We’re proud of them all year long
While we had to bid adieu to several beloved LGBTQ TV characters in the last year, like Stede and Blackbeard of “Our Flag Means Death,” there are still a number of couples to root for on current series that has us feeling Pride all year long.
Let’s toast these fabulous partners who are there for each other despite fires, volcanos, wolves, government interference and their own sometimes foolish selves.
TK and Carlos on “9-1-1: Lone Star”
TK (Ronen Rubinstein) and Carlos (Rafael L. Silva) have been through a lot together — including, but not limited to — comas (yes, more than one!), a serial killer, an arsonist, a volcano, TK’s dad Owen (Rob Lowe) commandeering their wedding plans and Carlos’ dad (Benito Martinez) arresting Owen. But the duo, who finally tied the knot in Season 4, is still rock solid.
Tai and Van on “Yellowjackets”
The teenage soccer players kept their romance secret until they crash landed in the wilderness and Van (Liv Hewson) was mauled by wolves. When it looked like they would all soon starve to death, the survivors threw a “Doomcoming” party, Tai (Jasmin Savoy Brown) created a mask just like the one Van wore to hide her scars and the pair celebrated being out to everyone. In the contemporary storyline, the two (now played by Tawny Cypress and Lauren Ambrose) reconnect as circumstances and the mystery of the wilderness bring them back together.
Hen and Karen on “9-1-1”
Firefighter Hen (Aisha Hinds) and rocket scientist Karen (Tracie Thoms) might not have seemed like an obvious couple, but Chim (Kenneth Choi) knew what he was doing when he set them up. Then, after they briefly broke up, Chim scared Karen into thinking that an injured Hen was dead so she’d realize what Hen meant to her. It hasn’t been all smooth sailing ever since, but luckily, these two embrace the chaos.
Lestat and Louis on “Interview With the Vampire”
Louis (Jacob Anderson) might have tried to kill Lestat (Sam Reid) and taken up with Armand (Assad Zaman) for now, but viewers — and fans of the original Anne Rice books — know that no matter how much they complain about the other, Louis and Lestat are a couple for the ages.
Hawk and Tim in “Fellow Travelers”
Their on-again, off-again love affair spanned decades, but the cynical realist Hawk (Matt Bomer), who got married to a woman and had children, and idealist Tim (Jonathan Bailey), who became a gay rights activist, never got their happily ever after together. In the 1950s, when their relationship began and homosexuality was still illegal, Tim simply wanted to have dinner out with his boyfriend and to not have to sneak out of his apartment in the middle of the night to avoid neighbors who might blow the whistle on them.
Marcus and Frankie in “Fellow Travelers”
Unlike the main couple in this Showtime limited series, reporter Marcus (Jelani Alladin) and drag queen Frankie (Noah J. Ricketts) found a way to stay together despite starting their relationship in the 1950s. That included Frankie forgiving Marcus — who knew that being outed would ruin his career— for abandoning him after a police raid on the gay nightclub were they met.
Tommy and Buck on “9-1-1”
Buck (Oliver Stark) has always had a complicated love life, as we witnessed in the first six seasons of the series. In Season 7, his relationship with Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr.) also got off to a bumpy start when Buck panicked after his best friend Eddie (Ryan Guzman) saw him having dinner with Tommy. Buck finally admitted his feelings both to Eddie — who told him that being bi doesn’t change a thing in their friendship — and Tommy, who was willing to give Buck another chance. We didn’t see much of them after they got together, which on this show means they are happy and drama-free for the moment.