17 of the most long-awaited kisses in TV history

Few storylines are as filled with such potent implications as the "will they kiss" dance on television, and, for all the buildup, not every show nails the execution. It is easy to ruin the tense magic that keeps everyone guessing from season to season, so no rushed romances on this list. These TV couples are all about the proper timing and lead up, which means all of these series stars had to wait three seasons before smooching — a lifetime in both television and fandoms. But the anticipation? Well, these long-awaited kisses made the desire worth it. 

Caroline Julian (Patricia Belcher) gave Bones fans a Christmas miracle in the series' second holiday outing. The federal prosecutor used her influence to blackmail Booth (David Boreanaz) and Brennan (Emily Deschanel) into a mistletoe kiss, forcing the partners to stop bantering their way from crime scene to crime scene and confront their chemistry — even if only for a few minutes. Brennan's gum was in Booth's mouth by the end of the lip-lock, but it took another two seasons for the pair to admit that they'd had some practice: They actually kissed on their first case. We couldn't have just opened the show there? —Kelly Connolly

From the moment Oliver (Stephen Amell) and Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) met in Arrow's first season, fans were clamoring for a union. But Ollie wasn't quite done with the other women in his life. Plus, he had this idea that he couldn't be the Arrow and be with Felicity. It wasn't until the season 2 finale that he first confessed his love for Felicity, and, even then, it was all part of a ploy to beat Deathstroke (Jeffrey C. Robinson). But thankfully, when season 3 premiered, fans learned that not only had Oliver's confession come from a genuine place, but he was ready to prove his feelings with a kiss. Sadly for them, it took a few more ups and downs before they'd fully commit to each other at the end of season 3. —Samantha Highfill

Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) hardly needed a man to complete her life, which was spent fulfilling her dream of serving Pawnee, the best town in the world, hanging out with her beautiful tropical fish of a best friend Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones), and chowing down on waffles at JJ's Diner. But then Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) entered the picture at the end of Parks and Recreation's second season. Forbidden fruit due to his position as an auditor evaluating Pawnee's budget, Ben went from being a source of frustration for Leslie to a tempting romantic option. Though they tried to keep the relationship at bay throughout the third season, they kissed in the episode "Road Trip." While traveling to exotic Indianapolis for work together, they are physically interrupted by Chris Traeger (Rob Lowe) — and ethically interrupted by Chris' rule about workplace relationships. Upon their return to Pawnee, Leslie goes to drop off receipts from the trip to Chris, but he already left for the day. She hands the receipts to Ben and he kisses her. Leslie immediately kisses him right back, thus officially launching the show's public service power couple. They go on to try to keep their budding romance a secret, with Leslie even going through a trial because of the relationship, but the two eventually tie the knot in a department-worthy ceremony, complete with Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) walking Leslie down the aisle. —Madeline Boardman

The build-up to Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Elena's (Nina Dobrev) first kiss was, quite frankly, one of the best maneuvers of a love triangle on television. For three seasons, The Vampire Diaries perfected the art of giving fans what they want while staying true to its characters. For example, the season 1 finale had Damon kiss Elena's doppelgänger Katherine Pierce, only to later realize it wasn't actually Elena. The season 2 finale saw Elena, who was still in a relationship with Stefan (Paul Wesley), offer Damon a sweet peck on the lips as his dying wish. But it wasn't until 10 episodes into season 3 when Stefan's time away caught up to Damon and Elena. With both of them determined to get Stefan back from Klaus (Joseph Morgan), Damon knew his window of opportunity was closing. As he figured, if he was going to feel guilty for loving his brother's lady friend, he might as well give himself something real to feel guilty about. And after those two locked lips — twice — in season 3, Elena admitted her heart was still with Stefan. (But everything changed in season 4 when Elena became a vampire ... and so began the second big love story of her life.) — S.H.

Ever the writer, Castle (Nathan Fillion) took the old "kiss as a diversion" trick to new heights when he planted one on Beckett (Stana Katic) to lower a guard's defenses. The smooch started out romantic enough, but it really heated up when Beckett pulled back, decided that they weren't quite done, and went in for more, throwing two-and-a-half seasons of tension into the ruse. It's no surprise that the partners' make-out session fooled the guard; by that point, they were fooling themselves. — K.C.

When True Blood started, it was the love story of Sookie (Anna Paquin) and Bill (Stephen Moyer). But from the moment "bad boy" Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgård) showed up, there was a sense that Sookie was, well, intrigued. But it wasn't until season 3 that fans got an actual payoff to all the sexual tension building between the characters. After seasons filled with dream kisses and longing looks, it's when Eric believes he's headed to his true death that he decides he can't die without ever having kissed the woman he loves. And although it wouldn't be their last kiss, mostly thanks to an amnesia storyline, in the end, Sookie didn't end up with Eric…or Bill. —S.H.

In the beginning, Sheriff Romero (Nestor Carbonell) was a pain in Norma's (Vera Farmiga) side, constantly accusing her sons of committing various crimes. (Some of which he was probably right about.) But it didn't take long for Romero to fall victim to the charm of Norma Bates, and yet, despite numerous almost-kisses, the couple didn't actual lock lips until their wedding day. Let's back up: In order to get her son, Norman (Freddie Highmore), checked into a mental hospital, Norma and Romero lied about being married so that they could use Romero's insurance for Norman's care. Cut to the next episode, and not only are they following through on their lie, but their first kiss as husband and wife only leads to more romance. After all, they've been wanting to do this for four seasons now. —S.H.

