Who doesn't love a good love story? Romantic TV shows [1] are the best kind of romances [2]: instead of everything happening all at once, we get to root for our favourite couples over several years as they work their way towards each other. It's everything a romantic at heart could ask for! Even just a few months after its launch, HBO Max is already putting together a pretty solid library of romantic TV shows, ranging from quirky romantic comedies [3] to supernatural thrillers to soapy dramas and more.
To be fair: not all of these shows feature "romantic" relationships as in real-life romantic goals. There are some pretty unhealthy dynamics painted as "romance" alongside the genuine and sweeter side of things — looking at you, Gossip Girl [4]. Is your favourite romantic TV show on HBO Max now? Keep reading our list of favourites to find out.
Emma
The 2009 miniseries adaptation of Jane Austen's matchmaking comedy takes a little more space to give its secondary characters more depth. It's still the same story, though: wealthy Emma Woodhouse amuses herself by trying to arrange matches among her friends, much to the frustration of her family friend Mr. Knightley. When Emma herself accidentally gets entangled in a love triangle or two, she comes to realise that she actually wants to experience love, not just arrange it.
Watch Emma on HBO Max [5].
Euphoria
There's something deeply romantic about the relationship between two messy, complicated teenagers in Euphoria [6]. Rue, a recovering addict, first befriends and then falls for Jules, the new girl in school. With their own inner demons still to wrestle with, their relationship is, in turns, both comforting and toxic. Still, the moments of sweet intimacy they share are incredibly moving, even as they and their classmates struggle with sex, love, peer pressure, and figuring out what real love means.
Watch Euphoria on HBO Max [7].
Friends
The lives of six best friends in New York City are totally entangled as they struggle with their love lives and their growing careers. Ross and Rachel, of course, are the show's iconic couple, with an on-and-off (and "on a break") relationship spanning up until the very last episode. On the other hand, there's also Chandler and Monica, a friends-to-lovers romance that's as funny as it is romantic.
Watch Friends on HBO Max [8].
Gossip Girl
Before the Gossip Girl [9] reboot arrives, check out the hit original series! Following the lives of a group of students at an elite New York City high school, the show is packed with soapy drama, betrayals, and everything from casual hookups to epic romances. It's all narrated by "Gossip Girl," an anonymous blogger who seems to know everything about everyone and delights in spilling everyone's secrets online.
Watch Gossip Girl on HBO Max [10].
Looking
The groundbreaking HBO series follows three gay friends in San Francisco as they try to figure out love in all its messy, complicated glory. Patrick is nervous about getting back out there after his ex gets engaged. Agustin, after years of non-monogamy and exciting city life, isn't sure about settline down. Dom is frustrated that he's getting close to middle age and isn't fulfiled romantically or personally. As they struggle to find what they're looking for, the three friends do their best to be there for each other through it all.
Watch Looking on HBO Max [11].
Love Life
One of the earliest HBO Max original TV shows, Love Life stars Anna Kendrick [12] in an anthology following different characters from their first loves to their last. Each season focuses on a different person's history of romance, and the first season is all about Kendrick's Darby, who goes through the wringer over the course of several years, failed relationships, and difficult friendships. Season two is set to star The Good Place's William Jackson Harper as the main character in a totally new story.
Watch Love Life on HBO Max [13].
The O.C.
The iconic teen drama spends a lot of its time on its two main romances. On the one hand, there's Seth and Summer, the nerdy guy who falls in love with a popular girl who discovers that social status isn't all it's cracked up to be. On the other hand, there's Ryan and Marissa, the bad-boy new student with a dark past and the rich girl with problems of her own. There's plenty of soapy drama to go around, along with some swoon-worthy romantic gestures.
Watch The O.C. on HBO Max [14].
Pretty Little Liars
Secret romances and love triangles abound in the super-soapy drama Pretty Little Liars [15]. After their former friend's death, four teenage girls begin getting mysterious text messages from someone who seems to know all of their dark secrets — and that's only the beginning of the twisted conspiracies. Along the way, each of the girls struggle with forbidden love and complicated romance: one hooked up with their teacher before they knew who each other was, one falls for the school's new bad boy, one forms a tentative bond with someone from their past, and one struggles to come out as a lesbian.
Watch Pretty Little Liars on HBO Max [16].
Pride and Prejudice
It doesn't get more classically romantic than Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet! The 1995 miniseries adaptation of Jane Austen's beloved novel features Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth [17] as the bantering enemies-turned-lovers. Elizabeth, the witty second daughter of a gentry family, immediately takes a disliking to proud, wealthy Mr. Darcy, especially when he insults her without realising she can hear him. As they're forced to cross paths over and over again, their negative first impressions slowly develop into a more complicated relationship and, eventually, a romance that teaches them both a thing or two.
Watch Pride and Prejudice on HBO Max [18].
Pushing Daisies
Pushing Daisies is a candy-coloured romantic comedy about a piemaker who can wake the dead and his childhood sweetheart Chuck. When Ned wakes Chuck to ask her about her murder so he can solve it, he can't bring himself to send her back to death. Instead, she gets a second chance at life and love, but with one major caveat: Ned can never directly touch her again, or she dies again, permanently. Despite this major obstacle, Ned and Chuck find every way they can to get to know each other and develop their own kind of intimacy — all while solving crimes alongside a grumpy private detective and a perky waitress.
Watch Pushing Daisies on HBO Max [19].
Sex and the City
The core of Sex and the City [20] is the friendship between its four heroines, but their complicated, sometimes dramatic love lives form a big part of the plot. Aside from the epic, convoluted romance of Carrie and Big, there's plenty of romance — both successful and failed — for all four of the women. It's a comedy that talks about sex, love, and where the two do (and don't) collide.
Watch Sex and the City on HBO Max [21].
True Blood
From the height of the vampire-romance era comes True Blood, a supernatural drama series centreed on Sookie Stackhouse, a Southern waitress who becomes embroiled in a world of vampires, faeries, werewolves, witches, and more. When synthetic "blood" allows for vampires to come out of hiding, the world begins taking sides about whether or not they belong in society. Although it's not purely a romance, love stories drive a huge amount of the plot. Sookie herself has not one, but three memorable romances throughout the series: compassionate vampire Bill, ancient vampire bad boy Eric, and sexy werewolf Alcide.
Watch True Blood on HBO Max [22].