Galentine's Day: 30 female friendships on TV to celebrate

While Valentine's Day is to celebrate being in love, Feb. 13 is all about celebrating your love for female friendships. The nonofficial holiday dubbed "Galentine's Day" was invented on Parks and Recreation by Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler)  as a day for "ladies celebrating ladies." To honor the occasion, EW has compiled a list of 30 of the best female friendships found on TV.

Roommates–turned–close pals (and confidants) Blanche (Rue McClanahan), Rose (Betty White), Dorothy (Bea Arthur), and Sophia (Estelle Getty) formed a solid enough unit that after seven seasons of hilarity and shenanigans, it was viewers who wanted to say, "Thank you for being friends."

It's no surprise that everyone's favorite Parks Department employee, Leslie Knope, came up with Galentine's Day. After all, even a casual fan of the show could tell how much she valued her female friends — especially best friend (and beautiful tropical fish) Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones). And, for her part, Ann was just as supportive back, even eating an entire cheesecake for her best pal when requested.

One of the things that made Hillman seem like such a dream school was the firm friendships the characters on A Different World formed with one another, especially the women. Despite their differences, Jaleesa (Dawnn Lewis), Kimberly (Charnele Brown), Freddie (Cree Summer), Whitley (Jasmine Guy), and (briefly) Denise (Lisa Bonet), all supported and stood up for each other, be it for a moral cause or simply in matters of friendship.

There isn't much Rebecca (Rachel Bloom) and Paula (Donna Lynne Champlin) wouldn't do for each other — there's a whole song about it — be it offer romantic advice or babysit the other's kid for a whole day. Thus making the duo's friendship the core relationship of the entire series... Unfortunately for Josh Chan.

Every pair of BFFs wishes they had a TV show about their lives. In the case of Abbi (Abbi Jacobson) and Ilana (Ilana Glazer), it's actually true, with the whole comedy series revolving around their offscreen friendship. Be it disposing of poop to avoid being embarrassed in front of a love interest or biking the other to their chiropractor appointment, these ladies always have each other's backs.

Within minutes of meeting each other, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Cristina (Sandra Oh) became each other's "person," something both doctors would keep returning to over the years on Grey's Anatomy as Meredith processed her dark and twisty ways (and relationship with Derek) and Cristina attempted to find a work-love balance in her quest to become a cardio god.

Given their easy and warm-hearted camaraderie, it's hard to believe that Taystee (Danielle Brooks) and Poussey (Samira Wiley) are not childhood best friends, but only bonded out of circumstance. Over four seasons of Orange Is the New Black, viewers were treated to a complex, layered friendship that weathered all kinds of strain — until (sadly) it ended all too soon.

I Love Lucy was remarkable for a number of reasons, one of which was the close friendship between Lucy (Lucille Ball) and Ethel (Vivian Vance). While their husbands (Ricky and Fred) were off at work, both women spent their time entertaining us as they cooked up one harebrained scheme after the other, resulting in some iconic sitcom moments.

During its eight-season run, Girlfriends saw its core four deal with all kinds of problems spanning from the romantic to issues with kids and family. But despite all the ups and downs, Joan (Tracee Ellis Ross), Maya (Golden Brooks), Lynn (Persia White), and Toni (Jill Marie Jones) — mostly — stood by each other's side, proving that sometimes your friends can be your family.

Laverne and Shirley may have been a study in opposites, but both women (Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams) — who actually started out as Fonzie and Richie's dates on Happy Days before getting their own spin-off — quickly became best friends who were there for each other both at work and in their personal lives.

Xena's (Lucy Lawless) traveling companion, Gabrielle (Renée O'Connor), remained beside her through thick and thin as they faced down gods and monsters on the warrior princess' quest to right her former wrongs. Unfortunately for fans, the pair was never able to transition their close (and romantically tinged) friendship into something more.

While the show never really revolved around Mary's (Mary Tyler Moore) love life — instead choosing to focus on her career — it did feature Mary's close friendships with the women in her life, the most prominent of which was best pal Rhoda (Valerie Harper). Though the show's pilot initially featured both women butting heads, that didn't last long as they became fast friends.

Not many friends would give up their overseas jobs, move in with you, and help you raise your newborn baby. But Emma (Jessica St. Clair) put the "best" in BFF when she did just that, giving Maggie (Lennon Parham) the support she needed on this rib-tickling, small town comedy.

