TV’s 60 Longest-Awaited First Kisses From NCIS, Arrow, Abbott Elementary, JAG, X-Files, Big Bang and More Shows

When it comes to that first kiss, it’s all about the buildup — and our favorite TV shows certainly love to make us wait for that much-anticipated first smooch.

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But which small-screen couple waited the most

episodes before they locked lips?

Well, TVLine tackled the arduous math, considering dozens of Will They/Won’t They pairs and tabulating exactly how many episodes it took them to share that first, big kiss. The latest results — recently expanded to a Top 60 (plus a tie) and sorted from shortest to longest wait — are updated with several “firsts” from the past 18 months and the inclusion of a few overlooked oldies-but-goodies (wow, that pivotal JAG peck was hard to pinpoint).

♦ This is a quantitive, not a qualitative, list, based solely on the number of episodes until that First Kiss was shared. Before you bellow, “So-and-so’s smooch deserves to be here!!!,” do the math.

♦ We limited our list to real and meaningful kisses, so you won’t find fleeting one-offs, “undercover” lip-locks or imagined/dream smooches.

♦ In the case of characters who were introduced later in a show’s run, we calculated from the destined duo’s first shared episode.

Note: Though we have expanded the list to Top 60, we nonetheless blow a fond, farewell kiss to the couples who slipped off the chart over the years: “CaptainSwan” (24 episodes), “Deckerstar” (24) and Grey’s docs Alex and Jo (24), plus “Avalance,” “Malec,” Parks and Rec’s Leslie/Ben, “LoVe,” The Nanny and Mr. Sheffield, Game of Thrones‘ Missandei/Grey Worm, Moonlighting‘s Dave/Maddie, and, yes, even Cheers‘ Sam/Diane.

Which couple tops our tally, with a whopping 190 (!) episodes before their first kiss? Scroll through the list below to find out, then hit the comments to let us know which wait was the most torturous for you.

61. Kristen and David, Evil

First Kiss: Season 2, Episode 13

Wait Time: 26 episodes

60. Keefe and Kelvin, Righteous Gemstones

First Kiss: Season 3, Episode 8

Wait Time: 26 episodes

59. Chidi and Eleanor, The Good Place

First Kiss: Season 2, Episode 13

Wait Time: 26 episodes

58. Pam and Jim, The Office

First Kiss: Season 2, Episode 22 (Note: Pam also drunkenly kissed Jim in Season 2, Episode 1.)

Wait Time: 28 episodes

57. Janine and Gregory, Abbott Elementary

First Kiss: Season 2, Episode 16

Wait Time: 29 episodes

56. Kiara and JJ, Outer Banks

First Kiss: Season 3, Episode 9

Wait Time: 29 episodes

55. Elizabeth and Lucas, When Calls the Heart

First Kiss: Season 8, Episode 12 (Note: Chris McNally joined the series as Lucas in Season 6, Episode 2)

Wait Time: 31 episodes

54. Ross and Rachel, Friends

First Kiss: Season 2, Episode 7 (Note: Rachel also briefly planted a kiss on Ross at the laundromat in Season 1, Episode 5.)

Wait Time: 31 episodes

53. Max and Helen, New Amsterdam

First Kiss: Season 3, Episode 14

Wait Time: 32 episodes (measured from the time Max became a widower)

52. Amy and Jonah, Superstore

First Kiss: Season 2, Episode 22

Wait Time: 33 episodes

51. Joyce and Hopper, Stranger Things

First Kiss: Season 4, Episode 9

Wait Time: 34 episodes

50. Sookie and Eric, True Blood

First Kiss: Season 3, Episode 10

Wait Time: 34 episodes

49. Sydney and Vaughn, Alias

First Kiss: Season 2, Episode 13

Wait Time: 35 episodes

48. Stiles and Lydia, Teen Wolf

First Kiss: Season 3, Episode 11

Wait Time: 35 episodes

47. Jack and Renee, 24

First Kiss: Season 8, Episode 17

Wait Time: 36 episodes (Note: Renee first appeared in the Season 7 premiere.)

