24 Shows That Get Female Friendship Right
"What's Galentine's Day?" Let's ask Amy Poehler.
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We couldn't agree more.
Rather than celebrating boring old romantic relationships (boo hiss boo), we're choosing to celebrate the wonderful power of female friendship!
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And of course, Parks and Rec which made up this fake holiday for us to celebrate in the first place.
So, to honor all the wonderful groups of gal pals from television past and present, I've compiled a list of my favorite all-girl pairings, complete with streaming links so you can watch them yourself.
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And despite being a gay man, who unfortunately will never be able to fully celebrate Galentine's Day, there is truly nothing a gay loves more than some fabulous women on television, so I feel well qualified to write a list that doesn't include a single man screwing up the mojo.
Without any further ado, here are WOMEN.
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1.30 Rock — Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) and Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski)
The work wife is a CRITICALLY VITAL NECESSITY to not quitting your job every day of your life. Without someone to cry to, to vent to, and to gossip with while on Diet Coke breaks, our 8+-hour work days would be meaningless. Nowhere is that more apparent than in 30 Rock where Liz and Jenna rely on each other (as much as you can rely on a chronically anxious and/or blithely air-headed friend) to survive in a very masculine environment. The pair are a management/talent dynamic duo at NBC and rely on one another more than they even realize.
2.Broad City — Abbi Abrams (Abbi Jacobson) and Ilana Wexler (Ilana Glazer)
While Glazer and Jacobson are the definition of work wives in real life, on their comedy, the pair play stoner besties who bebop around New York doing things that stoner besties do (only just funnier). They are the definition of gal pals, and the show's final episode will rip your heart out as Abbi moves to Colorado. To have a bestie move to another city is one of the world's saddest experiences, and even though long phone calls make things a little better, there is nothing quite like getting a bodega BEC together when you're drunk and in the same time zone.
3.Brooklyn Nine-Nine — Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz) and Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero)
The brains vs. brawns friendship is a classic archetype that we see over and over in storytelling. In this police precinct comedy, that pairing comes in the form of the gruff, secretive Rosa who is great with just about any weapon, and the much dorkier Amy. The ying and yang of their personalities and interests make them the perfect pair of work wives even if they occasionally butt heads. This is also perhaps the group on this list I would least like to get into a fight with.
4.Dead to Me — Jen Harding (Christina Applegate) and Judy Hale (Linda Cardellini)
If you're looking to make a new friend, pick a woman, run over her husband with your car, then attend the same grief support group and pretend to also be grieving the death of your significant other (who is still alive). For legal reasons, I have to say that is a joke and not something you should do, but it did happen to work out swimmingly for Jen and Judy. After overcoming the initial shock of a hit-and-run and faked identity, the pair went on to co-parent Jen's kids, drink copious amounts of wine, and cover up a whole separate murder. A beautiful depiction of female friendship and how casual manslaughter can bring you closer.
5.Downton Abbey — Lady Mary Crawley (Michelle Dockery) and Anna Bates (Joanne Froggatt)
The employer/employee dynamic makes this one a little tricky as technically Lady Mary is paying for Anna to chit-chat with her (while brushing her hair), but sometimes, friendships arise from odd places. Mary and Anna each bring very different experiences to their relationship, but the ability to look at the other's life more objectively is often what helps this pair make wise decisions. This is also a testament to having a friend who is good at sewing.
6.Euphoria — Rue Bennett (Zendaya), Lexi Howard (Maude Apatow), Maddy Perez (Alexa Demie), Kat Hernandez (Barbie Ferreira), and Cassie Howard (Sydney Sweeney)
The Euphoria girlies have had just about every variation on friendship one can in the show's two seasons (something which accurately reflects the way friend groups can spin out in high school over just about nothing). From watching your bestie go to rehab and rolling at a carnival, to throwing up in their hot tub and staging an elaborate self-referential play, Rue, Lexi, Maddy, Kat, and Cassie have been through a lot. Fingers crossed that in Season 3, Maddy and Cassie get back on the same page, because no pair can wreak havoc quite like they can.
7.The Golden Girls — Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur), Rose Nylund (Betty White), Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanahan), and Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty)
In many ways, The Golden Girls is what we should all aspire to. Who wants to be old and married when you could spend your golden years working up antics with your three besties? Dorothy, Rose, Blanche, and Sophia prove that you don't need a man to have a good time, and that the college-style group living can be just as fun when you're 72 as when you're 22. If you aren't eyeing a house in Miami for a best retirement, then you're clearly screwing something up.