The demon-hunting duo of this Netflix series may have found themselves in each other's orbit following a set of supernatural circumstances, but over the course of the too-short first (and only) season, the women (Cara Theobold and Susan Wokoma) forged a tight bond as they went up against various denizens of hell.

Every masked vigilante needs a loyal, tech-savvy partner, and Ophelia (Taylor Dearden) becomes exactly that to Jules' (Eliza Bennett) avenging angel. But as the MTV series' first season quickly demonstrates, the girls' friendship isn't just rooted in their shared quest for justice for sexually assaulted women — it also manifests itself in their desire to support one another emotionally.

The Disney series was as much about Maya's (Sabrina Carpenter) growth as it was Riley's (Rowan Blanchard), with both girls learning some hard lessons on their journey to taking on the world. As tricky as middle school and high school got, both girls knew they could count on each other to bring the thunder and lightning in each other's lives.

Jessica (Constance Wu) and Honey (Chelsey Crisp) may have bonded over their love of Stephen King and a mutual dislike of the rest of their neighbors on Fresh Off the Boat, but their friendship became much deeper over the course of the show, with each one's family serving as an extended family of sorts for the other.

As Archie comics fans know, Betty (Lili Reinhart) and Veronica (Camila Mendes) have a complicated friendship. But Riverdale simplified things on that front — at least for the beginning of the series — with both girls setting aside their feelings for Archie Andrews in favor of supporting one another...and, when the show calls for it, standing up to the patriarchy.

An unfortunate mix-up may have led both girls into each other's lives, but the choice to become friends and stick up for each other was entirely Bay (Vanessa Marano) and Daphne's (Katie Leclerc), something that became increasingly evident in Switched at Birth's final season.

Bonnie (Kat Graham) and Elena's (Nina Dobrev) friendship weathered quite a few supernatural storms, including Bonnie's witch powers and Elena's transformation into a vampire. If things couldn't get trickier on the show, both BFFs' lives were linked by a curse, with Elena supposedly only being able to come out of her magically-induced coma if Bonnie were to die. Though it took some time, Bonnie figured out how to use her powers to break the curse and Elena woke up, reuniting the besties once again.

Rosa (Stephanie Beatriz) may have joined in on the squad's perpetual teasing of Amy (Melissa Fumero), but when push came to shove — and a Halloween title was on the line — the tough-as-nails detective easily supported her more organized colleague's plans. After all, as she told Amy early in season 1 of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, "We work in a police force full of dudes. We got to have each other's backs, okay?"

Ostensibly the hardest part about Liv's (Rose McIver) transformation into a zombie was being unable to tell friends and family about her new predicament. Luckily for everyone's favorite brain-eating medical examiner, she and Peyton (Aly Michalka) were able to work through the big reveal and regain their former closeness.

As season 1 of the highly acclaimed Marvel series revealed, Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) has had a hard life — one that only gets tougher. Fortunately for the private detective, she has her best friend and adoptive sister Trish (Rachael Taylor), to turn to in her time of need.

Living a lie isn't easy, but it's certainly much more manageable when you have a best friend that not only encourages you to seize new opportunities but also counsels you on facing consequences — as is the case with Liza's (Sutton Foster) friendship with Maggie (Debi Mazar).

Possibly the only upside of being stalked and tortured by A (and later A.D., and Uber A) is that it allowed the four girls to form a tight-knit support group as they attempted to cope with their increasingly terrifying circumstances.

While Harvey and Mike's friendship was central to Suits, Donna (Sarah Rafferty) and Rachel (Meghan Markle) bond with one another was just as pivotal. Not only was Donna there for Rachel during Mike's trial (and before that, her wedding planning), but Rachel was always there to lend an ear should Donna need to vent.

Young & Hungry best friends Gabi (Emily Osment) and Sofia (Aimee Carrero) might have been living together and trying to stretch every last dollar, but at least the pair could turn to each other for comfort and support as they navigated both Gabi's relationship with Josh and Sofia's career goals.

Being the slayer isn't easy. Fortunately for Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar), she could always count on Willow (Alyson Hannigan). As the redheaded teenager slowly discovered (and then came into) her own magical abilities, she was able to go from assisting her slayer pal with research, to actually facing a few big bads on her own.

Jane (that's Rizzoli, played by Angie Harmon) was a badass detective who only brushed her hair because she might run into her mother, and Maura (Isles, played by Sasha Alexander) was a chic, put-together medical examiner. Together, they not only solved crimes and put away bad guys; they showed the power such a pair-up can have.

You didn't really think we could do this gallery without this fab foursome, did you?