TV Kissing Scenes You Didn't Know Were Improvised

A kiss is one of the most indelible images you can find in TV and movies. Kissing was also one of the first phenomena ever captured on film, as seen in Eadweard Muybridge's 1887 series of moving images, "The Kiss." Kissing can stand in for many things, including love, sexual attraction, friendship, or any other emotion the plot necessitates.

In television, kisses can become iconic water-cooler moments. Think of your favorite first kisses on TV, often long-awaited encounters that come after years of tension. How many fans spent years waiting for Mulder and Scully to kiss? In most cases, these TV kisses were scripted, presumably written after considerable deliberation in the writers' room.

Sometimes, though, the spontaneous decisions of actors give a scene the extra spark it needs. As viewers, we love learning about ad-libbed moments where performers try out their interpretation of the material. Fans ate it up when Christopher Meloni revealed he improvised his "Love you" line on "Law & Order: SVU."

Improvised kissing scenes represent the pinnacle of this sort of behind-the-scenes intrigue, which is why we've compiled this list for you. Some of these kisses are romantic, some are sexy, and others are downright silly, but they all have one thing in common: They weren't written in the script. Here are 10 TV kissing scenes you didn't know were improvised.

Considering the many complicated relationships (incestuous and otherwise) on "Game of Thrones," you probably don't remember the smooch between Yara Greyjoy (Gemma Whelan) and Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma). Nor did the writers plan it, as the actresses improvised it on the day. The Season 7 scene finds the two women drinking and enjoying each other's company on a ship before coming together in a passionate embrace. Unfortunately, their hookup is interrupted by Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk), Yara's deranged pirate uncle.

Whelan told Entertainment Weekly that "it just seemed like something we should do," though it wasn't in the script. "It was meant to be a suggestion [of flirting] and then it became more sexual than we expected because it seemed right," she explained. But Whelan wasn't the only one who got to kiss Varma that day. Whelan hurt her back, so she couldn't perform some of her stunts. During the moment where the two women are making out and Euron's attack shakes their ship, Whelan's stunt double was tasked with finishing the kiss. "I had to start kissing this poor stunt double, and she was so terrified! That was quite funny, bless her," Varma shared.

Because the kiss was featured in the Season 7 trailer, some fans expected the kiss to be a bigger plot point and a suggestion of a relationship between the pair. Sadly, that never came to be, and the Yara/Ellaria 'ship sank before it ever left the dock.

If you've never watched the CW series "Riverdale" before, it might surprise you to learn the show has aired seven different musicals over the course of its seven-season run. The first musical episode, in Season 2, followed the high schoolers as they staged a production of "Carrie: The Musical," and the episodes only get more off-the-wall from there. In a Season 4 episode called "Wicked Little Town," the series tackles John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask's beloved and controversial musical "Hedwig and the Angry Inch."

In this episode, Kevin (Casey Cott) decides to host the high school variety show. When Principal Honey (Kerr Smith) refuses to let him perform a song from "Hedwig," Kevin stages a protest. He performs the song "Tear Me Down" in the music room, much to the delight of his peers. In the middle of his performance, he grabs Archie (KJ Apa), kissing and spinning him around before pushing him back toward the crowd.

If Apa's surprised and delighted reaction seems genuine, that's because it was. Cott told TV Insider that Apa is an "incredible" kisser, and that their liplock was unscripted. In the first take, Cott kissed Apa on the cheek, but the second time around, "he turned his face and we just kind of laid a big one on each other," Cott explained. They both concluded the kiss was perfect for the song, and showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa agreed with them, so he kept it in the final cut.

When you think of great kisses on the Fox sitcom "New Girl," you might recall the first kiss between endgame couple Nick (Jake Johnson) and Jess (Zooey Deschanel), or maybe Cece (Hannah Simone) and Schmidt's (Max Greenfield) beautiful wedding kiss. But what about the show's bromances? Though their relationship never turns romantic, BFFs Nick and Schmidt actually kiss numerous times throughout the series.

In an interview with Ryan Seacrest, Johnson and Greenfield explained how those kisses made it into the show. Greenfield shared that he improvised kissing Johnson many times before it caught on. Finally, they put one of these smooches in the show, and it became a running gag that was later written into the script. Greenfield told Seacrest that at first, Johnson always pushed him away after the kisses, sometimes even hitting him, but once it became a common occurrence, he was forced to roll with it.

