Yahoo Lifestyle 2024 in Review: The Best Non-Romantic Duos From This Year’s TV
We love a “Will they?/Won’t they?” couple as much as the next ‘shipper, but sometimes, it’s the “they definitely won’t” pairings that are the most memorable ones on our favorite TV shows.
Below, TVLine has selected the 20 best non-romantic duos from this year’s TV that proved that platonic relationships are just as compelling, not to mention frequently more funny. Our picks feature wonderfully strong friendships from shows such as Chicago Fire, Station 19, Elsbeth and Heartstopper, as well as hilarious comedy team-ups on Shrinking and Matlock. And then there’s the professional partnerships on Lioness, Resident Alien and NCIS: Origins that had us wanting to spend more time at work.
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But of course, friendship does on occasion blossom into more complicated feelings. So we’ve also included a couple of twosomes from The Bear and Nobody Wants This who have the potential to evolve into something more romantic — not that we’re necessarily rooting for that to happen.
Note: The following rundown contains some (mostly mild) spoilers, so consider yourself warned if you have yet to catch up on your DVR backlog.
Scroll down to review our list of the year’s best non-romantic duos, then hit the comments with your faves and any that didn’t make the cut!
Agatha and Teen, Agatha All Along
Marvel Studios sure knows how to pair up a compelling odd couple, and they got it right once again with Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha and Joe Locke’s Teen. Right away, the duo had an easy comedic chemistry — Agatha and Teen’s early efforts to recruit a coven made for some of Agatha’s funniest scenes — and they sustained that on-screen magic even when Agatha and Teen’s trust in each other ebbed. It’s no wonder the show found a way to reunite these characters in the season finale, even after Agatha’s demise; here’s hoping we see more of their team-up somewhere in the MCU. — Rebecca Iannucci
Carmy and Sydney, The Bear
Take any notions you might have about these two being a romantic match and stick them in the trash bin, please. We’d much prefer that the two talented chefs on FX’s restaurant dramedy remain friends and colleagues, since they complement each other so well: Carmy helps inspire Sydney to let her creativity run wild, while Sydney helps keep Carmy grounded and focused when he threatens to go off the rails. Season 3 may have felt like a frustrating holding pattern to some viewers, but we could watch these two make magic in the kitchen all day long. — Dave Nemetz
Violet and Novak, Chicago Fire
Violet was pretty upset when her friend Sylvie Brett left the Windy City, but the introduction of Jocelyn Hudon as Violet’s paramedic partner Lyla “Lizzie” Novak has given us a dynamic new duo. In a short of amount of time, the pair have formed a lovely friendship in which the characters compliment and contrast each other: The unpredictable and spunky Novak brings out Violet’s lighter side, while Violet pushes Novak to open up, emotionally. — Vlada Gelman
Elsbeth and Kaya, Elsbeth
The unconventional lawyer and police officer quickly hit it off when they were partnered on the job. From there, their friendship has only blossomed as Kaya temporarily moved in with Elsbeth in Season 2. While many shows often pit women against each other in the workplace, the Good Wife spinoff smartly realized that having Elsbeth and Kaya support one another (and watch trashy reality TV together) is far more rewarding. — Vlada Gelman
The Ghoul and Lucy, Fallout
United by a common purpose (a valuable, severed head), the resurrected gunslinger and the adventurous vault dweller became reluctant (yet highly entertaining!) traveling companions across the wasteland. So imagine our delight when at season’s end, we realized their road trip had only just begun! — Matt Webb Mitovich
Truman and Babe, Feud: Capote vs. The Swans
No one saw socialite Babe Paley as clearly as did her bestie, author Truman Capote. So no betrayal hurt her more than his (and so publicly, too). Yet, when all was said and done, she couldn’t help but still regard the self-destructive writer as “the love of my life.” Bonds don’t get any tighter than that. — Charlie Mason
Charlie and Isaac, Heartstopper
Season 3 of Netflix’s deservedly beloved LGBTQ+ dramedy was a rough one for the old pals, one of whom was hiding his eating disorder and the other of whom was coming to terms with being asexual and aromantic. But in the end, as only true soulmates could, they found their way back onto the same page. — Charlie Mason
Joe and Kyle, Lioness
She f—king hates him. He f—king hates her. And they f—king hate working with each other. And yet… and yet, there’s a hyper-efficient shorthand between the CIA case officers that proves very f–king useful when the going gets tough (as it often does, if both of these f—king badasses are on the scene). — Matt Webb Mitovich
Billy and Sarah, Matlock
