Like we said in our TV Ships of the Year for 2025 list, love makes the world go round and round and round. And while LGBTQ+ ships have made it on multiple of our lists here on Fangirlish, they deserve their own list where we celebrate the fact that love is love.
The couples on this list have made viewers feel seen, understood, and a little less lonely in a world that continues to invalidate or question our love. They have fallen in love, conquered apocalyptic worlds together, shared intimate & groundbreaking moments, and gotten their happily ever after. Oh, and let’s not forget, they were also messy together.
Whether on a drama, procedural, or comedy, here’s our favorite LGBTQ+ ships of 2025!*
Note: All the LGBTQ+ ships on this list are canon.
1. Shane and Ilya, Heated Rivalry
Shane and Ilya are the perfect example of two different personalities clicking. And sure, they are a “situationship” for a long time before becoming a relationship, but that’s partly due to circumstance. If they’d been a straight couple, they would have been married by now. But they just weren’t afforded the luxury of being out and proud about their relationship. Not that it stopped them from falling in love.
Or, for becoming each other’s safe place. Because Shane is the one person who sees the full Ilya, the tender man underneath the cocky asshole. And Ilya is the one person who sees the funny, yet loving side of Shane. They’re truly soulmates, each other’s one and only. And we get to see all that come to fruition in Season 2. How lucky are we? – Lizzie
MORE: Heated Rivalry Showcases the Power of Representation—Can It Help Change the Game?
2. Ellie and Dina, The Last of Us
When it came to Dina, Ellie thought that a relationship between them was an impossibility. Dina was her friend, nothing more. But time and time again, Dina proved how ride or die she was for Ellie. Dina joined her on a dangerous mission to find Joel’s killer, traversed the wilds and city with the infected around every corner, and shared intimate secrets and moments with Ellie where the world narrowed down to just being them.
Then the moment came. Dina thought that she had lost Ellie, and she couldn’t deny her feelings anymore. And they just continued to choose each other, proving that love can find you at the end of the world. But love can also act as the fuel and guiding light as you take the next step and the one after that.
MORE: We’re still thinking about that ship defining moment for Ellie and Dina in The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 4!
3. Danny and Claude, The Four Seasons
The thing about Danny and Claude is that they can sometimes get a little dramatic, but they are anything but a stereotypical gay couple. Or, perhaps, we just don’t get enough loving, steady gay relationships, so they still feel like a breath of fresh air nonetheless. Because they love each other even though, sometimes, the little things are a little bit bigger than they need to be.
And they are there for each other for perhaps the most important thing a couple needs to be! To gossip about their friends! Jk, but also not. Because look, romance is well and all… but sometimes one of the best things about having a partner is the quiet moments with them where you can share, even if what you share is your impressions about what’s happening in someone else’s life. – Lizzie
MORE: The Four Seasons’ Filming Locations Are a Vacation Dream
4. Sophie and Margo, The Hunting Wives
Sophie and Margo are a mess on The Hunting Wives. And in a lot of respects, they shouldn’t be together. In fact, maybe they should stay far, far, far away from each other. But maybe that’s why they should be together. They match each other’s freak, chaos, and drama. And they would be saving the general population from each other because they’re together.
Their chemistry also sparked conversations about terrible people being terrible together. Because if heterosexual ships on TV can be a dumpster fire and people still ship them, then sapphic couples deserve the same energy. And that’s absolutely what Sophie and Margo are.
5. T.K. and Carlos, 9-1-1: Lone Star
Happily ever after on a procedural look like T.K and Carlos. It wasn’t a straight road, and it had its bumps, but it looked like them facing a lot of obstacles side by side and figuring out how to communicate with each other and how to be there for one another at difficult times. And perhaps the best part about their relationship is that they were not the same people throughout the entire journey.
No, but T.K. and Carlos grew individually and together, because that’s what you do as a couple, you help each other grow, and then you adjust as a couple to that growth. You make each other better, and then you build a life that works for both of you. And we know that, wherever they are right now, they’re living their happily ever after. – Lizzie
6. Charlie and Vaggie, Hazbin Hotel
Charlie and Vaggie have always been a steady presence on Hazbin Hotel. But it’s in Season 2 where they really proved that yes, you can go through a couple of bumps together and still make it out on the other side. Because that’s how relationships work. There’s push and pull where maybe Vaggie has to support Charlie a little more but Vaggie is allowed to be frustrated and express that. What matters is that they continue to choose each other.
If anything, we’re crossing our fingers and hoping for more romantic songs in Season 3, like the one below, because of how essential their relationship is to the hotel and the story overall.
MORE: We prayed for moments like the one in Hazbin Hotel Season 2 Episode 6!
7. Hen and Karen, 9-1-1
Hen and Karen on 9-1-1 moved heaven and Earth in Season 9. Well, a space shuttle to be exact. These two have always found their way back to each other, especially through the multiple ups and downs they’ve had over the years. And in Season 8 they saw their fight to keep their family together come to an end as Mara came home. Thank God.
In Season 9 we saw Karen doing everything in her power to get Hen back home after their space mission goes awry. (If you’re reading this without watching the show, I’m sorry.) But even before that, Hen thought of Karen. She thought of how her rocket scientist wife would love to go to space because that’s her dream. And when it turned out Karen couldn’t, our rocket scientist encouraged her wife to still go. Because they lift each other up. No matter what. They’re partners first.
8. Hero and Cherry, 100 Nights of Hero
Hero and Cherry found freedom in each other. Cherry in particular lived through Hero’s stories and realized that she didn’t want this life with set rules and expectations. She wanted more. And if she had the chance, she wanted it to be with the kind, curious, and revolutionary that was Hero. When the moment for them to choose their love or regret, they chose each other, cementing themselves as legends in 100 Nights of Hero.
MORE: 100 Nights of Hero Review: A Queer Fairy Tale Where Storytelling is Resistance
9. Charley and Yuri, School Spirits
These kids might be stuck in an endless purgatory in high school, but it doesn’t have to be as dark as it was when they were alive, and that’s the joy that we see in Charley and Yuri embracing their love for one another in School Spirits Season 2.
Their story is about second chances and hope—it’s about honest conversations and appreciating each other’s quirks. It’s about the love that finds you just when you think it’ll never happen, and it’s such a joy to watch them throughout the season. And it’s the heart and longing we get in each of their interactions that shows us how finding your person can make every terrible thing that’s incoming more bearable. – Gissane
10. Dr. Tara Lewis & AUSA Rebecca Wilson, Criminal Minds: Evolution
2025 was a huge year for Tarbecca. Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18 Episode 2, which was directed by the closest thing we could get to Tara herself (Aisha Tyler), opened with a love scene that was just very them. There was love, there was playfulness, there was chemistry…and there were still some doubts about whether or not Tara could let herself really, truly get close enough to anyone to be emotionally vulnerable.
Tara and Rebecca’s engagement in front of the BAU family ended up being one of the best ship moments of 2025. Because, really, they deserve it. Not to mention, they have a much, much better chance of staying as happy and as close as ever now that Tara was able to work through everything that was holding her back. If Aisha Tyler and Nicole Pacent have been killing it with bringing Tarbecca to life up to this point, we really can’t wait to see what they do next. – Shana
