Heterosexual Life Partners/Live-Action TV

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Troy and Abed from Community are the epitome of this trope. They even get their own segment during the credits at the end of each episode.
  • Hercules and Iolus in The Adventures of Hercules.
    • Also applicable to the early seasons of the spin-off Xena: Warrior Princess (between Xena and Gabrielle) Before it turned into Les Yay.
  • Miley and Lilly in Hannah Montana.
    • So much so that, in the series finale, neither appears fazed by leaving their boyfriends, but can't stand the thought of leaving each other. Their decision of where to go to college was heavily influenced by where the other would go.
  • Neal and Peter on White Collar. Some fans see them as brothers, some father and son, and others...
  • Cory and Shawn in Boy Meets World.
    • And, oddly enough, so are their older brothers, Jack and Eric.
  • Kirk and Spock of Star Trek: The Original Series are the epitome of this trope, as well as Kirk and Bones. Kirk and Spock's relationship grew exponentially over the course of the series, while Kirk and Bones were established to have been VERY close from the first episode, with their friendship reaching farther back than Kirk and Spock's. To say nothing of Spock and Bones.
    • Their counterparts from the J.J. Abrams movie were set upon by the plot that they must end up like this. (Except less slashable, if J.J. has anything to say about it.)
    • Chekov and Sulu are depicted this way in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. Oddly, the rest of cannon doesn't really show them to be more than friends and colleagues.
  • Nico and Grady from Sonny With a Chance, even with their own 'breakup' episode where they try to replace one another with Sonny.
  • Walter Bishop and William Bell in J.J.Abrams' Fringe.
  • The title characters of Starsky and Hutch.
    • Owen Wilson (Hutch in the film) described it to anybody who would listen as "a love story between two men".
    • Both Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul (the original Starsky & Hutch) referred to the show as a love story.
  • Bodie and Doyle from The Professionals.
  • Bert and Ernie, from Sesame Street, and many a joke has been made about this one.
    • Word of God says that Bert & Ernie were originally conceived to be brothers, but the show's creators saw more storyline potential with them as an Odd Couple pairing.
  • Lewis and Oswald, from The Drew Carey Show, and many a joke was made on the show about it.

Oswald: "So I was drinkin' the other night, and I got to throwin' up and I got to thinkin'..." (long, rambling exposition about him wanting to move back in follows)
Lewis: "Hey. You had me at 'throwin' up'."

  • George and Jerry on Seinfeld.
    • Not that there's anything wrong with that...
  • Detectives Kevin Ryan and Javier Esposito on Castle, to the point where they have the same lottery numbers ("That way we both win and it's not awkward"). Lampshaded in 'The Double Down':

Castle: (to Esposito, after Ryan left abruptly) Don't worry, he still loves you.

  • The gals of Charlie's Angels
  • J.D. and Turk on Scrubs: even after Turk gets married and J.D. moves out, Carla, Turk's wife, calls J.D. "Turk's boyfriend" and often jokes about it on the show. This culminated in a musical number that celebrated their "Guy Love". In some early episodes, however, Turk was paranoid they might be Mistaken for Gay. One of the series' oldest running gags is that the two are gay for each other.
    • Recently, J.D. and Elliot got back together, but J.D. was having a tough time saying the l-word. However, he later confessed that he loves Elliot more than Turk, which is a big deal to her.
    • In the finale of the original run, this dialogue ensues:

Carla: Please tell me my husband loves me more than you.
J.D.: It's about even.

  • Jed and Leo on The West Wing are practically the embodiment of the trope, spending almost all their time together, having several old married couple-like moments, engaging in tiffs and squabbles that never stick, talking excessively and pointlessly, getting antsy and downtrodden when separated, etc. They were friends many, many years before Jed became the President of the United States and Leo his Chief of Staff and closest advisor, and therefore their working relationship (which takes up the vast majority of their waking hours) fits their friendship like a glove.
    • Jed even teases Leo about it!
    • There's a rather hilarious moment in one of the season one DVD Extras where Martin Sheen and John Spencer agree that they're the "parents" of the True Companions that is the main cast, but each believe that they're the husband and the other is the wife. (This troper is fairly sure that someone affiliated with the show called Abbey and Leo the President's "wife and mistress" at one point).
    • Sam and Josh as well, until Sam was written out and Josh got more focused on Donna.
    • Also, Ed and Larry, in later seasons.
      • This pairing is the most obvious in the series, especially once many characters admitted that they weren't certain which was Ed and which was Larry, they were simply 'Ed and Larry.'
  • House and Wilson on House. In the second and third seasons, the writers make light of the shipping.

