Bennifer - Primetime Television

Primetime Television

See also: List of primetime supercouples

Primetime television incorporates supercouple formulas similar to those of soap operas, though to a lesser degree. One featured paradigm is the love-hate relationship plot line. In the television series Dynasty, characters Krystle and Blake (Linda Evans and John Forsythe) are seen fighting for years, through ex-lovers and a host of other interferences. Krystle winds up in a coma and Blake spends years in jail, but their love eventually wins out over their problems. This resulted in the couple subsequently becoming one of television's classic supercouples. Other early primetime power couplings include Ricky and Lucy (Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball) from I Love Lucy, Pam and Bobby (Victoria Principal and Patrick Duffy) from Dallas, and Cliff and Clair Huxtable (Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashād) from The Cosby Show, among others.

Television shows also produce tragic love stories, such as Buffy and Angel from the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The pairing's persistent fight to be together is considered to have cemented their place in supercouple history. Voted #2 on IGN's list of Top 10 Favorite TV Couples, and #5 on AOL's list of Greatest TV Couples of All Time, the sites categorized the pairing as "the ultimate" star-crossed couple. The pairing's main predicament — unable to experience sexual intimacy without Angel losing his humanity — has been summarized by IGN:

After all, when you're a Vampire Slayer, it hardly seems like the appropriate person to fall for would be a Vampire. But fall for Angel Buffy did, setting up one of the most involving and tragic love stories we can remember on TV. After all, it's pretty rare for one half of a great couple to go from gentle and caring to sadistic and murderous in the course of a single night…and spurred on by having sex with the girl he loves no less.

Creator of the series, Joss Whedon, said, "'Becoming', Parts 1 and 2...really sort of charted the main points of the Buffy/Angel relationship in all its difficulty and romance." Buffy's portrayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar, said, "I think deep down Buffy will always love Angel and she will never love anyone the way in which she loves him. I think they found a wonderful supercouple in Buffy and Angel."

Certain shows may not be adequately suited for a tragic-love storyline. For comedies, the approach of pairing mismatched couples is also often applied, and for dramas, there tends to be a "will-they-won't-they" setup. Website Cinemablend states that there are two general formulas for a "will-they-wont-they" setup. "The first one is when one person pursues the other, then finally gives up and dates someone else," the site stated, "and the other scenario is when the two characters are so different and often do not get along with one another, they fight and argue constantly, but then one thing or a series of 'things' happen and they are forced to put up with each other." Examples of popular couples cited for having displayed this formula are Buffy and Spike (of Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Ross and Rachel (of the show Friends), Logan and Veronica (of the show Veronica Mars), among others. One of the well-known "will-they-won't-they" setups is the sexual-tension filled relationship of supercouple Agent Fox Mulder and Agent Dana Scully from the science fiction/thriller series The X-Files. Mulder and Scully, two FBI agents investigating cases that involve the paranormal, are showcased as having a relationship which borders on subtle hints of romance throughout the series without the two being heavily romantically involved. Though anticipation for Mulder and Scully to romantically commit to each other had existed for years among the show's fanbase, the pairing's romantic intimacy was not written as soon as fans would have hoped for; when the two are finally shown sharing a kiss in 1999 after seven seasons of buildup, some viewers felt the show waited too long to script the event. Critics state that in such cases, if a series extends sexual tension for "too long" before finally acting on romantic intimacy between the characters, it can result in viewers feeling that the best part of the pairing's buildup was their "will-they-won't-they" status.

With some fictional supercouples from soap opera or primetime, the couple may have started out as an unexpected pairing and with or without a paradigm. Due to viewers becoming excited over the prospect of chemistry between the two, the show's producers and writers later decide to pair them.