Which Fan-Favorite “Will They or Won’t They?” Couple Took The Longest To Kiss?

When Diane (Shelley Long) left Cheers, fans wondered whether they’d ever ship Sam (Danson) with someone again. But 10 episodes after corporate exec Rebecca Howe (Alley) joined the sitcom, she planted a kiss on Sam so electric that it signaled the start of something new. In Season 6, Episode 10, “A Kiss is Still a Kiss,” Sam technically tricks Rebecca into kissing him to get herself out of a bind, but their physical chemistry was off the charts, and as the episode title reminds us, a kiss is still a kiss. And there was surely more where that came from in the episodes that followed.

Number of Episodes Until First Kiss: 10 episodes

Relive the magic: Season 6, Episode 10 – “A Kiss is Still a Kiss” at 22:09

WHERE TO STREAM CHEERS

After Ben Wyatt (Scott) graced Parks and Recreation with his presence in Season 2, Episode 23, it only took him and Leslie Knope (Poehler) 16 episodes to say to hell with workplace etiquette and kiss in the office. In Season 3, Episode 14, “Road Trip,” a “serious Code Ben” goes down when the two share a flirty dinner. The two had been trying so hard to be professional and deny their feelings for one another, but two and a half glasses of red wine in and a phone call to Ann (Rashida Jones), Leslie decided she was finally ready to smash faces together. When she returned to her and Ben’s restaurant table she learns that Chris (Rob Lowe) crashed their meal. He kindly invites them to stay the night at his place so they don’t have to drive back, which puts a wrench in their potential road trip romance. And when Leslie returns to work she tells cameras, “I think it’s good that Chris showed up because I wasn’t thinking clearly. I love my job. Ben loves his job. And it’s just not worth the risk.” Just when it seems the moment may have passed, Ben passionately plants a kiss on Leslie in the office, which prompts her to release two iconic words: “Uh oh.”

Number of Episodes Until First Kiss: 16 episodes

Relive the magic: Season 3, Episode 14 – “Road Trip” at 20:34

WHERE TO STREAM PARKS AND RECREATION

After Sam (Danson) and Diane (Long) spent the first 22 episodes of Cheers intensely bickering back and forth, Part 2 of the season finale, “Showdown,” finally let them give into their physical desires and embrace in a fiery moment of passion. Fans of the sitcom knew Sam and Diane were inevitable, and technically Sam kissed Diane in Episode 4, but that kiss was one-sided as shown by Diane, who was extremely caught off guard, flipping Sam onto a pool table in response. The Season 1 finale scene, however, was a consensual act of unbridled passion, and nearly four decades later it’s still regarded as one of the hottest, most iconic kisses in television history.

Number of Episodes Until First Kiss: 22 episodes

Relive the magic: Season 1, Episode 22 – “Showdown, Part 2” at 23:18

WHERE TO STREAM CHEERS

Chidi Anagonye (William Jackson Harper), one of TV’s most indecisive characters, took control in Season 2, Episode 12 of The Good Place by walking right up to Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell), grabbing her face, and kissing the hell out of her (in hell, basically!) as he awaited news about their eternal fate. It may have taken the duo 25 episodes to smash faces, but in the words of Eleanor, “Hot diggity dog!”

Number of Episodes Until First Kiss: 25 episodes

Relive the magic: Season 2, Episode 12 “Somewhere Else” at 3:27

WHERE TO STREAM THE GOOD PLACE

One of the most highly debated first kisses in television history is between The Office‘s Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer), thanks to a drunken smooch that Pam plants on Jim in the middle of Chili’s a mere seven episodes into the series. Though I do believe that by definition, JAM’s first kiss went down at the Dundies, there’s no denying that their first real kiss — the kiss that changed everything for them and filled fans of their slow-burn with the most satisfaction — happened in the final breathtaking moments of the Season 2 finale, “Casino Night.” After years of pining over his best friend, playing platonic pranks, and testing their boundaries with subtle flirts, Jim said to hell with Pam’s fiancé, Roy (David Denman), and confessed his love for her in an emotional parking lot proclamation. Though his feelings weren’t reciprocated in the moment, with seconds to spare in the episode, he found Pam leaning against his desk in a dark office, walked up to her, and gave her kiss that changed their lives — and the show — forever.

Number of Episodes Until First Kiss:  28 episodes

Relive the magic: Season 2, Episode 22 – “Casino Night” at 27:40

WHERE TO STREAM THE OFFICE

As far as slow-burn first kisses go, Superstore‘s Amy (America Ferrera) and Jonah’s (Ben Feldman) was certainly one of the most intense. The two co-workers spent 33 episodes respectfully crushing on each other, but when a literal tornado hits the store in Season 2, Episode 22, they seek comfort from the natural disaster in each others’ arms. When the power goes out and their fate looks as dark as the store, Amy and Jonah grab hands and duck for cover. As shelves and debris fly around them, they fearfully embrace each other and share an impassioned end of the world kiss that they’re forced to face when the world keeps turning.

Number of Episodes Until First Kiss: 33 episodes

Relive the magic: Season 2, Episode 22 – “Tornado” at 18:22

WHERE TO STREAM SUPERSTORE

As noted in our Top TV Ships of 2022 list, after four seasons of palpable sexual tension and genuine love and respect for one another, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel‘s stand-up stars — Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) and Lenny Bruce (Luke Kirby) — exchanged some of the dreamiest banter in television history and did “some very blue things” in their “very blue room.” Fans waited 38 episodes for that glorious scene in “How To Get To Carnegie Hall?” and creator Amy Sherman-Palladino (who has another slow-burn couple on this list) made damn sure it didn’t disappoint.

