20 Terrific TV Sibling Relationships

There are no relationships quite like the ones we have with our siblings. They can be our heroes and our favorite people, and yet still know exactly how to push all our buttons. They irritate us like nobody else one minute and make us laugh harder the next.

Some are lifelines when we feel lost and some are mirrors we measure ourselves against. They are relationships that are layered and often contradictory. They are all the things that make for compelling narratives and why we love stories about them so much.

TV has had plenty of memorable sibling relationships over the years. From the Brady Bunch to Sister, Sister, there’s no shortage of siblings for us to root for on TV, and we wanted to show a little love to some of the best from the last decade.

So here, in no particular order, are our 20 favorite TV siblings from the last ten years:

1. Wynonna and Waverly (Wynonna Earp)

Wynonna Earp is a lot of things. It’s a crazy little sci-fi western with fantastic LGBTQ representations. It’s feminist, funny, and heartfelt. It’s a show about found family, destiny, and choice. It’s a lot of things that we love, but most of all it’s a story about sisters.

Waverly and Wynonna are the beating heart of Wynonna Earp. No matter how crazy things get, their bond is the unshakable truth the show always returns to.

Week after week for three (soon to be four!) seasons, Melanie Scrofano and Dominique Provost-Chalkley have brought that bond to life in ways that make you feel for them and with them, and in ways that feel important and inspires us.

The love they have for each other is a source of strength that they draw on to keep going and a constant that grounds them when things feel out of control. In a world that has taken so many choices from them, they choose to fight for each other.

No matter how bleak things look there is always hope because Waverly has Wynonna, and Wynonna has Waverly.

2. Alex & Kara (Supergirl)

Even a paragon of hope needs a hero and, without a doubt, for Kara Danvers the only person who could fill that role is her sister, Alex. But the truth is, Kara is Alex’s hero just as much as she’s Kara’s.

Alex is the fighter Kara needs when the weight of the world gets heavy, and Kara is the idealistic light that makes Alex believe even when things seem dark.

Perhaps more important than that though, Alex and Kara are safe havens for each other. They are the people they let themselves be completely vulnerable with and can share their insecurities and fears with.

The world looks to them with so many expectations and responsibilities and that chance to be seen and loved for all their frailties and stumbles is a gift. A gift that lets them thrive as the heroes they are both meant to be.

3. Dillon, Spencer, Darnell (All American)

Spencer, Dillon, and Darnell on All American have one of the most unique dynamics on this list because of circumstance.

Since the show began, Spencer has been living in Beverly Hills playing football while Dillon stayed in Crenshaw with their mother Grace. But because their father Corey left the family when Spencer was young, Spencer always took on more than a big brother role with Dillon.

He was a protector, making sure that Dillon did the right things and wasn’t exposed to gang activity.

Then Corey came back into their lives and introduced them to Darnell — his ex-girlfriend’s son who he raised while living in Nevada. Spencer’s role then becomes protecting Dillon from the hurt Corey will cause when he leaves again.

He eventually does, this time to protect all three boys from the pain of knowing he’s sick. But the three young men bond in their quest to find him, and the entire family bonds at a cabin one weekend before Corey’s death.

The tragedy is serving to bring Darnell, Dillon, and Spencer even closer. Darnell lives with them in Crenshaw now, and he’s the one link Dillon and Spencer have to a father they never knew.

4. Anne & Marian (Gentleman Jack)

Anne and Marian Lister don’t have the easiest relationship.

Anne, for her part, has no patience for Marian’s fussiness and what she sees as mediocrity. She’s at best indifferent and at worst condescending towards Marian’s more progressive politics.

Marian, on the other hand, is constantly frustrated by the whirlwind of chaos her sister brings with her and resentful of the large shadow she casts.

Marian is smarter than Anne will admit and unintimidated by her in a way few people are. She’s the only one who can come close to matching Anne Lister in a verbal spar. All of which makes for delightful banter for viewers, especially when it’s delivered so deftly by the talents of Suranne Jones and Gemma Whelan.  

But behind the awkward, often testy, interactions, there is genuine affection between these two. Marian accepts her sister completely in a world that does not, and Anne, when push comes to shove, will always stand up for Marian.

They may never really understand each other, but they will always love each other.

5. Chuck and Ellie (Chuck)

When Ellie Bartowski was a little girl, her father told her she needed to look out for her little brother and protect him, and that’s what she did. For her whole life, through heartbreak and abandonment, through secrets and lies, she protected him. Then, when he was older, Chuck protected her too.

Over the course of 5 seasons, Ellie and Chuck always did what they thought they had to do to protect the other. Sometimes that veered into overprotective terrain or led them to keep secrets from each other. They had to learn that protecting the ones they love didn’t mean protecting them from ugly truths, it meant supporting them and facing them together.

Love, loyalty, and family are the foundation of all the relationships on Chuck and the core of what made the show great. They are themes that can be found everywhere on series, but they start with Ellie and Chuck.

6. Kate, Kevin, & Randell (This is Us)

There are few sibling stories on TV that we know more completely than that of the Big Three on This Is Us.

We’ve watched Kevin, Kate, and Randall grow since the day they were born, seen their relationships form and their experiences shape who they are to each other. We know the shared history that binds them and the ways it informs their differences. We’ve seen them struggle and triumph, and we’ve watched them navigate it all together.