Stacy: What are you hiding?
House: I'm gay. (Stacy glares at him) Oh! That's not what you meant. It does explain a lot though. No girlfriend, always with Wilson, obsession with sneakers...

    • Considering that the creators have said that there is a decent chance that House will end up with Wilson, and that Hugh Laurie ships it, the heterosexual part of this trope is highly debatable. It seems possible that House/Wilson could become canon.
    • The fourth season goes well beyond "making light of," as House ends up demanding visitation rights from Wilson's new girlfriend.
      • "My God! You're dating me!"
      • That season also implies that House tries to sabotage Wilson's relationships so that he won't lose him to a woman.
      • 5th season, Cuddy puts House and Wilson in "couples therapy" because Wilson doesn't want to be House's friend anymore.
      • On the 6th season, House moves in with Wilson, and it seems that they're actually going to stay together for a while.
    • Well, House is based on Sherlock Holmes, and as you'll see above, this same trope applied there.
      • Yeah, but the lead of a TV show doesn't need a loyal biographer to connect him to the audience.
  • Hiro and Ando from Heroes. In one episode, Ando even commented "That is how we roll." It helps that he has a thing for Hiro's sister.
  • The eponymous characters from Drake and Josh.
    • Also the two nerds Craig and Eric
  • Sam Beckett and Al Calavicci from Quantum Leap. Al is about the only thing from his time Sam consistently remembers throughout the series, and both of them sacrificed a lot for one another.
  • JT and Toby from Degrassi the Next Generation.
    • Even more so with Emma and Manny, who have been best friends since they were four. At one point in high school, Manny lived with Emma and slept in the same bed. And than when they went to college, Emma made sure that they were roomates. Emma ended up marrying Spinner, who was heterosexual life partners with Jay, who ended up enganged to Manny.
  • Apollo and Starbuck from the classic Battlestar Galactica. Aside from almost always being each other's wingmen, both warriors appear to be worried about each other often. Prominent examples: Apollo appears to being the only one grieving over Starbuck's supposed death then getting overjoyed at Starbuck's return, even embracing him. Starbuck, in turn, actually cries when Apollo was killed taking Iblis' attack for Sheba then is overcome with tears of joy when the Beings of Light resurrect Apollo. In a couple of episodes, Apollo reminds Starbuck: "It's me, Apollo." One of the instances added with the fact friends talk about things.
  • Tigh and Adama from the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica. Made abundantly clear by Adama's breakdown over Tigh's revelation that he is a cylon, though it was obvious before.
    • It's official. William Adama is the one Saul Tigh loves most in the universe. So says Saul's own wife.
  • Steven Harper and Scott Guber from Boston Public.
  • Denny Crane and Alan Shore from Boston Legal. They discuss their relationship, as well as social opinion of such relationships, frequently. Alan even discussed the English word "love", and how it's a shame that people use it lightly and a further shame that you can't be precise about your meaning, and then firmly applied it to Denny: "I love you." (Or so this editor recalls.) All in a non-sexual way, and yet these two are more intimate than a good number of television married couples.
      • And in the series finale, they do get married, making them literal heterosexual life partners.
    • The two do end a lot of episodes with some pretty heavy duty male bonding moments--sitting on the balcony, drinking Scotch and...well, without more to go on we'll just have to assume that in this case, a cigar (or rather two cigars) is just a cigar. Probably.
    • They have sleepovers on occasion, in addition to everything else, and have gone at least once on an extended fishing trip.
  • Star Trek: Deep Space Nine had Julian Bashir and Elim Garak; both actors remarked during interviews that they had deliberately played up the homoerotic undertones of the characters' relationship, and Andrew Robinson later wrote a novel A Stitch in Time about Garak's life in which he clearly depicted the alien Garak as bisexual. Later, when Paramount script writers had abruptly put an end to the Bashir and Garak subplots, Doctor Bashir and Chief O'Brien spent so much time together on various projects and on hobby activities that O'Brien's wife Keiko complained about it. They have an argument over it where Bashir says he's wildly in love with Ezri (female, now) but he "likes [O'Brien] more", and O'Brien doesn't feel the same.
    • O'Brien may not immediately reciprocate Bashir's feelings in this scene, but there's another earlier scene where the two are discussing an argument O'Brien is having with Keiko, in which O'Brien says something to Bashir like "Why can't she be more like--" and though he breaks off and then ends with "-- a man," it's obvious he was going to say "you."
    • It's fairly obvious from the conversation that O'Brien feels the same way, even if he can't admit it to Julian. Which is a hallmark of their relationship.
  • Over on Voyager we have Tom Paris and Harry Kim. Sorta. And Seven of Nine and Captain Janeway, depending on how you ship.
  • The Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog: Rohan and Angus, "friends for life."
