Top 10 Television Bromances
Many television shows make an effort to develop the relationships between their main characters and their designated best buds. These shows thrive on this element, having these relationships jump through hoops and hurdles to stand the test of time. These ten bromances represent the best groups of buddies on television.
10. Craig Ferguson and Geoff Peterson (The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson)
This friendship only started recently, with Geoff Peterson joining “The Late Late Show” in 2010 as Ferguson’s “robot skeleton sidekick.” As if Ferguson’s late night bits weren’t funny enough, Peterson’s quips and hilarious one-liners by comedian Josh Robert Thompson make the monologues and rants by an angry, cussy Scotsman all the more enjoyable. This is one bromance that’s likely to last a good while, “… in your pants!”
9. Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble (The Flintstones)
Let’s travel to the stomping grounds of Bedrock where our portly protagonist, Fred Flintstone, likes to bowl, golf and chow down with a bowl of Cocoa Pebbles. But where would he be without his best friend and next-door neighbor Barney Rubble. Cool and levelheaded, Barney keeps Fred in check and can usually deal with Fred’s impulsive and short-tempered behavior. The only time they really duke it out is when cereal gets involved. Sharing is caring, guys. Yabba-Dabba Do, y’all!
8. Cory Matthews and Shawn Hunter (Boy Meets World)
If you grew up in the ‘90s, “Boy Meets World” was the show everyone watched to see the hijinks of the Matthews’ family and friends. But the show wouldn’t have gone anywhere without two awesome best friends, Cory and Shawn. Cory lived the good life while Shawn dealt with family troubles for most of the series. These guys represented the kind of friendship everyone had or wished they had when life hits you in the face. It’s too bad Mr. George Feeny had to make their lives miserable, even through college!
7. Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza (Seinfeld)
“Seinfeld” stills holds up as one of the greatest sitcoms to hit television. With a stellar cast and hilarious writing, the show was unstoppable. New Yorkers Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza showed us that having a show about nothing could be something, and they did it together. Whether it was battling a soup Nazi or learning about the horrors of “shrinkage,” you could always sit down at the local diner and grab a cup of coffee with these two guys. These two guys were such great friends that they convinced a NYU reporter they were lovers. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
6. Dr. Gregory House and Dr. James Wilson (House)
Gregory House is a great character to love and to hate, as many of his coworkers prefer the latter at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. But luckily for House, there’s our favorite oncologist, James Wilson, who unlike the rest of the hospital voluntarily puts up with House’s destructive behavior and mostly unlovable personality. When the death of Wilson’s girlfriend was caused partially by House in season four, Wilson tried to cut House out of his life with failed results. Wilson found that despite all of House’s flaws as a human being, he enjoys his company.
5. Philip J. Fry and Bender “Bending” Rodriguez (Futurama)
Goofy protagonists and foul-mouthed robots are a popular duo, and not one is better than Fry and Bender. When Fry wakes up from cryosleep 1,000 years in the future, Bender is about hop in a suicide booth for eternal destruction. Luckily, dim-witted Fry ends up foiling Bender’s plan and the two guys share a drink in a local bar. Bender’s hardly what you call a great friend, being a human-hating kleptomaniac, but no one’s more fun to hang with for a night of debauchery.
4. Detectives Dave Starsky and Ken “Hutch” Hutchinson (Starsky and Hutch)
If you see a red Gran Torino coming your way, you better straighten up. This cop duo makes for a classic example of bromance, but stray too much into the ambiguously gay zone. It might just have been the vibe or writing of the show, but something tells me these guys were more than buddy cops. Nevertheless, Starsky and Hutch make for a killer team to clean up the dirty streets of SoCal.
3. Dr. Sean McNamara and Dr. Christian Troy (Nip/Tuck)
Best friends since medical school, Sean McNamara and Christian Troy are living the high life in Miami with one of the top plastic surgery practices in the city. These two money-making machines are polar opposites: Sean -- the incapable family man -- and Christian -- the sex-crazed lady killer -- get the chance to tackle some of the most absurd cases in plastic surgery. These two guys value their friendship almost unrealistically. When Sean finds out his teenage son is in fact Christian’s, the two make amends a few episodes later. While it’s unrealistic, it definitely makes for great television.
2. Batman and Robin (Batman)
“Holy smokes Batman!” When the Joker is causing mayhem on the streets of Gotham City, flash a bat in the sky and you’ll have the bravest crime-fighting duo there in a flash to save the day. These guys, despite their awful costumes, can open a whole hearty can of whoopass that you don’t want coming your way. Criminals, beware!
1. Bert and Ernie (Sesame Street)
All jokes aside, Bert and Ernie have been teaching kids about friendship since the late ‘60s. They’re intended goal was to show viewers that two people could be friends despite being very different from one another. Ernie usually finds some crazy idea and tries to make things work, much to the chagrin of his realistic roomie, Bert. Luckily Bert is around to act as the voice of reason for Ernie’s hare-brained ideas. Regardless of your views on the “Sesame Street” duo, Bert and Ernie will continue to be “just friends.”
What are some of your favorite bromances on television?
Be sure to check out my picks for the Top 10 Most Shocking TV Character Deaths here.
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Do you remember the show Home improvement? I liked the awkward friendship between Tim Allen and Richard Karn when their characters were testing out new tools and ideas.
Your idea sure gets the wheels turning....my fave are George Lopez and his buddy since childhood, Ernie, in the George Lopez Show! Love your pick of Batman & Robin, I remember "playing" the dynamic duo with friends in the neighborhood, we would fly out of trees and do all sorts of thing to make ourselves feel like we were really them! lol!
From the list you have I have to say House is my favorite, that show is hilarious. Someone once mentioned they liked it for the drama, I had to ask, "What drama" Just think the show is too funny to take at a drama level.
It's obviously difficult to know of all the tv bromance couples out there. However, I believe that Turk and JD's bromance in scrubs far exceeds any other television pairing. There is even a song entitled 'guy love', that they sing together on the show! Cool article.
I unfortunately was not a fan of Scrubs, but of course there are plenty of other bromances that are not represented in this list.
How could you miss J.D & Turk from Scrubs? Its like they coined the term "Bromance".