8.Grace and Frankie — Grace Hanson (Jane Fonda) and Frankie Bergstein (Lily Tomlin)
If Dead to Me's hit-and-run plan doesn't work for making friends, you could also try the Grace and Frankie model of just befriending your gay ex-husband's new boyfriend's ex-wife. Fonda and Tomlin (who, like the Broad City girls, are real-life BFFs as well) get paired up by default but quickly realize that they like each other just as much as they ever did their men. Required Fonda/Tomlin viewing also includes 9 to 5, Moving On, and 80 for Brady.
9.Hacks — Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder)
No better way to celebrate Galentine's Day than by crisscrossing the US in your RV snatching up outdated perfume bottles and drafting up litigation against your writing partner. Hacks is exciting because it gives us the rare intergenerational set of gal pals that aren't mother daughter with Smart's fading comedian hiring Einbinder's young upstart to help her punch up jokes. The pair are much more similar than they'd like to admit, and you wonder if Deborah isn't just Ava in 30 years.
10.I Love Lucy — Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) and Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance)
You can't have any sort of credible gal pal list without including Lucy and Ethel. Not only was I Love Lucy one of the earliest television smash successes, but it had a rare female protagonist in a sea of male-centered shows. While Lucy and Ricky might have been at the center of the show, the heart always came from the Lucy/Ethel pairing. After all, they were the pair that bound together the show's fabulous foursome. From shoving down chocolates to hoofing it in the wilderness, Lucy and Ethel were always America's funniest friends.
11.I May Destroy You — Arabella Essiedu (Michaela Coel) and Terry Pratchard (Weruche Opia)
Michaela Coel's I May Destroy You is a masterpiece in writing on so many levels, but especially in its depiction of the Arabella/Terry relationship. Their "your blood is my blood, your death is my death" level of long term ride-or-die friendship is one we can all recognize, but rarely does a writer so perfectly nail the way our best friends can drive us insane while being so vital at the same time. At times Terry is the only thing keeping Arabella going, but at times, she's her best friend's worst enemy, and that shift can change on a dime. From cracking each other up to holding each other while they weep, they are a perfect representation of the depth and complexity of friendship.
12.Insecure — Issa Dee (Issa Rae) and Molly Carter (Yvonne Orji)
When you go to colleg,e you hope to find a friendship as lovely as Issa and Molly's. The pair of Stanford besties then return to LA, where they have to maneuver the ups and downs of adult life (and especially adult life as a Black woman). The riffing between the two is endlessly entertaining, and the writing from Rae is also tremendously current and thoughtful. The show also examines some of the rich friend/poor friend dynamics that creep into our lives so often, but weirdly don't pop up on TV much. What do you do when you work for a nonprofit and your friend is a lawyer?
13.Jersey Shore and Jersey Shore: Family Vacation — Snooki and JWoww
So far our pairs have all been fictional gal pals (even if the actors are besties off screen), but Snooki and JWoww are real-life besties turned reality TV stars. While so many reality shows feature pairs of best friends, the relationship between the GTL aficionados is especially interesting in that it spans a dozen years at this point. Watch the pair of young 20-year-olds who drink themselves into oblivion on the early seasons of Jersey Shore transform into mothers and businesswomen on Jersey Shore: Family Vacation. This is the real-life friendship we should aspire to.
14.Lizzie McGuire — Lizzie McGuire (Hilary Duff) and Miranda Sanchez (Lalaine)
Even though Miranda was not there to witness Lizzie's incredible Italian pop star performance, the pair are junior high BFF royalty. I'm convinced that a cooler set of middle schoolers never existed. From their hair clips and necklaces to their lip gloss and platform shoes, Lizzie and Miranda were living their best lives. I will forever be praying for that reboot to happen and for the pair to reunite.
15.One Tree Hill — Peyton Sawyer (Hilarie Burton) and Brooke Davis (Sophia Bush)
It wouldn't be a 2000s high school drama if you and your best friend didn't both date the same dreamy basketball player. Peyton and Brooke certainly have their ups and downs (including a "whore" prom dress), but in the end, that was mostly just because the show needed some drama. The dynamic duo kept circling back around to their love for one another and eventually realized a man wasn't worth destroying their friendship.