  • Jim Ellison and Blair Sandburg in The Sentinel; Blair actually moves in with Jim early in the series.
  • Howard Moon and Vince Noir in The Mighty Boosh. They work together, live together, go on adventures together, throw satsumas (tangerines) at each other in the snow while wearing only underwear together...Vince is also often mistaken for Howard's girlfriend or wife (since Dude Looks Like a Lady). Lance Dior claims to have heard that Howard is Vince's wife, that he cooks his meals, cuts his hair, and bakes him "little cakes". The relationship remains strictly platonic, despite a few close calls. Once (infamously) in Party, and once in Boosh Live, when Howard's technique with the ladies is described by Vince as a rude invitation to get into his wheelbarrow (he's from Leeds, you see). Howard protests, claiming he was drunk, and Vince laughs, "I know, so was I -- I was in the wheelbarrow."
  • Although Olaf Petersen only makes a handful of appearances in Red Dwarf, a strong impression is given that, before the accident, he and Lister were Heterosexual Life Partners. Lister apparently has a tattoo that says "I Love Petersen".
    • Rimmer and Lister could be considered involuntary Heterosexual Life Partners; there's simply no-one else for them to talk to. They live (well, in Rimmer's case, exist) in a mile-long abandoned spaceship, but still sleep in their old crew bunks in the same room.
    • In the season 5 finale, Sophie is pregnant and it might be either Mark's or Jeremy's. Mark comments on Sophie's increasingly erratic behavior and says that if she continues like that, they can just adopt the baby "like those gay dads"
  • Dean and Sam Winchester of Supernatural can be seen as a literal case of this. Not only are they heterosexual life partners as adults, but they've spent their entire lives together, except for four years when Sam was at college. YMMV on this, since they're brothers.
    • Dean and Castiel have one of the oddest bromances on TV. Whether you see it as Ho Yay or not the two are protective of each other and at the very least care for the other. Misha Collins who plays Castiel is quoted as saying that "Castiel went against heaven because he didn't want to lose Dean's friendship". In 'Free To Be You and Me' there are many hints of bromance, ranging from Dean trying to get Castiel laid to Castiel using his trenchcoat as a method of protecting Dean from flying glass. In fact, the whole of 'Free To Be You and Me' is just one very funny, if awkward testament of the bromance between the two.
    • Lampshaded in "My Heart Will Go On", where Castiel's friend Balthazar tells Dean "You have me confused with the other angel. You know, the one in the dirty trenchcoat who's in love with you?"
  • Chandler and Joey from Friends
    • Especially when they buy a table together and when Joey moves to a place of his own.
  • Brooke and Peyton from One Tree Hill
    • Also: Marvin "Mouth" McFadden and Antwon "Skills" Taylor
  • Morecambe and Wise make this older than a LOT of people think, apparently. As do Flanders and Swann.
    • Morecambe and Wise were always shown as very close and as quarreling like an old married couple, but were reluctant for years to do their first sharing a bed skit, even though their relationship is clearly platonic.
      • Supposedly they were both immediately brought round to the idea by one of their writers pointing out that Laurel and Hardy shared a bed on film.
  • Cagney and Lacey
  • Rome features Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus. It's even lampshaded by Pullo's wife.
  • Bam and Novak from Viva la Bam generally refer to each other as 'life partner' for the laughs, seeing as they were attached at the hip.
  • From Keen Eddie, the professional friendship between Eddie Arlette and Monty Pippin is a prime example. Mark Valley: "You got to admit, whenever two guys have to spend an awful lot of time together, the question is going to come up. There's always that thing of, 'Oh my God, are we gay?' Like, not physically, but you're enjoying each other's company -- you know what I mean? It could be read that way, and we joke about it, but they're just two regular guys hanging out, spending an awful lot of time together."
  • The Naked Trucker and T-Bones, in both their live stage show and short-lived television show.
  • Richard Sharpe and Patrick Harper. After brief enmity and beating the crap out of each other, they settle into a friendship that leads them to walk into combat zones for each other after they each leave the army, and the exchange "Are you with me, Patrick?" "Yes, always." There's a strong implication that when Sharpe is should-be-mortally wounded, he only lives because of Harper's determination that he will.
  • Grey's Anatomy has a Patient of the Week and her best friend, who are both runaways from a small religious group, and have pledged to be together "cradle to grave." Too bad one of 'em's dying.
    • It also has, well, a good portion of the doctors. Yang and Meredith seem to fit this trope best, even though it's actually Izzie (and George, for that matter) that shares an apartment with Meredith.
    • Christina and Meredith have gotten even closer in later seasons, declaring each other soul mates and more than once sleeping in the same bed. Along with Mer's husband.
  • And just so nobody has to go looking for it elsewhere in the article...Tim and Mike in Spaced.
  • Moss and Roy seem this way in The IT Crowd, even though Roy tries to deny it and Moss seems oblivious when it is mentioned:

