The Most Romantic Television Scenes Of All Time

Angel and Buffy may not have ended up together, but to many fans, this was the ultimate romance in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The pair ignited a legendary romantic TV scene with their first kiss in season 1.

The tension in the scene is palpable. Buffy walks into the dark room to find Angel lit only by the light streaking through the window blinds. She scolds him for reading her journal, frantically covering for her admissions that she is attracted to him, only for Angel to confirm that he never read the diary.

He says he must go because when he is around her, he can’t help but want to kiss her. Buffy does not heed the warning and locks lips with Angel in a passionate make-out session that ends when Angel flashes his gnarly vampire face.

It is a romantic TV scene that lives rent-free in Buffy fans’ heads, and it is one of the best in the series.

New Girl is a show all about romance. Schmidt and Cici, Winston and Aly… And then there’s Nick and Jess. Their up-and-down romance glued the series together, with the tension between them simmering from the start.

That tension explodes in an unexpectedly romantic TV scene in which Nick grabs Jess by the arm and kisses her in the hallway, which she reciprocates with passion. The kiss sets off a domino effect of emotional turmoil, but the moment is a sigh of relief and opens the door to the couple eventually tying the knot.

A great romantic TV scene comes about several times over the course of New Girl, but that first Nick and Jess kiss lives on as one of the best.

There has never been a “will they, won’t they” quite like Ross and Rachel from Friends. The pair shared many romantic moments over the course of the series, but nothing matches the couple’s first kiss.

After a blowout fight in which the couple wrestle with their feelings for each other, Rachel locks Ross out of Central Perk. Ross comes back, and when Rachel finally gets the door back open, they kiss for the first time with a backdrop of rain and awesome 90s music.

This romantic TV scene is an iconic one in the long run of Friends and one that will likely live on as one of TV’s best for years to come.

The famed blue French horn makes several appearances throughout How I Met Your Mother. It becomes a symbol of the complicated relationship between Ted and Robin, but it makes one final and triumphant return in the show’s series finale.

Ted stole the blue French horn from a restaurant after his first date with Robin. It trades hands a few times as their relationship evolves, but when Ted finally realizes that he is still in love with Robin many years later, he returns to her sidewalk one last time, blue French horn in hand, to finally bring them back to where they belong: together.

Few television romances have reached the heights of Jim and Pam on The Office. Their days spent goofing off at the office were agonizing for viewers who knew Jim was pining for this engaged woman. Eventually, Pam got the message and their relationship began.

The couple talked about engagement, but Jim surprised Pam with a proposal at a rest stop halfway between New York and Scranton during a rainstorm. What makes this such a romantic TV scene is that it took place in an ordinary, unromantic circumstance. Jim just couldn’t wait any longer, and neither could we.

Friends is the comfort food of television shows. It is easy, dependable viewing that keeps things light and fun most of the time. Over the course of its 10-season run, Friends sprinkled a handful of tear-jerkers into the comedy, and Chandler and Monica’s wedding ceremony is definitely one of those moments.

These two friends began as an unlikely couple, but the season 7 finale culminates with all their romantic fumbling blossoming into a brilliantly romantic TV scene. Monica delivers her prepared vows, calling Chandler the prince and the friend she had always dreamed of. 

Chandler goes off book, putting his characters’ years of fear of commitment behind him as he asserts with confidence that Monica is the woman he wants to spend forever with. It is a heartfelt, romantic TV scene that perfectly complements the lighthearted fun of Friends.

The OC is the pinnacle of 2000s heartthrob TV. This soapy drama remains a guilty pleasure for huge swaths of the American population, and scenes like Seth and Summer’s rain kiss are exactly why. 

This romantic TV scene recreates the upside-down kiss from Spider-Man. During the season 2 midseason finale, Seth spends a rainy day largely in a Spider-Man mask mourning his chances with Summer, who prepares to go to Italy with another man.

Summer finally accepts her true feelings and comes back for Seth, who hangs upside down from a rope after falling off the roof. She kisses him in the pouring rain to the sound of “Champagne Supernova.” The nerdy guy gets the girl Spidey style in what may be the most romantic TV scene ever.