46. Lois and Clark, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

First Kiss: Season 2, Episode 16

Wait Time: 37 episodes

45. Mindy and Danny, The Mindy Project

First Kiss: Season 2, Episode 14

Wait Time: 38 episodes

44. Spencer and Olivia, All American

First Kiss: Season 3, Episode 7

Wait Time: 39 episodes

43. Jess and Nick, New Girl

First Kiss: Season 2, Episode 15

Wait Time: 39 episodes

42. Jason and Mandy, SEAL Team

First Kiss: Season 3, Episode 20 (Watch above at the 3:20 mark.)

Wait Time: 40 episodes (Note: Jason became a widower in early Season 2.)

41. Root and Shaw, Person of Interest

First Kiss: Season 4, Episode 11

Wait Time: 41 episodes (Note: Shaw was introduced in Season 2, Episode 16, which is when she first crossed paths with Root.)

40. Annie and Auggie, Covert Affairs

First Kiss: Season 3, Episode 16 (no video available)

Wait Time: 43 episodes

39. Peter and Olivia, Fringe

First Kiss: Season 2, Episode 22  TV

Wait Time: 43 episodes

38. Carson and Mrs. Hughes, Downton Abbey

First Kiss: Season 6, Episode 1

Wait Time: 44 episodes (including Christmas episodes)

37. Jake and Amy, Brooklyn Nine-Nine

First Kiss: Season 2, Episode 23

Wait Time: 45 episodes

36. Oliver and Felicity, Arrow

First Kiss: Season 3, Episode 1

Wait Time: 45 episodes (Note: Felicity was introduced in Season 1, Episode 3.)

35. AJ and Mina, The Resident

First Kiss: Season 4, Episode 1

Wait Time: 47 episodes (Note: AJ was introduced in Season 1, Episode 12.)

34. Barry and Iris, The Flash

First Kiss: Season 3, Episode 2 (Note: Barry and Iris kissed in Season 1, Episode 15, but Barry’s subsequent and accidental travel backwards in time erased it from the main timeline. Either way, they make the cut!)

Wait Time: 48 episodes

33. Fitz and Simmons, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

First Kiss: Season 3, Episode 8

Wait Time: 52 episodes

32. Joey and Pacey, Dawson’s Creek

First Kiss: Season 3, Episode 17 (Note: Pacey also briefly kissed Joey in Season 1, but she pushed him away.)

Wait Time: 52 episodes

31. Nancy and Ace, Nancy Drew

First Kiss: Season 4, Episode 3

Wait Time: 52 episodes

30. Michonne and Rick, The Walking Dead

First Kiss: Season 6, Episode 10

Wait Time: 52 episodes (Note: Michonne was introduced in Season 2, Episode 13, but didn’t meet Rick until Season 3, Episode 7.)

29. Klaus and Cami, The Originals

First Kiss: Season 3, Episode 9

Wait Time: 53 episodes

28. Damon and Elena, The Vampire Diaries

First Kiss: Season 3, Episode 10 (Note: Elena also kissed Damon while he was asleep in Season 2, Episode 22.)

Wait Time: 54 episodes

27. Brienne and Jaime, Game of Thrones

First Kiss: Season 8, Episode 4  (Note: Brienne was introduced in Season 2, Episode 3, but did not meet Jaime until Season 2, Episode 7.)

Wait Time: 55 episodes

26. Halstead and Upton, Chicago P.D.

First Kiss: Season 8, Episode 3

Wait Time: 70 episodes (Note: Upton was introduced in Season 4, Episode 21.)

25. Shawn and Juliet, Psych

First Kiss: Season 5, Episode 9 (Watch it above, starting around the 1:50 mark.)

Wait Time: 72 episodes

24. Lucy and Tim, The Rookie

First Kiss: Season 4, Episode 22 (Yes, it was “practice” for going undercover, but…. It got real.)

Wait Time: 76 episodes

23. Thomas and Juliet, Magnum P.I.

First Kiss: Season 4, Episode 20 (Note: “Miggy” kissed in Season 4, Episode 1, but in an imagining of a scene from Thomas’ book.)

Wait time: 76 episodes

22. Dwayne and Whitley, A Different World

First Kiss: Season 4, Episode 8 (Note: Though Whitley gave Dwayne a coquettish peck on at least two separate occasions prior, we counted this as the couple’s first kiss because it’s the first one in which they both participated.)

