TV Kisses That Were Worth The Wait

Though the most important relationship on "Gilmore Girls" is the one between Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) and her daughter Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel), a few romantic bonds are also central to the show's success. For Rory, there is Dean Forester (Jared Padalecki), Jess Mariano (Milo Ventimiglia), and Logan Huntzberger (Matt Czuchry). For Lorelai, there is Rory's dad Christopher Hayden (David Sutcliffe), Rory's teacher Max Medina (Scott Cohen), and the one and only Luke. Luke Danes (Scott Patterson) is introduced as Lorelai's friend — or maybe acquaintance, given how cantankerous he is towards her. But as the show goes on, it quickly becomes clear that there are major sparks between them.

Despite the sexual tension, Luke and Lorelai don't have their first kiss until the Season 4 finale, "Raincoats and Recipes." As you might expect, this lip lock comes hot off the heels of a classically quick-draw "Gilmore Girls" argument with seemingly thousands of words. The kiss itself is intensely passionate, taking place on the porch of the Dragonfly Inn. "We were nervous, and then we both realized that's exactly how the characters should feel," Patterson told Entertainment Weekly in 2021. "Because the nervousness we were having as actors was, 'We don't want to screw this up.' It's a big moment, and everybody knew it was a big moment and it felt like a big moment."

Okay, so we don't have to wait that long for a kiss between bartender Sam Malone (Ted Danson) and waitress Diane Chambers (Shelley Long). But we do have to wait until the very end of Season 1, despite the obvious flickers of attraction between them. And then, when Sam and Diane do kiss in "Showdown," it's left as a cliffhanger, like some sort of cruel TV joke. The couple ends up having an on-again, off-again romance until Long leaves the show after Season 5. At that point, Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley) becomes Sam's romantic foil.

Sam and Diane's first kiss arrives in the aftermath of Diane's fleeting affair with Sam's brother, Derek Malone. When Diane announces she's going on a trip with Derek (after just coming back from their first one), a jealous Sam fires her. That leads to their classic kiss scene, wherein the pair fights passionately in the back office, then confesses their mutual feelings for one another. Though Diane rebuffs Sam's first attempt at a kiss, the season ends with them locking lips for real — but not before they jab each other with a few insults.

"Parks and Recreation" star Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) is so focused on her work in the show's early seasons that a romantic partnership never even enters viewers' minds. The driven, passionate, somewhat annoying Leslie seems to be solitarily interested in work. Then again, we can't imagine that Pawnee, Indiana is a singles hotbed, so who can really blame her?

When Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) and Chris Traeger (Rob Lowe) arrive at the end of Season 2 to assess the parks department's budget, it's immediately clear that Ben could be a potential partner for Leslie. He's similarly committed to his work, similarly dorky, and similarly thoughtful, even bringing Leslie homemade soup after she lands in the hospital. The two almost don't date because of Chris' policy on inter-office romance, but luckily, love finds a way. Their first kiss arrives in Season 3's "Road Trip," wherein the two go on a tension-filled trip to Indianapolis and pucker up upon their return. This kiss overcomes Leslie's many doubts, Chris' awkward interruption, and a strange night on the couch, and is all the sweeter for it.

"House" does a great job building a will-they-won't-they story without ever really giving viewers too much romance. Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) is a thorn in Dr. Lisa Cuddy's (Lisa Edelstein) side, but their back-and-forth arguing is driven by more than workplace issues and House's controversial methods. Over the years, it becomes clear that they're attracted to each other, though viewers might rightfully wonder if they'll ever cross that line. House isn't exactly the relationship type, after all.

But cross the line they do in Season 5's "Joy," when they kiss is the midst of an argument about Cuddy's ability to be a successful parent. Though the kiss itself is hot, House immediately walks out the door as soon as it's over. They eventually try the relationship thing, but alas, "Huddy" is simply not meant to be a long-term thing — and we're okay with that, because Cuddy deserves something more than House can provide. Not everyone's on board with the kiss either, as evidenced by a scathing article published by Entertainment Weekly. "Not only was [the relationship] unnecessary, it ruined 'House' by becoming the central focus of the show," wrote Chancellor Agard. He continued, "Once House and Cuddy got together, the show went from Sherlock-solving-medical-mysteries to 'Sherlock's Anatomy.'"

The attraction between Spencer James (Daniel Ezra) and Olivia Baker (Samantha Logan) of "All American" is immediately apparent, but it still takes them a while to get together. This is partially because Olivia's father, Coach Billy Baker (Taye Diggs), basically moves Spencer in so that he can play football at Beverly Hills High School. It's also down to Spencer's friendship with Olivia's brother, Jordan (Michael Evans Behling). For those reasons and more, Spencer and Olivia enter friend territory in Season 1. Spencer goes on to date Layla Keating (Greta Onieogou), Olivia's best friend, and Olivia dates Asher Adams (Cody Christian), further complicating their story.

By the time Spencer and Olivia finally kiss in Season 3's "Roll the Dice," we're all in on their romantic chemistry. After they kiss, Olivia tearfully asks, "What about Layla and Asher?" But Spencer makes it clear that his love for her is more important than his feelings for anyone else. As with any teen show, "All American" couples and uncouples its characters at will, but we have a feeling Olivia and Spencer are endgame. Together, they weather everything from Olivia's addiction to Spencer's injury to a near-deadly shooting. And somehow, even Layla and Asher seem on board with their romance, so who are we to object?

While the sexual tension between "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" characters Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and one-time partner Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) has been much discussed, that pair remains ambiguous. But one of the series' other teased couples — Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish) and Dominick Carisi (Peter Scanavino) — has officially become an item.

Rollins and Carisi demonstrate feelings for each other from the moment Carisi joins the show in Season 16. They first kiss in Season 22's "Wolves in Sheep's Clothing," at their colleague Odafin Tutuola's (Ice-T) wedding. It's a magical moment that's well worth the wait — even the actors were pumped about it. "I like the direction that they went in. It didn't feel forced to me. It felt very earned," Scanavino told TVLine. "So, yeah ... it's something that you get to focus on, you know, in the relationship outside of the squad." By the end of Season 23, they seem like a very solid pairing. Watching Carisi step up as a father figure for Rollins' two daughters is especially sweet.

Though viewers hoped for a connection between Dr. A.J. Austin (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) and Dr. Mina Okafor (Shaunette Renee Wilson) of "The Resident," it never felt guaranteed. A.J. and Mina have obvious chemistry, physical attraction, and a mutual respect for each other's medical genius. However, A.J.'s status as Mina's superior is a major conflict, and Mina herself doesn't seem interested in making time for a social life, let alone a relationship.

It's kind of a surprise, then, to watch the couple kiss in Season 4's "A Wedding, A Funeral." "We were tired of them dancing around each other," co-creator Amy Holden Jones told TV Insider. "We wanted to see what happens when they become a couple, and we had some trepidation ... if you put the two leads together sometimes in these long-term relationships where they've been apart, sometimes it doesn't work, but in this case, it really does work." Unfortunately, the pairing is short-lived, as Mina leaves Atlanta for Nigeria later that season. But watching Mina throw caution to the wind and dive into that first kiss remains a magical moment. Here, they are finally completely honest with each other — a trait that characterizes their entire relationship, as A.J. sweetly points out.