Due to it being February, the month of love, all my posts this month will have to do with TV couples (one of my favorite topics to write about). Today I will go into detail about all the same-sex TV couples I’ve shipped over the years.
Here’s the thing: I typically ship heterosexual couples. Is it because I’m heterosexual myself? I don’t know. One could probably get lost down a Google rabbit hole searching for reasons why people ship + their sexual orientation. But even though I usually gravitate towards male/female couples, I have found myself rooting for certain same-sex ships. Here are the ones that stand out.
Brian & Justin, Queer as Folk
I’m not ashamed (well, okay, maybe a little) to admit one of the main reasons I shipped Brian and Justin was purely because of the beauty of Gale Harold. Obviously attraction is subjective, but would you just look at that man (the brunette)? Watching him get half-naked and go at it with other beautiful men definitely contributed to my love of the show, but the true reason I tuned in to Queer as Folk was because I just adored Brian and Justin. Though they were toxic most of the time, I couldn’t help wishing they would get their happily-ever-after. Alas, spoiler alert, they didn’t but they continue to live on as one of my favorite same-sex couples.
Marco & Dylan, Degrassi: The Next Generation
Yes, Degrassi is a Canadian teen soap, and yes, I started watching as a woman in her early twenties, but it was good soap (most of the time). One of the best story lines was Marco’s coming out. Sweet, cute Marco had a long arc where he dated his best friend, Ellie, but gradually realized he was more attracted to men. Enter Dylan, cute older hockey player and brother of one of his other friends. Dylan was at first reluctant to initiate anything with Marco, fearing he wasn’t ready for his first same-sex relationship and even though their first date was a disaster, they were a very cute couple and dated for a few seasons (before breaking up due to Dylan’s cheating).
Craig & John Paul, Hollyoaks
I discovered Craig and John Paul thanks to YouTube and once I stumbled upon their story, I spent about a week watching all their scenes some kindly UK viewer uploaded (Hollyoaks is a British soap). Craig and John Paul met in school, JP developed a crush on Craig who was straight and did not appreciate his friend’s admiration. After JP was hurt in a homophobic attack (which Craig participated in), JP and Craig grew closer. Very close. The slow burn to Craig realizing he has more-than-friendly feelings for JP is excellently done and all the credit goes to Guy Burnett and James Sutton who play the sexual chemistry between the two as hot, forbidden, and unstoppable. Of course, since this is a soap, Craig and JP left town together after becoming public then JP came back years later single but the first go-round of them will always have a special place in my heart.
Jude & Zero, Hit the Floor
I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I state that Jude and Zero are probably the hottest couple looks-wise on this list. Yes, I know looks aren’t supposed to matter in the grand scheme of things, but both of these men are effing fine. Check out the picture above and I dare you to disagree with me. Jude and Zero were on the show Hit the Floor, a prime-time drama about the lives of a basketball team’s revolving door of players, owners, and dancers. Zero was a star player, Jude was an agent. Zero publicly dated women but privately had no problem getting down with men too. Jude realized he was gay as he grew more and more attracted to Zero and after secretly hooking up a few times, insisted they go public or Zero would lose him. They did go public and everything was great…until the actor playing Zero left the show. But they had a lovely run for awhile there.
Mickey & Ian, Shameless
I wish I could remember how exactly I heard about Mickey and Ian but I can’t. Another shipper probably mentioned them on a board I frequent. I have a soft spot for hate-to-love relationships and Mickey and Ian definitely started out that way. Mickey actually wanted to beat Ian up the first few times they interacted and then, during a fist fight, things turned sexual. Fast. Thus began the up and down saga of Mickey and Ian. Everything they went through was a struggle and I can’t even begin to list all the crap they had to deal with because then this post would be way too long. Needless to say, when the writers actually allowed them to be cute and sweet and happy, they were amazing.
Lukas & Philip, Eyewitness
Mystery shows are not my thing but when I heard that the two main teenage boy characters on Eyewitness would be falling in love, I was in. The show only lasted one season and, like I said, I skipped through the mystery stuff. But I absolutely loved watching Lukas and Philip grapple with how much they meant to each other.
Shane & Carmen, The L Word
Here we have another couple who showed up on my Toxic TV Couples I Shipped list. I don’t ship many lesbian couples so this was new for me. To be honest, I only started watching The L Word because it aired between new seasons of Queer as Folk but then I found myself sucked into the drama of Shane and Carmen. I loved that Shane the player actually met a woman she wanted to be with on a more permanent basis. I did not love Shane cheating later when she decided she wasn’t good for Carmen. Nor did I love Carmen dating Shane’s good friend Jenny. Eventually these two got their act together and reunited and even became engaged before Shane screwed things up again. Oh, well. In my alternate universe of The L Word, Carmen and Shane are living happily ever after.
So there you have it, all the same-sex couples I’ve ever shipped. As queer relationship become more and more mainstream, I’m hopeful I’ll be adding more couples to this list.