It took a few episodes for David Del Rio and Leah Lewis to find their comedic rhythm as Olympia’s original assistants (fka “You Two”), but now that they have — and with the writers mining the characters’ very different personalities for great banter — their scenes are often bubbling with fizzy fun. — Matt Webb Mitovich
Franks and Mary Jo, NCIS: Origins
We definitely raised an eyebrow when in that early episode, Franks tasked the NIS office’s “HSIC” with minding a young murder witness because, as Mary Jo speculated, they’re both Black. But in a subsequent scene and ever since then, it’s become clear that these two share a warm familiarity that we’d love to see more of. — Matt Webb Mitovich
Morgan and Sasha, Nobody Wants This
We’re still not exactly sure about the nature of Morgan and Sasha’s relationship on Nobody Wants This. Are they strictly platonic? Or are they too flirty to be totally friendly? All we know is we loved watching these unlikely pals bicker and show up for each other in surprising ways as the “loser” siblings to Kristen Bell and Adam Brody’s characters. — Vlada Gelman
Sheriff Mike and Deputy Liv, Resident Alien
Deputy Liv is the perfect complement to Sheriff Mike, one of the show’s most loveable buffoons. Despite all of the eye-rolling necessary to work under a guy like Mike, Liv takes his nonsense and love of the spotlight on the chin, playing the perfect straight man to his comically inflated ego. That said, the two do make a great pair and laughs aside, we love watching them get closer and closer to discovering what’s really happening in their small town of Patience. — Nick Caruso
Sonny and Stella, SEAL Team
A lesser show (and certainly any Aaron Spelling primetime sudser) would have had Clay’s widow and best friend slowly but surely fall into bed together. SEAL Team, though, took the high road and used Clay’s death to give the oft-adrift Sonny new purpose as the rock in Stella and newborn Brian’s world. — Matt Webb Mitovich
Gaby and Paul, Shrinking
We can’t get enough of these two colleagues’ spicy back-and-forths. Gaby isn’t afraid to call Paul out on his stubbornness and hypocritical advice, while Paul consistently fires back and inserts himself when he sees her mishandling her personal life. But she really does care for him (his health and hydration, included!), and whenever she pulls one over on him — like tricking him into guest-lecturing her class — it’s sheer comedy gold. — Nick Caruso
Vic and Travis, Station 19
The truest love on the Grey’s Anatomy spinoff was arguably the one between BFFs Hughes and Montgomery. Their feelings ran so deeply that Jay Hayden told our sister site Deadline that when the show was cancelled, he requested a happy ending for Vic and Travis. As he put it, “She’s his lobster” — and vice versa. Always. — Charlie Mason
Danvers and Navarro, True Detective: Night Country
No, these two Alaska cops never kept each other warm in a romantic sense — they preferred emotionless sexual encounters with disposable men, thank you very much — but they made one hell of a crime-fighting duo on HBO’s anthology, with Danvers’ veteran savvy and Navarro’s raw determination helping them crack the case of the frozen scientists. They brought out the best in each other, and they even opened up to each other a little along the way… which, if you know how heavily guarded these two were, is nothing short of a miracle. — Dave Nemetz
Dwight and Tyson, Tulsa King
Every gangster needs a driver, and for a while, that was the extent of Dwight’s relationship with Tyson. But Season 2 of the Paramount+ series saw a deepening of the warm mentorship between Sylvester Stallone’s and Jay Will’s characters, culminating in a true partnership that was one-third busting each other’s chops, two-thirds having each other’s backs. — Kimberly Roots
Daryl and Carol, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon
Cue Peaches & Herb, because in Season 2 of the Walking Dead spinoff, the tag team was reunited, and it felt so good. Sure, there was baggage to unpack, but we never for a moment doubted that the duo that survived a zombie apocalypse, countless Big Bads and Carol calling Daryl “pookie” would endure. — Charlie Mason
Michonne and Nat, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live
It’s a good thing that these two were fast friends, because we sure didn’t get to spend a lot of time enjoying their rapport. The episode in which we met Michonne’s traveling companion Nat was also the episode in which we lost him. But he made as big an impression on her as their camaraderie did on us. — Charlie Mason
Monica and Beth, Yellowstone
An unlikelier couple of friends you’d be hard-pressed to find. But soft-spoken Monica and fiery sister-in-law Beth nonetheless click — and click beautifully. Whether because of their shared love for Beth’s brother Kayce or because of their mutual misfortunes, they may well be the series’ ultimate ride-or-dies. — Charlie Mason
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