While live-action TV couples often depict love stories grounded — for the most part — in reality, animated pairs demonstrate that romance can succeed in any dimension.
From the everlasting marriage of Homer (voiced by Dan Castellaneta) and Marge Simpson (Julie Kavner) on The Simpsons to the unconventional, wouldn’t-fly-in-real-life dynamics of Mr. Peanutbutter (Paul F. Tompkins) and Diane Nguyen (Alison Brie) on BoJack Horseman, these animated duos reflect complex, real-world relationships while exploring the limitless creativity of their medium.
Though some of these beloved pairs earned spots on EW’s 100 best TV romances list, others that didn’t make the cut are equally deserving of recognition. With that in mind, here’s a tribute to the most iconic animated love stories on TV.
Fred and Wilma Flintstone, The Flintstones
ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty
The first animated couple in primetime — and chronologically, just the first couple, period — the Flintstones both followed and set the template for sitcom marriages. You’ve got the gruff but lovable blue-collar bro (Alan Reed) whose greatest love is probably bowling, followed closely by his wife (Jean Vander Pyl) who’s far too hot for him.
They bicker and quarrel, but at the end of the day — to quote the quippy bird intercom — “It’s a living.” And a loving. The Flintstones are the Cramdens and the Simpsons and every CBS husband and wife sitcom team during the ’00s. Yet they’re in a class by themselves as the greatest couple in prehistory. —Lester Fabian Brathwaite
George and Jane Jetson, The Jetsons
Hulton Archive/Getty
A couple of the future seemed a lot like a couple from the ancient past when The Jetsons premiered two years after The Flintstones in 1962. Unlike their Stone Age counterparts, George (George O’Hanlon) and Jane (Penny Singleton) lived in what seemed like the distant future, 2062. If you’re keeping up with the math at home, we’ve got less than 40 years to get flying cars and robot maids because a Roomba is no Rosie.
Despite their Space Age accouterments, George and Jane proved that TV marriages remain the same across millennia. After all, meet George Jetson: He’s cute or whatever, but “Jane, his wife” is snatched and snatching. And that V-collar of hers is ready to walk down a Parisian runway tonight. —L.F.B.
Scooby and Shaggy, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
Moviestore/Shutterstock
I know what you’re thinking: Scooby (Don Messick) is a dog and Shaggy (Casey Kasem) is more or less a human, to which I say: SHUSH!!!! Besides, the moment Scooby started talking and wearing elaborate disguises, all bets were off.
Do Shag and Scoob have a traditional romance? Perhaps not, but nothing comes between the love of a boy and his dog — certainly not Velma Dinkley (Nicole Jaffe), Shaggy’s alleged love interest during one of the Mystery Inc. gang’s many iterations. Velma’s got her own thing going on and like everyone else she could see that Shaggy and Scooby were made for each other. —L.F.B.
Homer and Marge Simpson, The Simpsons
FOX
Together for 30-plus years, Marge and Homer have the longest marriage in TV history. Sure, they’ve broken up countless times, only to reconcile by the end of an episode. Ah, l’amour! By now, their break-ups to make-ups have become formulaic and boring — more than 780 episodes will do that to ya — but during the early seasons of The Simpsons, Homer and Marge’s relationship was one of the most complex on television.
Take for instance season 4’s “A Streetcar Named Marge.” Marge feels increasingly neglected by Homer, only to find solace in a local production of Oh, Streetcar!, a poorly-conceived musical adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ most famous play. When Homer sees Marge broken down as Blanche DuBois, he finally understands he’s been doing the same thing to her as the overbearing Stanley did to Blanche. By the end, their reconciliation feels both earned and real. —L.F.B.
Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn
DC Comics/Max
Longtime fan favs Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy share parallel backstories: Both were exploited by manipulative abusers (the Joker and Floronic Man) who tried to turn them into reflections of their twisted egos. While a shared trauma bond was inevitable, they shattered their androcentric origins to become something far more profound. Their will-they-won’t-they romance (now officially canon in the comics and on the Max series Harley Quinn) feels like a long-overdue cosmic alignment.
For many DC fans, it’s a joy to see these antiheroes (Kaley Cuoco as Harley and Lake Bell as Ivy) in a relationship that ditches the glorified toxicity of their past for a dynamic that’s sexy, supportive, and — dare we say — wholesome (?). Of course, they’re still causing mayhem in Gotham, but now they’re doing it while embracing love on their own terms. —James Mercadante
Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Wolverine, X-Men: The Animated Series
Fox Kids
While Rogue (Lenore Zann) and Gambit (Chris Potter) were the hottest mutant couple on this beloved ’90s cartoon, Cyclops (Norm Spencer), Jean Grey (Catherine Disher), and Wolverine (Cal Dodd) introduced many kids to the heartache of a love triangle. Though Jean Grey and Scott Summers were always going to be together — they had a psychic rapport, having grown up together under Professor X’s (Cedric Smith) tutelage as his first X-Men — you can’t blame Wolverine for trying.
Well, you can, actually, since Storm (Alison Sealy-Smith) was single, stunning, and precipitating but…alas, the heart wants what the heart wants. The triangle that launched a thousand memes finally managed to get its math right, if not on television — though there’s still hope for the Disney+ reboot series X-Men ’97 — then at least in the comics, where Jean, Scott, and Logan have basically become an official throuple on the mutant island haven of Krakoa. —L.F.B.
Hank and Peggy Hill, King of the Hill
20th Century Fox/Everett
The salt of the cartoon earth, Hank (Mike Judge) and Peggy Hill (Kathy Najimy) are the most astoundingly average animated couple ever. Their love may not be as passionate or volatile as some others, but there’s a romance to consistency.
