TV shows for couples, and how to finish them
The best TV shows for couples are ones you can both follow at the same pace, such as Fleabag, Normal People, Chernobyl and Ted Lasso. Below are sixteen TV shows for couples, grouped by mood, from four-hour miniseries to long series. Our Cinema keeps track of your season and episode, so neither of you has to remember.
Short enough to finish
A short TV series for couples is two seasons or fewer — a series you'll actually see the end of.
Fleabag (2016)
Fleabag is twelve half-hours, and the second season is one of the best things ever made for TV.
Details on TMDB ↗
Normal People (2020)
Normal People is twelve short episodes about two people getting love wrong for years. Devastating, then over.
Details on TMDB ↗
Chernobyl (2019)
Chernobyl is five episodes, no filler. Grim, but you'll be talking about it for a week.
Details on TMDB ↗
Bodyguard (2018)
Bodyguard is six hours of pure tension. The one-more-episode series to start on a Sunday.
Details on TMDB ↗
When you want to laugh together
Half-hour comedy series make a Tuesday night feel like a treat.
Schitt's Creek (2015)
Schitt's Creek starts sharp and turns unexpectedly warm. The safest bet on this whole page.
Details on TMDB ↗
Ted Lasso (2020)
Ted Lasso is relentlessly kind, and you don't need to care about football for a second of it.
Details on TMDB ↗
Derry Girls (2018)
Derry Girls has twenty-minute episodes with jokes stacked three deep. Perfect for a short evening.
Details on TMDB ↗
Somebody Somewhere (2022)
Somebody Somewhere is quiet, funny and generous. The low-stakes one for a night you're both tired.
Details on TMDB ↗
One a week, no catching up needed
Episodic mystery series are forgiving enough that a missed week doesn't derail you.
Only Murders in the Building (2021)
Only Murders in the Building is a cosy whodunnit with a case per season and jokes all the way through.
Details on TMDB ↗
Poker Face (2023)
Poker Face has a new mystery every episode. Start anywhere, stop anywhere, guess out loud.
Details on TMDB ↗
Slow Horses (2022)
Slow Horses gives you six tidy episodes a season of grubby, very funny spy work.
Details on TMDB ↗
The Great British Bake Off (2017)
The Great British Bake Off is the classic nothing-bad-happens watch. Ideal for nights when you can't agree.
Details on TMDB ↗
When you both want to be gripped
The ones you'll schedule your week around.
Severance (2022)
Severance is strange, beautifully made, and built for theorising between episodes.
Details on TMDB ↗
The Bear (2022)
The Bear is loud, fast kitchen chaos in half-hour bursts. Stressful in the good way.
Details on TMDB ↗
The Last of Us (2023)
The Last of Us is big-budget, big-feelings television. No game knowledge required.
Details on TMDB ↗
Better Call Saul (2015)
Better Call Saul is a slow burn that pays off enormously — the long-haul pick for a committed pair.
Details on TMDB ↗
How to watch a series together without losing the thread
TV series are harder for couples than films: a series takes weeks, and only one of you ever remembers where you got to. Six habits that make it work:
Agree the rule before episode one
Agree on a watching-ahead rule before the series starts. Most series arguments are really about watching ahead.
Pick a night and keep it
A series with a standing slot gets finished. A series you'll watch 'sometime' stops at episode three.
Track where you are, not just what you started
Writing down the season and episode means no ten-minute 'have we seen this one?' every week.
Set a finish-by date for long ones
A series of twenty episodes over ten weeks is two episodes a week. Seeing that maths up front makes a big series feel possible.
Rate it by season
A single score for a five-season show hides everything. Rating each season keeps the record honest and the debates fun.
Keep a spare short one ready
Keep a half-hour comedy for nights when neither of you has the energy for the big series. A half-hour comedy on standby saves the evening.
Keep track of the season you're on
Our Cinema is a shared watchlist for couples: one queue you both add to, an episode tracker with finish-by dates, season-by-season ratings, and a record of every night. Free to start.
Sources
- The Movie Database (TMDB) — Titles, release years, posters and cast data for every pick on this page.
- JustWatch — Check where each title is currently streaming, renting or buying in your country.
Our Cinema uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.
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Series details and artwork from TMDB. Our Cinema uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.