Wait Time: 77 episodes

21. Kensi and Deeks, NCIS: Los Angeles

First Kiss: Season 4, Episode 24 (Note: “Densi” kissed in Season 3, Episode 22, but as part of an undercover ruse.)

Wait Time: 78 episodes

20. Rick and Kate, Castle

First Kiss: Season 4, Episode 23 (Note: Their 3×13 kiss was initiated in the name of hiding from a baddie.)

Wait Time: 81 episodes

19. Sheldon and Amy, The Big Bang Theory

First Kiss: Season 7, Episode 15 (Note: Amy technically planted a drunken kiss on Sheldon in Season 4, Episode 21, but it was not reciprocated.)

Wait Time: 87 episodes

18. Luke and Lorelai, Gilmore Girls

First Kiss: Season 4, Episode 22

Wait Time: 87 episodes

17. House and Cuddy, House

First Kiss: Season 5, Episode 6

Wait Time: 92 episodes

16. Buffy and Spike, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

First Kiss: Season 6, Episode 7 (Note: The pair also kissed under a spell in Season 4’s “Something Blue,” and Buffy kissed Spike while pretending to be the BuffyBot in Season 5.)

Wait Time: 93 episodes (Note: Spike was introduced in Season 2, Episode 3.)

15. Booth and Brennan, Bones

First Kiss: Season 5, Episode 16 (Note: This kiss actually occurred years prior and was shown via flashback, but nonetheless it took 100 episodes for viewers to see it. Also, BnB did kiss in Season 3 under a mistletoe, a bit perfunctorily, so… revisit our rules.)

Wait Time: 100 episodes

14. Donna and Harvey, Suits

First Kiss: Season 7, Episode 10 (Note: The pair also shared a dream kiss in Season 6, Episode 11, and viewers learned via a flashback in Season 4, Episode 16, that Donna and Harvey once had sex in the past.)

Wait Time: 102 episodes

13. Nick and Ellie, NCIS

First Kiss: Season 18, Episode 16

Wait Time: 108 episodes (Note: Nick was introduced in Season 14.)

12. Coulson and May, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

First Kiss: Season 5, Episode 21 (Note: “Philinda” previously appeared to kiss in Season 4, Episode 12, but May turned out to be an LMD.)

Wait Time: 109 episodes

11. Mac and Harm, JAG

First Kiss: Season 6, Episode 22

Wait Time: 110 episodes (Note: Catherine Bell debuted as Mac in Season 2.)

10. Clark and Lois, Smallville

First Kiss: Season 9, Episode 6

Wait Time: 114 episodes (Note: Lois was introduced in Season 4.)

9. Stefan and Caroline, The Vampire Diaries

First Kiss: Season 6, Episode 14

Wait Time: 125 episodes

8. Casey and Brett, Chicago Fire

First Kiss: Season 9, Episode 2

Wait Time: 135 episodes (Note: Brett was introduced in Season 3.)

7. Jane and Lisbon, The Mentalist

First Kiss: Season 6, Episode 22

Wait Time: 138 episodes

6. Scully and Mulder, The X-Files

First Kiss: Season 7, Episode 4

Wait Time: 143 episodes

5. Rollins and Carisi, Law & Order: SVU

First Kiss: Season 22, Episode 16

Wait Time: 145 episodes (Note: Kelli Giddish joined the cast in Season 13, Peter Scanavino became a series regular in early Season 16.)

4. Josh and Donna, The West Wing

First Kiss: Season 7, Episode 13

Wait Time: 146 episodes

3. Niles and Daphne, Frasier

First Kiss: Season 7, Episode 24

Wait Time: 168 episodes

2. Sara and Gil, CSI

First Kiss: Season 8, Episode 7

Wait Time: 171 episodes (Note: Jorja Fox first appeared in the series’ second episode.)

1. Tony and Ziva, NCIS

First Kiss: Season 11, Episode 02 (Note: “Tiva” kissed in Season 3, Episode 8, but as part of an undercover ruse.)

Wait Time: 190 episodes (Note: Ziva first appeared in Season 3.)

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