However, when you look at Hank’s neighbors — delusional Dale (Johnny Hardwick) whose wife (Ashley Gardner) has been cheating on him for 14 years, sad and divorced Bill (Stephen Root), and mumbling ladies’ man Boomhauer (Judge) — Hank hit the jackpot with the overly confident Peggy, who loves and accepts him for all that he is…which isn’t much but it’s enough for her. —L.F.B.
Lois and Peter Griffin, Family Guy
FOX
At first, Peter (Seth MacFarlane) and Lois (Alex Borstein) seemed like your ordinary slob-and-a-fox pairing, with Peter’s shenanigans causing no end of distress for the eternally patient and understanding Lois. But across Family Guy‘s 20-plus seasons, the show has allowed Lois to fly her freak flag as well, making the Griffins more of a marriage of equals than, say, Homer and Marge.
Though Family Guy has constantly been subject to unfavorable comparisons to The Simpsons, could you ever imagine Marge beating the crap out of Homer while screaming, “Is this what you want?!” Lois and Peter are each other’s better halves — it just turns out that they’re both pretty terrible. —L.F.B.
Adora and Catra, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
Netflix
Landing at No. 24 on EW’s list of the 100 best TV romances is the star-crossed love story between childhood besties–turned–fierce foes: Adora (Aimee Carrero), the heroic She-Ra; and Catra (AJ Michalka), the cunning Force-Captain of Hordak’s Evil Horde. The pair spend much of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power locked in battle, making their eventual declaration of love feel surprising to some.
But according to creator and showrunner ND Stevenson, they were always endgame. While other animated series have implied queer subtext without making it absolute, Stevenson took a bold, unapologetic approach, telling EW, “Not only was it something I’ve been waiting to do, it’s something I feel like viewers needed.” —J.M.
Turanga Leela and Phillip J. Fry, Futurama
FUTURAMA/TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX FILM CORPORATION
We should all be so lucky as Turanga Leela (Katey Sagal) to have a time-displaced airhead love us as much as Phillip J. Fry (Billy West) loves her. And did Leela deserve Fry’s blind devotion? Of course not, she’s too busy dating other losers like spacefaring himbo Zapp Brannigan (West). However, Leela and Fry get one of the happiest endings of any couple, animated or otherwise.
In what was at the time the series finale (the show was revived a decade later in 2023), season 10’s “Meanwhile,” through some bizarre accident that freezes time throughout the universe, Leela and Fry are unaffected and live a blissful life alone, together, traveling the world in stasis for decades. Eventually, Professor Farnsworth (West) finds a solution to the problem, but it would mean Fry and Leela going back to the moment before the universe froze. When a gray Fry asks an equally aged Leela if she wants to go around again, she takes his hand with a heart-bursting “I do.” —L.F.B.
Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers, Scott Pilgrims Takes Off
COURTESY OF NETFLIX
Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers have had their love story told across various mediums, from Bryan Lee O’Malley’s comic-book series to Edgar Wright’s live-action feature. And while Netflix’s anime spinoff reunites the voices of the 2010 film’s cast, it also takes a slight detour from the original narrative.
Yes, Scott (Michael Cera) still has to defeat Ramona’s (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) seven evil exes to earn the boyfriend title — until he mysteriously vanishes after his first battle. What follows is Ramona’s investigation into his disappearance, transforming her from the apathetic, quirky-haired Manic Pixie Dream Girl of past adaptations into a layered, flawed, and fully realized character. As she confronts her own messy history instead of running from it, the series digs deeper into her growth — ultimately allowing for a less caricatured, more authentic connection with Scott. —J.M.
Bob and Linda Belcher, Bob’s Burgers
FOX
If Hank and Peggy Hill are the epitome of average, then Bob (H. Jon Benjamin) and Linda Belcher (John Roberts) are scratching and clawing to get to their level. Average would be a godsend to these two harried parents who are just doing their best-ish to raise their three kids.
Bob and Linda always try to carve out some romantic time for themselves between their obligations at the restaurant and whatever mischief Tina (Dan Mintz), Louise (Kristen Schaal), and Gene (Eugene Mirman) end up in. While their attempts are rarely successful, it’s admirable that they will always keep trying. And as a viewer, you want this forever struggling pair to succeed, even when you know they don’t stand a chance in hell. But then again, that’s their appeal. —L.F.B.
Diane Nguyen and Mr. Peanutbutter, BoJack Horseman
Netflix
Following in the hybrid foot and paw steps of Shaggy and Scooby, Diane Nguyen and Mr. Peanutbutter proved that human-canine romance does work on cartoons. At least for a while. The couple get married in season 1 and have their share of ups and downs, mostly downs, only to finally call it quits in season 5.
Even after they divorce and move on to other lovers, Mr. Peanutbutter and Diane remain good friends by doing what animated characters have long been unable to do — actually show signs of change and maturity. But that’s no surprise for a series that routinely expanded, subverted, and defied what an animated show could do. —L.F.B.
Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable, Kim Possible
Disney Channel/Courtesy Everett Collection
Kim Possible (Christy Carlson Romano) juggles the double life of high school student and secret government spy — but her loyal childhood bestie, Ron Stoppable (Will Friedle), is always along for the ride. Together, they’re the ultimate yin and yang: Kim’s a driven, image-conscious perfectionist, while Ron’s an easygoing slacker who takes life one nacho at a time. Their differences hit the perfect balance, forming an unstoppable team.
By the time season 4 rolled around, their years of built-in chemistry made their leap from longtime pals to a couple feel so seamless that even Ron thought it might be a dream. Without the thousands of fans who mailed letters urging Disney Channel to break its infamous 65-episode rule — we would have never seen this iconic love story come to life. —J.M.
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