10 TV Shows That’ll Scratch That Rom-Com Itch (and Where to Stream Them)

If the tremendous box-office success of movies like Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell’s Anyone But You is an indication, we might just be poised at the start of a theatrical romantic-comedy renaissance. However, as attentive TV-viewers know, the rom-com has been alive and well on the small screen for some time now.

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We don’t mean the straight-to-streaming films like Netflix’s Set It Up and Prime Video’s more recent, Camila Mendes-starring Upgraded: We’re talking about shows that pull from the genre’s best qualities and tropes, while also occasionally breaking and bending the unofficial rules.

TV’s longer format lends itself to the most important feature of the warm-and-fuzzy genre: developing and showcasing the chemistry between the leads. This Valentine’s Day, scroll through the list below to find our recommendations for streaming series where romance and humor aren’t just side notes: They’re key to the shows’ appeal.

HIGH FIDELITY (Hulu)

WHAT IT’S ABOUT: Hulu’s gender-flipped remake of the film starring John Cusack features Zoë Kravitz as Rob, a record-store owner who can’t move on from a relationship that she imploded. Backed by expectedly cool music, a summery Brooklyn setting and amusing banter with her co-workers (including Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers/Only Murders in the Building), a self-pitying Rob ruminates on where her past relationships went wrong while feeling out some new love interests.

GOOD FOR YOU IF YOU LIKE: High Fidelity the movie, Almost Famous

NEVER HAVE I EVER (Netflix)

WHAT IT’S ABOUT: Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher’s painfully relatable coming-of-age series follows second-generation Indian-American high schooler Devi (played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), who is just as endearing and smart as she is impulsive and frustrating. While coping with the loss of her father, she makes it her mission to climb up the social food chain and catch the eye of popular jock Paxton — all while battling it out with her academic rival, Ben.

GOOD FOR YOU IF YOU LIKE: Booksmart, The Edge of Seventeen

FLEABAG (Prime Video)

WHAT IT’S ABOUT: Speaking of complicated leads, Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag is a wisecracking trainwreck that spends the series’ first season spiraling and grappling with the death of her best friend. We’d like to draw your attention to the show’s second season, which veers into top-tier rom-com territory thanks to a perceptive, charismatic Catholic priest (Sherlock’s Andrew Scott) coming onto the scene and shaking up Fleabag’s life.

GOOD FOR YOU IF YOU LIKE: Frances Ha, Bridget Jones’s Diary

DASH & LILY (Netflix)

WHAT IT’S ABOUT: This Netflix miniseries is a clever, cavity-inducing addition to the holiday rom-com genre. A Christmas-loving, wide-eyed Lily (The Sex Lives of College Girls’ Midori Francisis) is the polar opposite to curmudgeon Dash (Euphoria’s Austin Abrams), but they grow close as pen pals and challenge each other to step out of their comfort zones while running around New York City.

GOOD FOR YOU IF YOU LIKE: You’ve Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle

NEW GIRL (Hulu)

WHAT IT’S ABOUT: On the heels of a bad breakup, charming oddball Jess (500 Days of Summer‘s Zooey Deschanel) moves out and becomes a roommate to three single guys: witty, directionless Nick (Stumptown‘s Jake Johnson), high-strung Schmidt (The Neighborhood‘s Max Greenfield), and quirky Winston (Fargo‘s Lamorne Morris). Naturally, hijinks ensue while the characters navigate their friendships and various romances over the course of this sitcom, which ran for seven seasons on Fox, but one of its main draws is the incredible chemistry between Jess and Nick.

GOOD FOR YOU IF YOU LIKE: 500 Days of Summer, Drinking Buddies

SEX EDUCATION (Netflix)

WHAT IT’S ABOUT: The John Hughes-esque dramedy focuses on insecure teen Otis (Asa Butterfield), who becomes his school’s unofficial sex therapist, following in the footsteps of his mother (The X-Files‘ Gillian Anderson). While working on his own relationships — including one with his prickly “business partner” and classmate, Maeve (Emma Mackey) — the sex-positive storylines that come out of Otis’ clinic are somehow both raunchy and heartfelt.

GOOD FOR YOU IF YOU LIKE: Easy A, Mean Girls, The Breakfast Club

CRASHING (Netflix)

WHAT IT’S ABOUT: Waller-Bridge’s underrated first TV series, which originally aired on the United Kingdom’s Channel 4, doesn’t just focus on a single couple; it chronicles the dynamics between a group of friends that are the property guardians of an empty hospital-turned-residence. True to its title, they’re hurtling through their 20s with little grace, engaging in tumultuous relationships with each other over the course of the single season.

GOOD FOR YOU IF YOU LIKE: My Best Friend’s Wedding, Love Actually

ONE DAY (Netflix)

WHAT IT’S ABOUT: Despite what goes down in the latter half of this miniseries — if you’re familiar with the novel or 2011 film, you’ll know what we’re talking about — One Day is full of rom-com elements. Leads Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall (The White Lotus) play Emma and Dex, whose paths cross memorably on the night of their college graduation in 1988. What follows is a will-they-won’t-they, banter-filled dynamic that simmers throughout their years-long friendship.

GOOD FOR YOU IF YOU LIKE: Begin Again, When Harry Met Sally

FEEL GOOD (Netflix)

WHAT IT’S ABOUT: Starring and created by comedian Mae Martin as a semi-autobiographical rom-com, this series — which originally ran on the UK’s Channel 4 — explores recovering drug addict Mae’s new relationship with their closeted girlfriend (YOU‘s Charlotte Ritchie), which is equal parts complicated and heated. Though humorous quips abound, it’s not all “feel good” all the time: The series unflinchingly explores addiction and trauma with deftness and poise.

GOOD FOR YOU IF YOU LIKE: Silver Linings Playbook, Happiest Season

LOVESICK (Netflix)

WHAT IT’S ABOUT: After finding out that he’s come down with a sexually transmitted infection, romantic, 20-something Dylan (Emma’s Johnny Flynn) is faced with the daunting task of reaching out to all of his past partners. Each episode flashes back to his failed trysts and relationships while revealing glimpses of his lasting friendships with housemates Evie (The Good Doctor‘s Antonia Thomas) and Luke (I Hate Suzie‘s Daniel Ings) in the past and present.

GOOD FOR YOU IF YOU LIKE: Emma (2020), Plus One

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