[dropcap]A[/dropcap]ll you need is love, as the saying goes, which is probably why we find ourselves so invested in the romantic lives of our favourite TV characters. If you’re seeking something special this Valentine’s Day, why not fix a date with one of these top TV couples?

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Castle: Castle/Beckett

Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Kate Beckett’s (Stana Katic) relationship in Castle is the embodiment of ‘opposites attract’. Although it’s the classic initial-hate-followed-by-love story, they bring a surprising freshness to the trope. Their story begins when Castle joins Beckett’s NYPD team to research a novel. The relationship grows in this unconventional context, as they investigate crimes together.

Castle and Beckett work well because they balance each other out

Castle’s lightheartedness helps Beckett sort through her dark past, and Beckett counteracts Castle’s childlike tendencies. They bring out the best traits in each other, making them an efficient crime fighting team, and also a steadfast couple.

Sohini Kumar

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Black Sails: Max/Anne

What’s better than female pirates? Female pirates in love, of course! Thanks to Black Sails, this has become a TV reality through the characters of Max (Jessica Parker Kennedy) and Anne Bonny (Clara Paget). These two have been subject to spectacular writing, with their relationship to unfolding organically. It’s been wonderful to watch them progress from unlikely allies in Season 1, to business partners and lovers as they unite to steal the Urca de Lima treasure (and each other’s hearts).

With the third season currently underway, I’m excited to see what’s coming for Max and Anne – hopefully the seas ahead won’t be too stormy!

Carmella Lowkis

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Gilmore Girls: Luke / Lorelai

I’m quite the sucker for a good TV romance, and no other TV romance has been as long an investment as Luke (Scott Patterson) and Lorelai (Lauren Graham) on Gilmore Girls. From the pilot, where Lorelai comes into Luke’s diner begging for coffee, the connection is evident.

Everyone apart from them can see that they are perfect together

They eventually get engaged, but not without further hindrances causing them to break up until the final minutes of the final episode, proving once they were meant to be. Unfortunately, we never saw the resolution of their relationship, but with the upcoming revival, we’ll hopefully be treated to the perfect Gilmore wedding. As Luke says: “I am all in”.

Rachel Knight

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Hannibal: Hannibal/Will

Of all the romantic relationships on television, the steamiest and most morally complex by far is between Will (Hugh Dancy) and Hannibal (Mads Mikkelsen) in Hannibal.

Sure, it’s unconventional, not to mention filled with more than a couple of betrayals and murdering of friends, as well as the latter having a fling with the former’s crush, but those two sure had fun while it lasted. Whether it was simply sitting facing each other in ‘psychiatric’ sessions, or making a horrifying art installment out of the corpse of a serial killer, or considering running away together to Italy, these two are a supremely complicated, uncomfortably shippable TV couple.

Kambole Campbell

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Parks and Recreation: Leslie/Ben

Parks and Recreation was always a ray of sunshine in a cynical world; a show that made hard work seem heroic and local government life-affirming. This message is clearest via the sitcom’s central lovers.

Leslie (Amy Poehler) and Ben (Adam Scott) start off at odds over the Pawnee government budget, but gradually come to fall in love.

The revolutionary thing about Leslie and Ben is that their relationship isn’t built around conflict

They’re, well, happy. That’s not to say they’re not weirdos (Leslie finds Joe Biden the sexiest man alive and Ben has a breakdown over Claymation) but they’re each other’s weirdos: proof that couples don’t have to be dysfunctional to be funny.

Bethan Ackerley

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Gossip Girl: Chuck/Blair

My life revolved a bit too much around Gossip Girl during GCSEs, and especially on keeping up with my favourite TV couple: Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) and Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester). Ignoring the weird change in characterisation for Chuck, going from awful person to loveable rogue, their dramatic love story had me glued to the screen. The two start as antagonistic friends, and end up bringing out the best in each other, maturing over the course of the series, in a relationship always based on mutual understanding.

Between motorcycle crashes, dodgy business deals, and affairs with foreign princes, the couple may be completely removed from reality. But who asked for TV to be realsitic?

Daljinder Johal