Although the women in Rick Grimes' (Andrew Lincoln) life have a nasty habit of ending up dead, it was still exciting to see Rick and Michonne (Danai Gurira) kiss in "The Next World." (And at least thanks to Michonne's skill with the katana, there's less concern about her longevity.) The show had been setting up their friendship for seasons, with the two staying in the same house in Alexandria. And with the weeks of relative quiet the group faced — which the show skipped over — in season 6, there was plenty of time for that friendship to grow into something more. —Jonathon Dornbush

Quite literally the first scene of Gilmore Girls is an interaction between Luke (Scott Patterson) and Lorelai (Lauren Graham). She's asking him for coffee and he's judging her for her extreme caffeine addiction. Their chemistry was undeniable from day one, even to the folks within Stars Hollow. And yet somehow the show found a way to stretch out their love story for four seasons. There were fiancés, boyfriends, and even wives in their way, but thanks to a self-help book, season 4 was when Luke could no longer deny his affection for Lorelai. So on the night of the Dragonfly Inn's test run, he made his move, and Lorelai wasn't about to stop him. —S.H.

Joel (Rob Morrow) and Maggie (Janine Turner) heated up small-town Alaska with their (literal) roll in the hay, which came after nearly four seasons of push and pull between the city doctor and the bush pilot. Over the course of a single episode, the all-or-nothing pair went from violence — she broke his nose twice — to a kiss, to a fling in a barn, then blamed their tryst on the Coho winds. Their relationship never quite worked out in the end, but at least Joel met a better fate than the rest of Maggie's boyfriends. —K.C.

Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) caused Lisa Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) no less than three separate headaches every week on House, but their mutual respect (though House would hardly admit that) and attraction eventually caused their professional tension to be something more. Even as difficult as House could be to work with, the two eventually kissed (in the heat of arguing whether House thinks she'd be a good mother) in season 5's "Joy." While things inevitably go south, it was a moment in the making from the show's start, and left fans as shocked at the time as it did House and Cuddy. — J.D.

Even though he was a major villain at the start of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, fans were speculating about a possible romance between punk rock vampire Spike (James Marsters) and duty-bound fighter of evil Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) several seasons before they actually got together. The show threw the Spuffy fans a small bone in the season 4 episode "Something Blue" when a botched magic spell causes the pair to temporarily fall in love, but it wasn't until season 6 that they truly locked lips of their own free will. The long-awaited kiss came at the very end of one of the series' most memorable episodes, the original musical "Once More With Feeling." Unfortunately, it's far from smooth sailing for the Buffy-Spike romance after that: Spike proved his love for her by undergoing torment to gain a soul and then sacrificed his life to save her and the rest of the world. —Dylan Kickham

The real meaning of Y2K? You two kiss. While the rest of the world worried about systems crashing in the countdown to the year 2000, The X-Files was busy quietly moving Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) to the next level, bringing into focus the tension that had hummed in the background of the show since she dropped her robe for him in the pilot. The partners' New Year's kiss, chaste and sweet, served less as a breakthrough than as confirmation of what they already meant to each other. After seven years, what changed between Mulder and Scully was less important than what didn't: "The world didn't end." —K.C.

Shippers found Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) and Donna Moss (Janel Moloney) early on in The West Wing's 2000s run. The flirting, sexual tension, and charming banter was evident after just a few episodes of the show's first season. It only grew from there, evolving as they each dated other people, had individual brushes with death, and saw President Bartlett through his term in office. Seven seasons and nearly seven years after the September 22, 1999 premiere, Josh and Donna finally had their first real kiss. The two got together following a victory for the Santos campaign, celebrating the good news with a smooch. They go on to hook up repeatedly and struggle to define their relationship, leaving the future open as they close the series jetting off on a vacation together. —M.B.

From the moment Niles (David Hyde Pierce) laid eyes on Daphne (Jane Leeves) in the pilot, it was evident that he was infatuated with his father's physical therapist. But it took the show seven seasons before the couple locked lips for the first time. However, it was a kiss worth waiting for, because not only did it bring the couple together, but they stayed together, eventually getting married in season 10 when they eloped in Reno. — S.H.

Law & Order: SVU is the TV definition of a tease. For 12 seasons — 12! — they built the relationship between Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) and Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay). Yes, Elliot was married for some of it, but not all of it! And the love between Elliot and Olivia was not only evident, but it was the foundation of the show. Those two would do anything to save each other, and they often did. And yet, all fans ever got in the way of romance was a few, albeit very passionate, hugs. Then, Elliot's return with Law & Order: Organized Crime in 2021 seemed promising, but so far, all we've seen is a letter and a lot of missed opportunities. —S.H.

From the start of Sex Education, it was clear that Otis (Asa Butterfield) liked Maeve (Emma Mackey), but he was convinced she was out of his league. But over the course of season 1, Maeve, too, started to develop feelings for Otis. And yet, the two of them spent two and a half seasons showing us exactly what bad timing looked like. Then, in season 3, all it took was a terrible field trip for them to finally hash things out and for Otis to tell Maeve what she missed on his voicemail: That he loves her. She couldn't not kiss him after that! —S.H.