Notably, Nick had pretty sweet luck with the ladies, and Johnson had the good fortune to kiss many beautiful women on the show, including Megan Fox, Lizzy Caplan, and Olivia Munn. Throughout all of this, Schmidt remained constant. "I have been kissed the most by Max [Greenfield] in two seasons than any girl I've ever dated," Johnson joked.

Michael Scott, played by Steve Carell in "The Office," stands out as one of the most iconic bosses in TV history. Not because he's a good boss; he's actually more of the opposite, as he always gets things a little (or very) wrong. In the Season 3 premiere, "Gay Witch Hunt," he makes several hilarious blunders that lead to an infamous workplace kiss. When Michael calls Oscar (Oscar Nuñez) a gay slur, Toby (Paul Lieberstein) reprimands him, revealing that Oscar is actually gay. While apologizing to Oscar for his language, Michael inadvertently outs him to the entire office. Ultimately, Oscar threatens to quit his job.

In an attempt to show Oscar how much he accepts him and prevent him from quitting, Michael hugs him. Fearing this display of affection isn't sufficient, Michael plants a kiss on Oscar's unsuspecting mouth, telling his employees to "watch this, and burn this into your brains."

The uncomfortable image of the two men kissing is a memorable moment in "The Office" history, and it wasn't even in the script. Speaking to The A.V. Club, Nuñez revealed that Carell was only supposed to hug him, but in one take, he got really close to his face and kissed him on the mouth. Nuñez thought the kiss was a brilliant idea, and crossed his fingers that no one would laugh so they could use the take. Everyone in the room kept it together that day, and the rest is history.

One of the most bizarre comedies of the last decade, "Search Party" goes places you'd never expect. In the first season, the action begins when Dory (Alia Shawkat) becomes obsessed with solving the disappearance of a woman named Chantal Witherbottom (Clare McNulty). Dory's friends — the narcissistic Elliot (John Early), airhead actress Portia (Meredith Hagner), and her docile boyfriend Drew (John Reynolds) — grudgingly join in the search.

The plot gets weirder from there, and by Season 3, Dory is on trial for murder. In the Season 4 premiere, Dory's friends are reeling from the events of the trial, while Dory is MIA because she's been kidnapped by a deranged fan named Chip (Cole Escola). Elliot, Portia, and Drew are drinking to drown their sorrows when the evening takes an unexpected turn. They engage in a three-way makeout, which they immediately disavow and pretend never happened.

Speaking with The Advocate, Early shared that this kiss wasn't in the script. While filming the scene in the kitchen, the three actors started moving closer together. "All three of us knew it would be funny if it suddenly got sloppy and like sexy and confusing," Early explained. So when co-creators Sarah-Violet Bliss and Charles Rogers asked if the trio would be game for a "triple kiss," they quickly agreed. Though Shawkat wasn't present during the scene, she later said she was obsessed with the footage, and "watched it over and over."

President Barack Obama once called Omar Little (the late Michael K. Williams) the best character on "The Wire," high praise considering how many fascinating characters appeared on the HBO series. One of the most influential Black TV characters of all time and one of the most impactful LGBTQ characters, Omar contained multitudes. A ruthless stick-up man who robbed drug dealers, Omar lived by a strict moral code, taking his grandmother to church on Sundays and helping out kids in the neighborhood. Omar was also gay and very devoted to his boyfriend, Brandon (Michael Kevin Darnall), something he had no problem sharing with the world.

Though it became an important aspect of his character, Omar wasn't always so openly gay. Williams could tell the writers were trying to hint at his sexuality, but they never turned the subtext into text. "I knew that dude was gay," Williams told The New York Times. "All they kept doing: Omar rubs the boy's lips. Omar rubs the boy's hair. Omar holds the boy's hand."

Eventually, Williams took matters into his own hands. In Season 1, Williams and Darnall resolved that the two men should kiss. Although the director was surprised, the kiss made it into the episode, forever changing how Omar was portrayed and making a significant impact on LGBTQ representation in the early 2000s.

