We Ship It: 15 Best Will-They-Or-Won’t-They Couples on TV
By Julie L
In honor of Valentine’s Day we came up with a list of the15 Best Will-They-Or-Won’t-They Couples on TV! We ship it! Do you?
Shipping is not a new TV concept. Since the beginning of your modern day comedy or drama there has been emotional investment in characters, especially the two we most want to see together.
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There are all kinds of ships! And even the most casual TV watcher has at least one. There are of course your top-of-the-top ships, aka: One True Pairing (OTP). And despite the word one in there, most fans have an OTP for each show. It’s inevitable that with a successful TV show that there will be at least two characters who build an unmistakable bond!
Thus we’re lead on a wild “will-they-or-won’t-they” ride. The art of something like a slow-burn is so nuanced because a show knows that when a ship is really popular, the sexual tension and debate end the moment things get real (aka: “go canon”). And when a couple does go canon, you can bet there’s still another ship waiting in the wings to keep the tension alive on the series.
Some shows even go so far as to save the super good stuff the show’s end just to drag it out. A show like Agents of Shield established that Fitz and Simmons were destined to be together, but also doomed any and all attempts for a relationship for several seasons, finally dragging it out to the point that fans wondered what it would take to see those two finally happy.
Grey’s Anatomy thrived on a “will-they-won’t-they” ship for years! And, spoiler alert (just kidding doesn’t everyone know this by now?), even though Meredith and Derek did eventually get together, his death opened new doors for the series. New ships are sailing as there’s now been multiple opportunities to see Meredith back out there dating.
Most ships form out of a bond in shared circumstances. The Walking Dead has its fair share of both canon and non-canon ships (as well as its fair share of “shipwars”). And I certainly didn’t expect to watch a zombie show and fall in love while watching Carol and Daryl (but we’ll get to that!).
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Shippers are an important part of a TV show fan base. Basic phrases take on a whole new meaning as the evidence mounts in favor of the couple. Some characters are even a part of multiple ships, and it’s interesting to see how one person will watch the same show and see something entirely different.
So with Valentine’s Day right around the corner, here at Hidden Remote we compiled our favorite couples who aren’t quite canon. This is by no means a comprehensive list of all the current non-canon ships out there, but our fave ships! To keep things simple we kept the list to shows that are currently on TV and couples whose future together is mostly ambiguous for one reason or another.
So, without further ado, check out our list of 15 Best Will-They-Or-Won’t-They Couples on TV!