Moss: I do like Roy; I'm just not "curious."
Roy: We are not a married couple..........and I'm the husband!

  • Patsy and Edina in Absolutely Fabulous, although given Eddie's epic inability to relate to anyone else and Patsy's...well, Patsy...there've been a few joking suggestions that the "heterosexual" part of the description might not always have been entirely accurate.
    • Patsy sabotaged at least one of Eddie's potential relationships (Saffy called her on it but couldn't stop her) and it's been implied that she was the main reason both of Eddie's marriages broke down.
  • PJ and Duncan of Byker Grove fame, played by Real Life Heterosexual Life Partners Ant & Dec.
  • Jason and Tommy in Power Rangers. Several seasons had the Red Ranger have this relationship with the Sixth Ranger.
    • Interestingly, the source material for the first season Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger, had their counterparts (Geki and Burai) as long-lost brothers.
    • Power Rangers in Space had Andros and Zhane. Zhane was injured and placed in cryogenic freeze, Andros' looking at his tube had a "lost love" look to it.
    • Also, it's not just Power Rangers who have this trope. Even their enemies can also do it, such as Rito Revolto and Golar, despite the latter hating to hang around with the former.
    • Bulk and Skull.
  • Wendy and Lacey of The Middleman Years later the actress were hired(?) by David Lynch to have an epic romantic falling out in a music video
  • Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry from Alias Smith and Jones are a prime example of this trope.
  • Draconical and Weslmeister embody this trope well.
  • Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenberg. It made for a bit of awkwardness when Willow came out as gay, partially because they had grown apart quite a bit during that season and Buffy had no clue until then. It's given shippers more ammunition than every bullet in every war ever.
    • Angelus and Spike were this at one point. When Angelus got a soul and became Angel they didn't see each other much for about a hundred years. Their mutual hatred of each other (and subsequent Ho Yay) was only escalated because they used to be this trope.
  • In flashbacks shown in Dollhouse, Caroline (the future Echo) and Bennett (Echo's future foil) became fast friends in college and were heading in this direction - until a certain bomb went off...
  • Serena and Blair from Gossip Girl. Would rather spend their prom with each other than their boyfriends/love interests.
    • Also Nate and Chuck.
      • Highly debatable. Nate is rather an example of With Friends Like These.... Even Dan Humphrey has been there for Chuck more than Nate has.
  • Lts. Provenza and Flynn of the LAPD in the crime drama The Closer. In fact, it is not uncommon to hear Chief Johnson bellowing, "Provenza and Flynn!!" when she hears about their wacky hijinx (one of which involved a dead body, Provenza's garage, skybox tickets to a Dodgers game, and Johnson more furious than anyone's seen her), and when they're not assigned to work alone, she virtually always pairs them up.