16.Parks and Recreation — Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones)
Of course, the whole reason we even have Galentine's Day is because of Leslie Knope and her enduring friendship with Ann Perkins. While Ann is initially fairly removed from Pawnee's city politics, she's slowly sucked in as Leslie tries to make the town a better place. There is nothing more realistic than your best friend somehow roping you into their random projects and waking up one day to realize you deeply care about village ordinances.
17.PEN15 — Maya Ishii-Peters (Maya Erskine) and Anna Kone (Anna Konkle)
There is a special level of heaven for friends who stuck beside you when you had a bowl cut and/or braces. In the middle school cringe comedy, Maya and Anna weather the storms of puberty, drama club productions, and being an UGIS (Ugliest Girl in School). PEN15 was developed in a lab to make you feel uncomfortable, but you'll also fall in love with these incredibly relatable girls (and awkwardly laugh along the way, too).
18.Pose — Blanca Rodriguez-Evangelista (Michaela Jae Rodriguez) and Angel Vasquez-Evangelista (Indya Moore)
We love to see queer women supporting queer women, and in Pose, Blanca and Angel are the definition of queer, chosen family. As two transgender women living through the AIDS crisis, they are no stranger to adversity, but whether it's in ball room or on the streets of New York, the pair always have each other's backs. It's rare to see one trans woman of color on a television show, let alone two, so getting to watch their relationship grow is a privilege. Plus, no one understands the importance of friendship as much as the queer community, because for us, our friends are often pulling double duty as our family as well.
19.The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City — Heather Gay and Whitney Rose
Whitney and Heather are famously on a "friendship break" at the moment, but I'm including them on this list as a desperate plea for them to kiss and make up. WE NEED BAD WEATHER BACK! Yes, Heather was insensitive to Whitney's healing journey. Yes, Whitney was wrong to accuse Heather of lying when Heather didn't hear that Lisa was blowing men for jazz tickets. But those are such insignificant things to throw away a friendship over. Don't let Jenn and Lisa and everyone else get in the way. You're way more fun to watch as a duo! Please become friends again for Season 4. I'm begging you!
20.Riverdale — Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) and Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes)
They've endured several serial killers, a murderous cult, a prison break, a killing during their high school musical, and dozens of Jughead monologues. No one is more bonded for life than Betty and Veronica. I won't call them Riverdale's queen bees (because there is only one Cheryl Blossom), but the town's Nancy Drew and her speakeasy-owning bestie are certainly a power duo along the Sweetwater River. Here's to hoping that someday they'll be able to relax in a semi-drama free life.
21.Scream Queens — Chanel Oberlin (Emma Roberts), Chanel #3 (Billie Lourd), and Chanel #5 (Abigail Breslin)
Are they besties? Are they sorority sisters? Are they just a queen and her minions? Unclear exactly how to categorize the Chanels, but I do know that I need more of them. I am here to argue that Scream Queens was Ryan Murphy's best show, and I am LIVID that it was canceled right before a "murder island" season. The trio of Chanels (after poor Ariana Grande was murdered) were one of the funniest groupings on television, and watching them throw plenty of unsuspecting victims into the arms of a serial killer in order to save themselves was always a delight. Listen up, idiot hookers. Reboot the series.
22.Sex and the City — Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Charlotte York (Kristin Davis), Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), and Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon)
While I don't have the strength to get into the reboot sans Samantha and plus Che Diaz, there is perhaps no more iconic gal pal show than Sex and the City. The four became archetypes that friend groups assigned to their members while strolling through New York in their designer stilettos. And while the show may be a little dated, and the SJP/Kim Cattrall feud may have soured the good vibes a bit, you still can't find a show better suited for Galentine's Day.
23.Sex Education — Maeve Wiley (Emma Mackey) and Aimee Gibbs (Aimee Lou Wood)
Sex Education is one of the best shows currently on television, and the friendship between Maeve and Aimee is one of the many wonderful things about it. Maeve is dark, smart, and edgy. Aimee is sweet, charming, and oh so popular. They aren't the pair you'd expect to be friends, but they are the rock solid duo at the center of the show. I need Season 4 now, please.
24.Survivor — Parvati Shallow, Amanda Kimmel, Cirie Fields, and Natalie Bolton
And last, but certainly not least, we have the four women behind the most infamous Survivor move of all time. When the alliance of four realized they would have to turn on one of their own because Erik had won the immunity challenge, they devised the most brilliant, ludicrous plan to get him to forfeit his immunity, only to immediately vote him out. Survivor isn't usually a game about making friends, but when they can help you get to the million dollar prize, they're good to have.
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