Number of Episodes Until First Kiss: 38 episodes

Relive the magic: Season 4, Episode 8 – “How Do You Get To Carnegie Hall?” at 33:05

WHERE TO STREAM THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL

This seems to be an unpopular opinion amongst fans of The Mindy Project, but it is my firm belief that the show’s central crush, Danny Castellano (Chris Messina), is absolute trash. For the sake of this article, I won’t go into detail about how Mindy Lahiri (Mindy Kaling) deserved better than Danny, or how he’s an emotionally abusive narcissist who displayed so many red flags throughout six seasons that I lost count. I will simply acknowledge the indisputable truth, that the emotionally charged kiss he laid on Mindy 38 episodes into the series, after the chaotic journey they shared in Season 2, Episode 14, “The Desert,” was hot as hell. A first makeout session in the back of an airplane? Tossing that water bottle out of the way? All the TOUCHING?! Damn, Daniel.

Number of Episodes Until First Kiss: 38 episodes

Relive the magic: Season 2, Episode 14 – “The Desert” at 21:07

WHERE TO STREAM THE MINDY PROJECT

New Girl stars Zooey Deschanel and Jake Johnson famously shared such strong on-screen chemistry that their characters Jessica Day and Nick Miller were actively kept apart during Season 1 to preserve the sanctity of their slow-burn. More than halfway through Season 2, the two finally had their first kiss in Episode 15, “Cooler.” And though the roommate romance was super predictable, the spontaneity and burning hot intensity with which Nick and Jess locked lips after 39 episodes of steadily mounting sexual tension exceeded every single expectation. The sheer memory of this scene makes me sweat.

Number of Episodes Until First Kiss: 39 episodes

Relive the magic: Season 2, Episode 15 – “Cooler” at 20:32

WHERE TO STREAM NEW GIRL

Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) was smitten with Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero) from the start, but it took 45 episodes for the kiss that launched one of Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s greatest couples to happen. After the two went undercover in the Season 2 finale, Jake made his move and gave fans of the 99 the romantic moment they’d been waiting for — which was swiftly interrupted by Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio). But would we have it any other way?

Number of Episodes Until First Kiss: 45 episodes

Relive the magic: Season 2, Episode 23 – “Johnny and Dora” at 20:49

WHERE TO STREAM BROOKLYN NINE-NINE

For six straight seasons, Dawson’s Creek was an emotional roller coaster with a divided fandom. The majority of viewers started off shipping Joey Potter (Katie Holmes) with her BFF Dawson Leery (James Van Der Beek), but as the series progressed, her slow-burn with Pacey Witter (Joshua Jackson) turned into a full-on flame. Technically, Pacey and Joey first kissed in Season 1, Episode 10, but the real fireworks between the two came 52 episodes into the show when Pacey comforted Joey after a breakup, pulled his car over to the side of the road, challenged her to face her feelings, and kissed her mid-conversation in Season 3, Episode 17.

Number of Episodes Until First Kiss: 52 episodes

Relive the magic: Season 3, Episode 17 – “A Cinderella Story” at 42:18

WHERE TO STREAM DAWSON'S CREEK

You know the last time Luke Danes (Patterson) bought flowers for someone? NEVER! That’s when! But he bought them for Lorelai (Graham) in Season 4, Episode 22 of Gilmore Girls, and after 87 hour-long installments powered by coffee, packed with agonizingly sexy romantic tension, and served with a side of delicious diner banter, Luke and Lorelai’s drawn out will-they-won’t-they relationship went full WILL THEY when the two exchanged a number of tender, passionate kisses. Of course, that iconic moment was interrupted by Kirk (Sean Gunn) running past them fully naked and screaming from night terrors. But true Stars Hollow fans know that surprise guest simply made the first kiss more iconic.

Number of Episodes Until First Kiss: 87 episodes

Relive the magic: Season 4, Episode 22 – “Raincoats and Recipes” at 37:45

WHERE TO STREAM GILMORE GIRLS

Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny’s chemistry as The X-Files agents Scully and Mulder sustained fans of the series for a whopping seven seasons. Technically the two touched lips earlier in the series, but they didn’t share their first real kiss until 143 episodes into the show. While watching the Times Square ball drop on hospital TV alongside Scully, Mulder — possibly on a millennium high — decided to ring in the year 2000 with a bang by kissing his partner in crime solving. After their smooch, Mulder smiles and says, “The world didn’t end.” Scully replies, “No it didn’t.” And the two wish each other “Happy New Year!” before walking out together. Swoon!

Number of Episodes Until First Kiss: 143 episodes

Relive the magic: Season 7, Episode 4 – “Millennium” at 43:13

WHERE TO STREAM THE X-FILES

When it came to crafting a successful slow-burn, to say Frasier excelled would be a massive understatement. Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) introduced Niles (Pierce) and Daphne (Leeves) in Season 1, Episode 3, but it took them a whopping 166 episodes to lock lips after Niles delivered a heartwarming declaration of love. Was the timing ideal? Absolutely not. Daphne was 12 hours away from her wedding and Niles was on his honeymoon, but they couldn’t deny their feelings for each other any longer, and Daphne finally reciprocated his love with one hell of a balcony smooch.

Number of Episodes Until First Kiss: 166 episodes

Relive the magic: Season 7, Episode 24 – “Something Borrowed, Something Blue” at 18:47

WHERE TO STREAM FRASIER