TV Couples with the BEST On-Screen Chemistry

11/1/2013

There are some TV couples with no chemistry and then there are couples that make you wish you had a fraction of the chemistry they generate on the screen. Below are my selections of current TV couples with great chemistry.

Chemistry between two actors, or its lack thereof, is often cited in critic reviews—it consists of two people who are utterly present in the moment, truly seeing each other, listening to each other and allowing themselves to be emotionally naked together, open to the throes of rage, lust or any other combination of feelings—not hiding behind their characters. Discerning audiences can tell when that’s happening for real—and when it’s not.

It’s about making it all about the other person.... You have to be able to look at another person and say, ‘I don’t know what it is but we have a shared human experience if you look back far enough, and that makes you just as real as me.’

It’s scary to look someone in the eye and be human and vulnerable in front of the camera or audience. But that’s a part of acting, the willingness to be vulnerable—vulnerable enough to imagine the kind of intense intimacy required—and trust that in the world of the rehearsal and performance, if your character gets hurt, you yourself won’t personally suffer.

Below are some of my favorite TV characters because of their on-screen chemistry. Who are yours?