When the world is stressful (and when isn’t it lately?), on-screen romance can be more than an escape. Done right, it’s a reminder of just how powerful love is — and how satisfying it is when those characters finally get together!
The best TV kisses of 2025 bring both the sweet and the spicy. From long-awaited first kisses to big declarations after will-they-won’t-they drama, they each feel special and just right to their characters. We could all use a little more romance like this in our lives! Here are our favorite TV smooches from the year that was.
Max and Ellis, Wild Cards
Season 2 brought new depth to the crime-solving partners’ relationship as they rebuild from betrayal. When a mid-season case strands them alone (and accidentally stoned) overnight, things go to a whole new level. We love the intimacy of Ellis’s storytelling about his brother and the tenderness of Max’s promise to be there for him. Who knew “I’ll be your cricket” could be such a romantic line?! When they do finally lock lips, it’s actually quite sweet. And, despite their next-morning excuses, it also gives us a preview of what’s hopefully to come in the future for them!
Lucy and Tim, The Rookie
The Chenford separation in Season 7 hurt our hearts! But it also gave us one heck of a steamy interlude, and one of our best TV kisses of 2025. Unable to ignore the attraction still simmering between them when Valentine’s Day rolls around, the pair let themselves give in. Their Valentine’s hookup is “just” a one-night stand, “just” a way to scratch the itch (or so they say). But we know the truth: that kind of chemistry doesn’t go away, and their journey back together is the best kind of TV.
Del and Colton, The Way Home
I know, I know, the context is… less than ideal, but hear me out! It’s magical to see Del and Colton’s whirlwind love story in the 1970s. Their first date does not exactly go to plan, with Colton putting his foot in his mouth and Del getting motion sick. She’s embarrassed, but he first serenades her with “Waterloo,” then sweetly kisses her despite her having been sick. He simply doesn’t care about anything else — he just wants to be with her — and that sets the tone for their entire romance.
Tobias and Gabin, Étoile
Yep, I’m still plenty salty about Étoile‘s abrupt un-renewal. Thank goodness, then, that the show had the good sense to give us one of the best TV kisses of 2025 before the end! Tobias and Gabin are both… difficult people, to say the least, but somehow they sneak in past each other’s guards. So when Tobias sees Gabin dance his choreography to perfection, after they’ve both made public speeches (the horror!) that hint at their feelings, is it any wonder he strides out onstage to kiss his leading man right then and there?
Janine and Gregory, Abbott Elementary
There’s nothing more satisfying than a romance that unfolds in a way that feels completely natural to the characters. Janine and Gregory have been together for a little while now, so their sweet (and just a little bit comic) first “I love you” felt like it came at the perfect time. They capped off their declarations with plenty of heart-eyes and a gorgeous, swoonworthy kiss. Best sitcom ship on TV? It just might be! And it definitely deserves to be one of the best TV kisses of 2025.
Mark and Helly, Severance
The ethical dilemmas of the show’s dual-identity premise means that any Severance romance always has a bittersweet undertone. But there’s something so rom-com perfect about the brief moment where, after secretly hooking up, Helly asks Mark if their tryst was “different” than his unwitting one with her outie, Helena. He very gently crowds her against a corridor wall and kisses her. We talk a lot about Jake Johnson as one of modern TV’s best on-screen kissers, but we need to talk about Adam Scott, too!
Larry and Marian, The Gilded Age
Despite airing on HBO, The Gilded Age usually keeps its romance highly decorous. That’s why it feels positively giddy to watch Marian and Larry’s secret courtship. It’s all about the stolen gazes and brushes of hands. When Larry pulls Marian into an empty carriage just to kiss her, it’s not especially steamy by modern standards, but it’s thrillingly romantic, and definitely one of the best TV kisses of 2025.
Mabel and Honoria, The Buccaneers
Season 2 of The Buccaneers was polarizing, to say the least, especially when it came to its romances. The brightest spot, however, was Mabel and Honoria’s romance, especially as it tied to Honoria’s own growth. When her mother brushes off her wishes to live her own life, Honoria proves that she will do so with or without permission — by kissing Mabel in full view of their friends and Honoria’s shocked mother.
Belly and Conrad, The Summer I Turned Pretty
The YA drama’s final season was, at its heart, all about Belly and Conrad finding their way back to each other. And once they did, goodness does the show deliver! A sweet kiss under the Parisian moonlight turns into a Gossip Girl-esque taxi makeout before they stumble into the stairwell of Belly’s building, and, eventually, her bed. It manages that all-too-rare feat of being both scorching-hot and desperately tender.
Ellen and Brian, Outlander: Blood of My Blood
The Outlander spinoff divides our time between the intersecting romances of both Claire’s and Jamie’s parents. But ultimately, it’s the future Frasers whose steamy smooch ranks as one of the best TV kisses of 2025. When they sneak away to bind their union — against the wishes of… pretty much everyone around them — Brian offers Ellen one last chance to walk it back. “Ruin me,” she tells him instead, with a searing kiss and love scene that’s up there with Outlander‘s best.
Tony and Ziva, NCIS: Tony and Ziva
How many ships are still going strong (and getting new material) 20 years later? The latest NCIS spinoff gave longtime Tiva shippers everything they ever wanted. While there are other scenes that are more emotional, we’re partial to the pure wanting on display in a circa-2020 Episode 3 flashback, where the pair wind up at Tony’s place for a giggly, giddy, and downright steamy hookup.
James and Ruby, Maxton Hall
Maxton Hall wastes absolutely zero time getting us back into Ruby and James’s romance. Literally: the first scene of Season 2 features the kind of kiss and love scene that feels pulled from a romance novel. It’s all closeups on hands and faces, dappled sunlight, and whispered declarations. Sure, it all goes to hell soon after, but it’s still one of the best TV kisses of 2025!
Sam and Emily, Mistletoe Murders
If I had a nickel for every time a quirky-procedural will-they-won’t-they ship got stuck in a freezer and had a heart-to-heart… well, you know. Except, where my beloved Castle didn’t go there with Rick and Kate (at least at that point), Mistletoe Murders takes a different tactic. Sam and Emily both have plenty of regrets, but, trapped in a walk-in freezer and in danger, they make sure that this is one thing they don’t regret.
Shane and Ilya, Heated Rivalry
The sheer amount of romance content in this show makes it hard to choose just one. But I do what I must! At the All-Star Game, Shane takes Ilya up on his offer to hook up in Ilya’s hotel room, leading to a scene that strikes the perfect balance between make-you-blush steam and make-you-giggle romance. That moment where Ilya scoops Shane up and deposits him on the bed, all without breaking their kiss, bathed in warm-toned lighting and deep shadows? That’s pure, playful (and yet still very hot) romance!
