buffy – Buffy the Vampire Slayer
At the start of the series Xander obviously had high hopes for romance with fellow high school student Buffy Summers but their relationship took a different turn. Over the years, their friendship outlasted all of their separate romances. Buffy had superpowers but Xander’s greatest strength was his loyalty and his ability to see beyond the supernatural to what was real. He was consistently by Buffy’s side to fight the demons of Sunnydale.
Veronica and Wallace – Veronica Mars
At times Wallace felt more like Veronica’s trusty sidekick, but they always looked out for and helped each other. Their friendship grew throughout the course of the show and they even survived their parents briefly dating.
Lemon and Wade – Hart of Dixie
It seems highly unlikely that uptight Lemon Breeland would ever become besties with town screw up Wade Kinsella. When the duo ended up as co-owners of the Rammer Jammer, they discovered that they actually made a great team. They became each other’s go-to person for advice on life, love, and fake relationships. #LemonadeForever
Jessica and Harvey – Suits
Jessica first noticed Harvey’s potential when he worked in the mailroom at Gordon Schmidt Van Dyke and she used her own money to put him through Harvard Law School. Despite numerous hard times and back room machinations, Harvey and Jessica’s friendship survives and it’s still the backbone of Pearson, Specter, Litt.
Carlos and Kiera – Continuum
Kiera’s partnership with Carlos was one of the few things that kept her grounded when she was trapped over 60 years in her relative past, separating her from her husband and young son. Despite not knowing that she was actually a time traveler, Carlos was profound emotional support for Kiera, and together they ultimately saved the world from a grim dystopian future.
Sherlock and Joan – Elementary
Despite the fact that they were brought together as a business arrangement (she was hired by his father to keep him on the straight and narrow in his sobriety), Sherlock and Joan formed a strong friendship that changed the both of them for the better. Not only that, Sherlock found an apt student in the arts of detection and deduction, while Joan found her true calling and was able to move on from her own troubled past.
Ravi and Liv – iZombie
Ravi has been by Liv’s side from the beginning, never judging or caring that she’s a zombie. They trust each other completely, and the two of them have a wonderful, witty banter that makes their friendship the best part of the show.
Clarke and Bellamy – The 100
They started as enemies but these two quickly realized that the only way they could lead the delinquents was together. They are each other’s most trusted partner and as last season showed, they need each other to survive. They will go into next season even more aligned as they work to save the world yet again.
Juliet and Lassie – Psych
These detectives are partners in more ways than one. They are fiercely loyal to each other and would stop at nothing to keep the other safe but they also leaned on each other for support when things got rough. Like when Juliet was abducted by a crazed killer, Lassie was beyond determined to save her, and Juliet leaned on him for support following the trauma.
Hope and Steve – Days of Our Lives
Hope and Steve’s (aka Patch) friendship goes all the way back to the 1980s. Steve was Bo’s old friend from their time together in the Merchant Marine. Steve was on the wrong side of the law for many years but eventually turned things around. Through it all, Steve and Hope’s friendship grew and he was the main person Hope leaned on when Bo died of a brain tumor decades later.
Teresa and Cho – The Mentalist
Who do you ask to go wedding dress shopping with you? The best friend who will tell you which outfit makes you look like a slutty elf instead of a beautiful bride. For Teresa Lisbon, that friend was Kimball Cho. She was his boss at the CBI. He was hers at the FBI. It didn’t matter. They were friends and colleagues who had one another’s backs no matter what.
Abby and Tony – NCIS
When Very Special Agent Tony DiNozzo and actor Michael Weatherly left NCIS, it left many in tears but no one more so than Abby. She and Tony have been friends, perhaps more like big brother and little sister, since the beginning of the show. The actress Pauley Perrette readily admitted to being in tears on Michael’s last day.
