The Best TV Friendships Of 2025 (So Far)

You can't choose your family, but you can choose your friends, and these TV besties have struck gold.

As part of TVLine's Year in Review, we're rounding up more than 15 of TV's best friendships so far in 2025. We've got loyal pals and nurturing confidantes from shows such as The Pitt, Outlander: Blood of My Blood, FBI, The Rookie, Bob's Burgers and Severance. 

These buddies lift one another up and stand by each other through life's ups and downs, from navigating medical school residency to tracking down deadly criminals. Plus, one duo even goes up against brain-severing science together! How's that for a bonding experience?

And because sometimes a friendship can't be contained to just two people, we've also singled out unbreakable trios from Grey's Anatomy and Sweet Magnolias. And remember: Our list only features shows that are still airing, so as much as we love them, perennial favorites like Broad City's Abbi and Ilana are not included.

Check out our picks below, then hit the comments to share your current fave BFFs that didn't make the cut!

Not everyone in the 118 can be trusted with a secret (remember when Buck accidentally told those kids that Santa isn't real?), but Hen and Athena have always had each other's back. More importantly, they've always had each other's best interest at heart. We'd be happy to keep dropping in on their backyard chats forever. — Andy Swift

The teachers on ABC's hit schoolhouse comedy are a tightknit bunch, but none are tighter than these two veteran educators, who know all the tricks of the trade by now — and use them to their full advantage. They bring out the best in each other, too: Melissa helps the pious Barbara loosen up, and Barbara helps the hot-tempered Melissa stay on the straight and narrow. The teachers' lounge would feel empty without them, wouldn't it? — Dave Nemetz

There wasn't a lot of time for goofing around on FX's sci-fi horror series, what with a host of deadly alien species crash-landing on Earth and all. But fellow hybrids Slightly and Smee (played by Adarsh Gourav and Jonathan Ajayi) still found a way to establish an endearing bond as they navigated their new adult bodies, teasing each other and engaging in rowdy horseplay like hyperactive schoolkids. (Which, mentally, they still were.) But when things got dire, like when the imposing Morrow threatened their lives, Slightly and Smee stuck together, and when Slightly was left with an alien-infested Arthur to deal with, of course it was Smee he turned to for help. We've got our fingers crossed for a second season — how is this show not renewed yet, FX?! — not only to see Wendy and the xenomorphs fight for their freedom, but also to see more of Slightly and Smee's burgeoning bromance. — D.N.

Now and forever, Tina may see J-Ju as endgame. But even if she and her bootylicious crush were to get together (and stay together), they'd be hard-pressed to achieve the enviable #relationshipgoals that he and supportive pal Zeke already have. These two wrestle with anything but their feelings. — Charlie Mason

Though their romantic spark may roar and wane, the fact that Karen raced from her new life in San Francisco to help Matt/Daredevil with his latest crusade is but the latest proof of their strong-as-vibranium bond. — Matt Webb Mitovich

Ray and Manny are literal partners in crime who both have a history of hardship, and it is these rough life experiences that have bonded them so tightly together. Loyal to each other to a fault, their friendship is put to the extreme test throughout Apple TV's miniseries. Though changing priorities and various demons attempt to pull them apart, Ray eventually realizes that Manny really is his true ride-or-die. — Nick Caruso

These two feds have been through a lot over the first seven seasons — and no matter how tough the going gets, each knows the other will offer a shoulder to lean on. Might/should they become something more? Sure, maybe. But to be honest, their friends-to-the-end-ship is our favorite thing about the show. — M.W.M.

Though their senses of humor are occasionally as cutting as a scalpel, there's ultimately no removing this trio of Grey Sloan residents from one another's sides. They push each other's buttons, push one another away, and yet when push comes to shove, they manage to pull together. Lucas, are you taking notes? — C.M.

OK, OK, we'll admit it: For a while there, these two weren't exactly poster children for loving brotherhood. Young Mr. Fraser and Young Mr. Fitzgibbons spent a good chunk of the Starz drama's first season in a fight, all because Brian had the audacity to fall in love with the woman Murtagh — and Murtagh alone, mind you — had decided was his soulmate. But once Murty got past his bruised feelings and realized how thoroughly his best friend was taken with Ellen MacKenzie, he did the right thing: Luckily for Brian, the "right thing" at that moment was "saving Brian from assassins hired by Ellen's disgruntled brother." After the melee passed, though, Brian did his part, too, offering a deeply sincere apology for wounding his bestie's heart (and leg, thanks to one assassin's well-placed arrows. Oops!). — Kimberly Roots

Moments after arriving at college for their freshman year, Benny and Carmen form an immediate and intense bond set to the beat of Nicki Minaj's "Super Bass." Though they sometimes struggle with their individual coming-of-age quirks, these two pals are always there for each other at the end of a long day — no matter how many weed brownies or buckets of fettuccine alfredo try to take them down. — Claire Franken

Neither Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch nor Dr. Jack Abbot could be called "emotionally stable." Season 1 of the Emmy-winning HBO Max medical drama opened with Robby talking Abbot off a ledge — and ended with our heroic first responders switching places on that same roof. Yet there's something deeply rewarding about a male friendship where both men are in touch with their feelings. Heck, Abbot even offers to refer Robby to his therapist. Now that's friendship.

We also saw how perfectly in sync they were during a mass-casualty event, when dozens of lives were in their hands. (As far as we know, only Abbot has served in the military, but together they were combat-ready.) We may not know much about their lives outside the hospital, but here's hoping Season 2 gives us a deeper look at their complicated, mutually dependent bond. — Ryan Schwartz

Tim isn't much of a talker, and Angela always has plenty to say. That's one of the reasons why their friendship, which doesn't get nearly enough airtime, is so damn entertaining. Angela is a truth teller, and though Tim may argue the point, it's clear he quietly relishes her candid opinions on his (sometimes bone-headed) decisions. — M.W.M.

Jack Reacher is, famously, a drifter and loner. People flit in and out of his nomadic life only to stir up drama, or offer him a fleeting romp. Frances Neagley, however, is one of precious few constants in the big lunk's life, someone he can always call on, and count on, for an assist. — M.W.M.

Asta and D'arcy's deeply rooted friendship serves as one of the show's biggest emotional pillars. While the women do have (often complementary) differences, their long-time bond is forever solidified with undying loyalty and mutual empowerment. And in the rare instances when they find themselves at odds, the women's heartfelt communication skills and love for one another always heal all wounds. — N.C. 

On the surface, these two don't have much in common — an uptight rule-follower and a rebellious smart-ass — but years of refining data together at Lumon have made Irving and Dylan thick as thieves. When Irving was unceremoniously fired, Dylan insists on throwing him a workplace funeral, declaring that "for the least fun guy in the world, he was really fun." We hope Irving's train ride isn't goodbye for good, because we'd miss hearing his banter with Dylan over the cubicle walls. — D.N.

"I believe there is not a problem that cannot be solved by having a drink and a talk with the two of you." Helen has put those Season 1 words to the test multiple times throughout Netflix's "Sweet Magnolias," constantly meeting with Maddie and Dana Sue to drown their sorrows in a batch of margaritas. "Pour it out," indeed. — A.S.