Brenda: Now don't get angry. Lieutenants Flynn and Provenza...
Pope: Already angry.

  • Harold and Lou on Neighbours. They actually started off as fierce love rivals but now they're like an old married couple.
    • Also, from the same show, Steph and Libby.
  • Tommy Dawkins and Merton Dingle on Big Wolf on Campus.
  • The A-Team on...well, The A-Team. Given a Lampshade Hanging when they buy a house as part of a scheme, and the head of the neighborhood watch asks if they're gay. The team has to physically restrain B.A..
    • The whole team, but Face and Murdock especially. They run scams together, tease each other constantly, they're almost always together in the background (usually goofing off) and Face even tells Murdock "You were always the one I thought I could count on," during a serious argument.
  • Merlin and Arthur...according to the writers, anyway. Some would disagree.
    • It would help that their two actors are very close in real life.
    • There has also been vibes of Merlin and Lancelot. Also Merlin and Gwaine.
  • Numb3rs: Colby and David fit the trope to a "T", even displaying jealousy at each other's outside friendships and acting heartbroken when one or the other is removed from the group.
  • Josh and Sugardaddy of Popular. In one episode, Sugardaddy is jealous of all the time Josh spends with his girlfriend.
  • Life On Mars / Ashes to Ashes: Ray Carling and Chris Skelton, although as of season 2 the hints have been flying thick and fast that there might be a little more than that going on with Ray's chronic resentment of Chris's girlfriend (which admittedly got better during the third season - the resentment, though, not the hints). To wit, Alex's letters for the entire team to be opened in the event of her departure; everyone opens theirs right away, and all we hear about Ray's is that it contains the word "repressed." This bit of dialogue from the season 3 finale:

Shaz: Don't panic, Ray. I ain't going to be no gooseberry. Blimey, I'm amazed you two never tied the knot.
Chris: It's legal in Holland.
Ray: Can we talk about something else like...women, or snooker?

  • Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin of The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. Napoleon's steady stream of girlfriends (and Illya's occasional fling) does nothing to deter shippers, naturally.
    • Especially considering that Illya repeatedly proves to be a more effective bait for Napoleon than the Girl of the Week.
    • Add in the fact that the last time Illya actively pursues a girl is early in the second season and that Napoleon's dating steadily decreases to nothing, and the slash begins to look intentional.
      • By season four Napoleon only dates twice: once to steal a girl from Illya and in the other he takes Illya along as chauffeur.
  • Perceval and Karadoc in the French show Kaamelott spend so much time with each other, they end up founding their own clan together.
  • Gary and Wyatt in the 90s Weird Science series television show.
  • Busmalis and Rebadow from Oz. Despite Rebadow once trying to kill Busmalis, they've got the "old married couple" thing down pat.
  • In Black Books, Bernard and Manny appear to be Heterosexual Life Partners perpetually teetering on the verge of divorce, between the bitter arguments and put-downs, the Ho Yay and the living together thing.
  • Bret and Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords live together, even sharing a bedroom if not a bed. Jemaine in particular tends to get jealous of Bret's girlfriends, and they will often accompany each other on dates. The lyrics to "Bret You've Got it Goin' On", which is supposedly a platonic attempt to make Bret feel better about his looks, reveal that sometimes when Bret is sleeping Jemaine puts a wig on him and spoons him.
  • Chuck and Olive become this in Pushing Daisies. Yes, Chuck's a woman.
  • Howard and Raj from The Big Bang Theory. They've had their moments before, but half of the episode "The Cornhusker Vortex" is about them being like husband and wife, respectively.
    • Lampshaded in "The Maternal Congruence".
      • Lampshaded even earlier in "The Maternal Capacitance."
    • Leonard and Sheldon show hints of this, too. Or at least, the other characters think so.
  • Callan and Sam on NCIS: Los Angeles are this trope, written that way intentionally, even to the point other characters make comments about them being a married couple.
  • Shawn and Gus on Psych, who have been best friends since they were six years old and are practically joined at the hip at all times.
  • Barney, Marshall and Ted from How I Met Your Mother.
    • Probably the longest running gag in the show, starting from the pilot, is Marshall and Barney's neverending, recurring turf war over which of them is Ted's best friend (it's always Marshall, but Barney doesn't take "no" for an answer).
    • Played With as well: good bit of the first and third seasons' undertones is Ted coming to terms with the fact that he and Marshall can't be the exact same dynamic duo they had been since college anymore now that Marshall's marrying Lily (although it doesn't negatively affect their friendship -- it just alters it a bit) and gravitating towards Barney in his quest to meet the woman he'll marry. In "Okay Awesome", after Marshall worries that Ted might be drifting away from him now that he's engaged, Ted says he wants nothing more than to do fun couple stuff with Marshall and Lily, but he can only do that if he himself is part of a couple too, so he has to first run around doing stupid single things with Barney in order to meet enough girls to find "the one". However, halfway through the third season he realizes what a horrible influence Barney is on him after spending a night behaving like a sleazy, Barney-esque jackass, and since then has firmly stuck to Marshall as his best friend and role model, although he has admitted that Barney is for all intents and purposes his brother.
    • As for Barney, he considers himself to be Ted's best friend. Ever since meeting Ted, he has immediately latched on to him and is constantly bothering him to hang out. When Tes finally gets sick of it[1] and breaks off their friendship, Barney is heartbroken. Then, when he catches word that Ted's been admitted to the hospital he runs from work to get there. He almost makes it too, before he gets hit by a bus. Ted welcomes him back into the group after that. The sad thing is, it's implied that Barney's past and self-problems force him into a state of complete denial, causing him to act the way he does. Ted and the others are the only things keeping him from going too far.
  • Frasier and Niles Crane fit this trope perfectly. Granted, they are brothers, but they are also best friends and constant companions. The fact that they act very much like a married couple gets lampshaded more than once, and after Niles marries Daphne, he spends as much time with his brother as he does with his wife.
    • Made all the more clear when Frasier becomes more and more depressed and jealous during the later seasons after Daphne starts living with Niles, who no longer has quite as much time for his brother as he used to, although this is more because Frasier's unreasonably clingy rather than any real distancing, as the two of them fit this trope through the last season:

Roz: I need to talk to you. You're not with Frasier are you?
Niles: Why does everyone treat us like we're joined at the hip? I do have coffee with people other than my brother, you know.
Roz: Oh good, because I'm avoiding him.
Niles: Well then talk fast, because he's meeting me in five minutes.

  • Mac and Dennis on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
    • They even broke up in Season 5. Charlie and Frank might also qualify for this, but they're freaky beyond description, so it's hard to say either way.

Dee So you don’t think that two thirty-year-old men who spend every waking moment together is a little bit pathetic?