A veteran television actor, Walton Goggins has gained recognition for his roles on "The Shield," "Justified," and "The White Lotus." Back in 2012, Goggins appeared in another prestige TV drama, "Sons of Anarchy." As Goggins shared with us in an interview, he joined the show because series creator Kurt Sutter claimed he could never cast him because he was too closely associated with his character on "The Shield." Goggins took offense to that and suggested that he play a trans character on the show. Sutter agreed and wrote a character, Venus Van Dam, just for Goggins. (Sutter has admitted he wouldn't cast a cis actor to play the role today.)

Venus joins the show when SAMCRO hires her to blackmail a city council member. She becomes an important character on the series and develops a romantic relationship with Tig (Kim Coates). But while Tig is her main love interest, she also shares a kiss with Jax (Charlie Hunnam), and Goggins told us that moment was unscripted.

"Venus did what she would have done to the person in charge, which is flirt in a very harmless, very sweet way," Goggins said, describing his decision to add this kiss. Because Hunnam didn't see it coming, his reaction seems sincere, adding a sweetness to the scene. "The look on Jax's face was not repulsion, not revulsion ... it was just like a child. It was like a sensation Jax had never felt before," Goggins explained.

Romance is just as important as medicine on "Grey's Anatomy," to the point where one wonders how the characters get any work done with all their off- and on-the-clock canoodling. While some of the relationships have been very silly, others have been groundbreaking, like the relationship between Callie (Sara Ramirez) and Arizona (Jessica Capshaw). That couple, known as "Calzona" by fans, represented two of the longest-running queer characters in TV history, and their relationship made a huge impact on LGBTQ representation.

Though the kiss we're discussing today is technically a same-gender kiss featuring a lesbian character, it falls very much on the silly side of things. Before Alex's (Justin Chambers) controversial send-off, he and Jo (Camilla Luddington) got married in the Season 14 finale, which also happened to be Arizona's last day in Seattle. Bucking tradition, Jo comes over to the house to tell Alex she got a prestigious fellowship. In her excitement, she kisses Alex on the lips and then turns to kiss Arizona, as well, before returning to her husband-to-be. Arizona seems surprised by the gesture, as evidenced by the squeak she lets out.

As it turns out, Capshaw's surprise in the scene was genuine because the kiss was improvised. As Luddington wrote on X, "It was unscripted but I thought hello?!!! Who wouldn't want to also smooch Arizona Robbins."

The criminally underrated CBS series "Person of Interest" might not be the first project that comes to mind when you think of Taraji P. Henson, but for fans of the show, her character, Joss Carter, made an impact. An NYPD detective, she first met John Reese (Jim Caviezel) when he was at his lowest, arresting him after he got into a fight with a group of young men on the subway. This was before Reese started working with Finch (Michael Emerson), which gave his life meaning again.

In the Season 3 episode "Crossing," during a quiet moment in an intense episode, Reese finally shares how much Carter means to him. He tells her that she saved his life when she arrested him that night on the subway, as he had been planning to kill himself. "You changed my mind, Joss," Reese tells her, before planting a soft kiss on her lips.

Speaking with TVLine about her final episode, Henson told us the kiss was improvised on Caviezel's part. "I'm really a very spontaneous actress, so if somebody is going to try something new, I like them to just do it," she explained. When Caviezel told her he wanted to do something different than what was in the script, she told him not to tell her, so her reaction would be natural. Henson was surprised, but also emotional about leaving the show, giving the scene an extra note of tenderness.

Though "Stranger Things" begins in the small town of Hawkins, Indiana, the monsters go global in Season 4. The previous season, Hopper (David Harbour) and Joyce (Winona Ryder) investigate a massive conspiracy involving a secret Soviet base in Hawkins and the powerful machine it housed. Though they foil the Soviets' plan, Hopper is captured and taken to a Soviet prison. At the beginning of Season 4, Joyce learns about Hopper's imprisonment and eventually travels to the Soviet Union to rescue him.

Hopper and Joyce have a lot of history up to this point, but the main thing you need to know is that they've had sexual tension for years and almost went on a date once. In a moment of downtime in the final episode of Season 4, he and Joyce share a steamy kiss, fantasizing about the date that never was.

Their long-awaited first kiss was in the script, but their second kiss wasn't. Also in the finale, Hopper goes off to fight some monsters again, and Joyce implores him to be careful, because she doesn't want to hold another funeral for him. Hopper tells her it's going to be okay and gives her a sweet kiss on the lips. The "Stranger Things" writers revealed the kiss was Harbour and Ryder's idea, earning the gratitude of "Jopper" fans everywhere.