The 10 best romantic TV series to watch this Valentine’s Day
Netflix, CBS, BBCValentine’s Day is around the corner, so here’s a guide to the top 10 best romantic TV shows to binge with your loved one.
Valentine’s Day, aka February 14, is known as the most romantic day of the calendar year as it gives people a full day to express their affection for their loved ones.
While most people do traditional V-Day things such as go out for dinner or go on a trip, many look to movies and TV to help spice up the day as there’s a ton of media all about love out there to consume on the ultimate day of romance.
So, whether you’ll be cuddled up with your Valentine or hanging out on your own, here’s your guide to the most romantic TV series and where you can binge them.
The top 10 best romantic TV shows
Below, we have gathered the most romantic TV series out there currently and ranked them from good to great.
Along with the ranking, you can check out where these shows are currently streaming so you can make sure you’re all set up before V-Day.
10. You
You is definitely not your typical romantic show, as the Netflix series deals with a lot of murder, but, at its core, it’s about a man who continuously falls in love, for better or for worse.
Starring Penn Badgley (Gossip Girl), the show follows book lover Joe Goldberg as he finds a new target — sorry, love interest — each season and uses his vast intellect and stalker skills to try to win her heart while also leaving a trail of bloody bodies in his wake.
Where to watch: Netflix
9. The Summer I Turned Pretty
Based on the best-selling book series by author Jenny Han, The Summer I Turned Pretty is Gen Z’s answer to the gap in TV schedules left behind by iconic teen drama shows like Gossip Girl and 90210.
When Belly (Lola Tung) returns to her mother’s best friend’s summer home when she’s about to turn 16, she is reunited with brothers Conrad and Jeremiah (Christopher Briney and Gavin Casalegno), who she grew up with and had crushes on.
As the brothers discover how much Belly has changed since they last saw her, the trio goes on an adventure-filled summer where relationships are formed and broken, and their bond will never be the same again.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
8. Grey’s Anatomy
While most people wouldn’t consider the longest-running medical TV show to be a great choice to watch on Valentine’s Day, Grey’s Anatomy has a lot more to offer than a peak into the chaotic lives of doctors.
The series focuses on the doctors of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in Seattle as they try to balance their live-or-death work obligations with the ever-present and intertwining platonic and romantic relationships they form.
Where to watch: Hulu
7. Jane the Virgin
Jane the Virgin is seen as one of the best examples of an Americanized telenovela as it uses the genre’s over-the-top tropes to create some of the funniest, most romantic, and most heartbreaking TV moments.
When Jane (Gina Rodriguez) is accidentally artificially inseminated with the sperm of hotel magnet Rafael (Justin Baldoni), the pair, along with their respective romantic partners and families, must work together to navigate this new journey and figure out how to be a blended family.
Where to watch: Netflix
6. This Is Us
Seen as one of the most unique drama shows on TV, thanks to its unique approach to storytelling, This Is Us has been making audiences cry since it first premiered in 2016.
Using various flashbacks and flash-forwards, the series revolves around the unshakable love between Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) and Rebecca (Mandy Moore) as they help guide their three children through life both as children and later as adults with their own families.
Where to watch: Hulu/Peacock
5. New Girl
New Girl is heralded as one of the best modern comfort TV comedies, joining the ranks of iconic shows like Modern Family, Parks and Recreation, and The Office.
After breaking up with her long-term boyfriend, Jess (Zooey Deschanel) moves into a loft apartment with three colorful roommates with whom she goes on a ton of wacky adventures. Her new friends include lawyer-turned-bartender and Jess’ eventual love interest Nick (Jake Johnson), the clout-chasing yet ever-loyal Schidmt (Max Greenfield), and the chaotically weird and prank-obsessed Winston Bishop (Lamorne Morris).
Where to watch: Hulu
4. Normal People
Another eyebrow-raising pick on the list, but BBC’s Normal People is one of the most honest takes on what it means to be in love with someone, through the good and bad.
Based on the novel of the same name by Sally Rooney, the mini-series follows Connell (Paul Mescal) and Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) as they struggle to maintain an honest relationship with one another as their individual insecurities and traumas, along with their vastly different social placements, constantly threaten to tear them apart.
Where to watch: Hulu
3. Heartstopper
Heartstopper fans have praised the series for being one of the only pieces of queer-centric media that lets its characters have real relationships and romantic moments without the threat of dark and traumatic moments looming in the background. They also love how much the series takes inspiration from the graphic novel franchise it’s adapted from.
Tired of being a hidden boyfriend for another boy at his school, Charlie (Joe Locke) breaks off the relationship before striking up a friendship with Nick (Kit Connor), a popular rugby player a grade ahead of him, after the two are seated next to each other in class. Despite pressures from friends and schoolmates, the two boys embark on a romantic and emotionally rich journey of self-discovery.
Where to watch: Netflix
2. Bridgerton
Based on the Regency romance novel series by Julia Quinn, Bridgerton took the world by storm when it first premiered on Netflix in 2020.
The show focuses on the romantic lives of the Bridgerton family, starting with the eldest daughter, Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor), and her electric love affair with Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page), in Season 1. In Season 2, fans were treated to the oldest brother, Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), finding a matching spitfire soul mate in Kate (Simone Ashley). And now, in the upcoming third season, audiences will watch as middle son Colin (Luke Newton) falls in love with his former wallflower best friend Penelope (Nicola Coughlan).
Where to watch: Netflix
1. How I Met Your Mother
While some may disagree with how high this show is ranked on this list, there’s no doubt that How I Met Your Mother is truly the most romantic TV series of the modern age.
The entire show follows Ted (Josh Radnor) as he tells his two children the very long story of how he met their mother. While he does sprinkle some adventures he had with his tight friend group along the way, Ted mostly focuses on the women he falls in love with and how each one of them had something that made him believe that they could be his wife and the mother of his children. Though How I Met Your Mother’s series finale is considered to be one of the worst, the show overall is a beautiful tapestry of one man’s dedication to finding the one.
Where to watch: Hulu
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