  • Michael Weston and Sam Axe on Burn Notice.
  • Winters and Nix on Band of Brothers and in real life, starting in WWII till Nix's death.
  • Statler and Waldorf of The Muppet Show
  • Norm Peterson and Cliff Clavin on Cheers
  • Kip and Henry (AKA "Buffy and Hildy") in Bosom Buddies.
  • Jack O'Neill and Daniel Jackson from Stargate SG-1.
    • Although there is a lot of shipping between the two of them, the show actually lampshades this in the 200th episode. You know the one I'm talking about. The hypothetical wedding scene?
  • John Sheppard and Rodney McKay from Stargate Atlantis don't lack in this trope, either, with Sheppard's actor, Joe Flanigan, joking that the closest Sheppard ever came to a girlfriend on the show was McKay.
  • Mitchell and George on Being Human (UK).
  • The Mad Hatter and The March Hare in the 90's Disney television series "Adventures In Wonderland".
  • The Lone Ranger and Tonto.
  • Nick Stokes and Warrick Brown of CSI. Similarly, Tim Speedle and Eric Delko of CSI: Miami.
    • Warrick and Nick are another couple that even the actors playing them appear to ship, calling it "good, healthy man love."
  • Zack Addy and Jack Hodgins were this on Bones before Zack was written out.
  • Brian and Kurt from the British series Teachers are even commented on for acting very similar to a married couple. They rarely have any screen time apart, even when one of them is in a semi-serious relationship. They also share a flat with each other.
  • James West and Artemus Gordon in The Wild Wild West.
  • Davy and Georgie in Disney's Davy Crockett mini-series.
  • Chris Pontius and Steve-O of Jackass sometimes give off this vibe, especially inasmuch as they eventually got their own show together, Wildboyz. Watch the "shark-fishing" skit in the second Jackass movie, when Pontius is helping Steve-O get the fishhook through his cheek. Pontius seems to be having sympathy pains.
  • Stephen and J.T. of "Survivor" Tocantins were constantly referred to as the "BFF Boys" or borderline boyfriends by fans during their season. J.T. certainly manipulated the emotions of their friendship to his advantage at Final Tribal Council to win himself a unanimous victory, if later interviews and commentary are any indication.
  • Hawkeye and BJ from M*A*S*H. "I'll never be able to shake you," Hawkeye says to BJ in the last episode.
  • Laverne and Shirley
  • Cordell Walker and Jimmy Trivette of Walker, Texas Ranger
  • Tom and Roy of The Old Guys, mostly by process of elimination (spousal death, divorce and being incredibly unlucky with women).
  • Sherlock and John from Sherlock might count - John's straight, although we don't know about Sherlock. Benedict Cumberbatch, the actor playing Sherlock Holmes, has called the Holmes-Watson relationship a "bromance", and in the second episode Sherlock crashed one of John's dates, and was outright hostile to the girl (although not really more so than to anyone else who seems to be encroaching on one of his investigations). Seriously though, since the source material for this 21st Century update show is considered one of the examples par excellence of this trope, how about we just dot it, file it, put it in a box marked 'done'?

Sherlock: We're going out tonight.
John: Actually, I've got a date.
Sherlock: What?
John: Where two people who like each other go out and have fun?
Sherlock: That was what I was suggesting.

  • Maura Isles and Jane Rizzoli of the eponymous crime show. Oh, boy, Rizzoli and Isles.
    • Rizzoli gets threatened by a serial killer? Goes to stay with Isles. Isles' friend gets killed? Reaches straight for Rizzoli. Eat together, run together, have drinks together, Fight Crime(!) together, far and away each other's Most Important Person. Isles is the product of a Friendless Background: she has never had a best friend before Rizzoli, and has a worrying tendency of pointing out to any potential Love Interest that they have a dire, undiagnosed medical condition - Rizzoli claims that men either run away from the badge or want to misuse the handcuffs. Some people see Les Yay, others merely intense friendship, but either way, very, very close - and hilariously codependent. They can't seem to do a thing without each other.
  • Chumlee and Corey of Pawn Stars. Despite the fact that Chum annoys Corey, they care about each other.
  • Sonny Corinthos and Jason Morgan on General Hospital. Despite the numerous women in their lives, they will always choose each other. Fans call them Sason.
  • NCIS
    • "Guilty Pleasure" lampshades this one with Tony and McGee (Ziva provides the lampshades). The two have a falling out (which Ziva describes as a "seven-year itch") during which Tony spends a lot more time working with Phil McCadden, scheduling "hang out time" together after hours and starting to dress the same. But after McCadden dares insult McGee's skills as an agent, Tony backs away and is soon back by McGee's side, refusing to answer McCadden's calls.
    • Meanwhile, Gibbs and Fornell visit each other's houses with offers of dinner on the pretense of exchanging case information that could have been traded over the phone.
    • Gibbs and Ducky. They've worked together for years, and Ducky's the only person who gets to call Gibbs "Jethro".
    • Gibbs and Franks.
  • Avon and Vila, anyone?
  • Blackadder and Baldrick. While Edmund give Balders a lot of abuse, it's apparent he's at least very used to having him around. One idea Richard Curtis had for a fifth series was "Blackadder as a very fed up and corrupt university don, and Baldrick has been his 'scout' for the past forty years, so in effect they've been married for forty years."
    • On the other hand, the back cover of Blackadder: The Whole Damn Dynasty calls Baldrick Blackadder's catamite...
  • The title characters in Jeeves and Wooster.
  • CeCe and Rocky of Shake It Up, who do absolutely everything together, and have the same hopes and dreams. Reinforced by Rocky's refusal to be on the show if Ce Ce couldn't be on.
  • Oscar and Felix in The Odd Couple.
    • Falani and Eric during season six, this being outrageous fortune everyone ignores the first word when talking about them.
  • In the new Hawaii Five 0 Steve and Danny are leaning toward this.
    • More than leaning toward. In Ma Ke Kahakai, as Steve is being loaded into the helicopter after falling off a cliff, Danny points to himself, points to Steve, and draws a big heart on his chest.
  • Horatio Hornblower and Archie Kennedy -- and as has been mentioned under "Literature," Horatio and William Bush later on. During Mutiny and Retribution they form a Power Trio, until Archie is killed.
  • Neal Caffrey and Peter Burke of USA's White Collar definitely fit the bill, as Neal is a CI under Peter's watch for a four-year term. Peter even says "For the next four years, I own you." Though they start out antagonistic with each other, as the series has carried on, they have shown more and more care for each other. Most recently, when Peter was kidnapped, Neal turned over a ring that he had saved for his late girlfriend, Kate, as ransom.
  • Skins; go to the show page for a short list of these friendships.
  • Sports Night's Casey and Dan. Though each has some significant romantic relationships, their most sustained - and sustaining - relationship is with each other. When Dana screws up her relationship with Casey, it's Dan who knows exactly how and why she went wrong. A painful estrangement, based on professional status and hurt feelings, between the two men is resolved during a Passover seder, at which Kasey confesses that the years he has spent working with Dan have been the best of his life, and he wouldn't trade them for anything.
  • Ashleigh Howard and Casey Cartwright from Greek. This is most explicit in the final season, when they declare each other to be their soulmates and are both visibly horrified at the idea that their friendship might be a "college relationship".
  • The Second Doctor and Jamie of Doctor Who, just as their actors were in real life.
  • Ready Or Not ran on Busy and Amanda being this.
  • Special Agent Dale Cooper and Sheriff Harry S. Truman from Twin Peaks have a real bromance going on. Despite their very different characters they are endlessly patient with each other. In fact, they are visibly appreciative of each other's differences. Gazing, tender smiles, nose tweaking - it's all there.
  • Kenan and Kel
  • Shoutaro and Phillip of Kamen Rider W. Their apartment has only one bed, so not only is it possible that they share that sometimes, they regularly share a body - their catchphrase being "The two of us are a single Kamen Rider!"
  • Ben and Cam in How to Make It in America. Pointed out at various points by other characters.
  • Ann and Leslie from Parks and Recreation.
  • Jones and Art from My Life in Film.
  • Chuck and Morgan from Chuck.
  • Scott and Stiles from Teen Wolf
  • Kenzi and Bo from Lost Girl are very clearly the most important people in each other's lives. Both have put themselves into incredible danger to help the other one out.
  • John and Roy from Emergency.
  1. ↑ although Barney sleeping with Robin certainly didn't help
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