Their relationships have been tested. They’ve fought over some pretty big things, and sometimes they’ve disappointed each other. But ultimately their relationships have proven stronger than any conflict or difference, and they always find their way to each other when it counts.

This Is Us has created a complicated, nuanced portrait of sibling relationships. Relationships that aren’t perfect but that none the less make them who they are and help them face the world.

7. Claire and Mitchell (Modern Family)

No one can bring you back to your childhood faster than your siblings. Whether it’s commiserating over your family’s eccentricities or poking old wounds in a way that only they can, there’s sometimes no keeping the mature grown-up facade going when siblings are involved.

Modern Family’s Claire and Mitchell are the epitomai of that dynamic, and it’s been the source of some of their most hilarious and relatable moments throughout the series.

Claire and Mitchell are usually one of the more grounded relationships on Modern Family. They support each other and like genuinely like each other. But when they hit up against the right childhood grievance or squabble, they shine in the most wonderfully silly ways.

Gone are the mature, put together adults we normally see, replaced by the bickering overly dramatic tweens and teens that they were. They just can’t seem to help but take the bait the other offers even when they know they should.

But we’ve all been there before and that’s exactly what makes it so funny.

8. Sam and Dean (Supernatural)

Sam and Dean will always choose each other. Through 15 seasons of demons and apocalypses, they have fought together, saved the world, and sacrificed for each other.

They’ve died for each other, multiple times, and been to hell and back, literally. Their devotion to each other has never wavered. As often as that love for each other has forced them to endure pain or loss, it’s also been the thing that saves them, and the world, in the end.

The Winchester boys are a force to be reckoned with and we love watching them take out monsters week after week. But, the thing that has brought us back and kept us riveted for over a decade is that bond between brothers.

9. Elena and Alex (One Day At A Time)

“I got you” is an unofficial Alvarez family motto. Even though they’ve never said those words to each other, Elena and Alex’s relationship embodies that sentiment in big and small ways.

Elena and Alex couldn’t be more different. They tease each other and annoy each other, and they definitely don’t get each other. But they’re supportive, and they listen in a way few other siblings on TV do. They challenge each other to see things from other perspectives and make each other better because of it.

Despite their frequent exasperation with each other, their relationship is kind and unwavering in its loyalty. Their ties run deep, and they know they can count on the other in all the important ways.

Elena and Alex may not have ever said the words “I got you,” but that’s ok because it’s part of the very fabric of their relationship, and, in their case, actions speak louder than words.

10. Johnny & D’vain (Killjoys)

D’avin and Johnny Jaqobis are estranged during Killjoys Season 1 Episode 1, “Pilot,” and they reunite in a fighting ring…and then proceed to fight each other. Don’t worry; it’s all part of Johnny’s rescue plan.

It’s a bit unorthodox, but this is the Jaqobis we’re talking about.

Throughout the series, we get to see them rebuild their relationship. Not only do they become better brothers to each other, but they also become partners. Johnny and D’av learn to really depend on each other when their lives are on the line.

They still bicker constantly, but that’s just how the Jaqobis show how much they love each other.

11. Mike and Nancy (Stranger Things)

Mike and Nancy might not be the Stranger Things siblings you’d expect to see on this list, and early on they probably wouldn’t have been. When we meet the Wheelers, it’s implied they had once been close but drifted apart, and since have spent most of their time bickering or ignoring each other.

But as with so many sci-fi relationships, monsters have a way of clarifying things and bringing people together. As they face off against Demogorgons and Mind Flayers, Mike and Nancy reconnect in a really sweet way.

Nancy not only proves to be fiercely protective of Mike and his friends but also a vital member of the Hawkins crew. Mike even confides his fears and insecurities about his relationship with Eleven to Nancy, something that would have seemed unthinkable when the show premiered.

Stranger Things can get pretty dark and the characters suffer a lot of loss, but there is something hopeful about watching the way Mike and Nancy rediscover their bond and remember how much they actually care about each other.

12. JJ, Ray, and Dylan (Speechless)

JJ, Ray, and Dylan are the embodiment of “no one messes with my siblings but me.”

JJ and, in particular, Dylan, can be ruthless when they make fun of Ray, pull pranks, or otherwise embarrass him. But as soon as someone outside of the family tries to mess with him they close ranks.

They may love to make him squirm but he is still a DiMeo and they have his back when it’s them against the world.

Where the DiMeo siblings really shine, though, is when they go to bat for JJ to make sure he has every opportunity he wants. No one is quite as intense or committed to the Team JJ mission as the DiMeo family matriarch, but that doesn’t mean Dylan and Ray aren’t all in.

They are not about to let anyone put limits on their big brother and when they come together to advocate for him they are just about unstoppable.

No one messes with a DiMeo but a DiMeo, and good luck to those who try.

13. Eddie, Emery, & Evan (Fresh off the Boat)

When Fresh Off the Boat started Emery and Evan were an inseparable duo and Eddie felt a bit like the odd man out. Early episodes tended to focus on Eddie’s relationships with his friends more than his brothers. Emery and Evan were mostly foils or contrasts to Eddie, the family’s lovable black sheep.

But as time went on, the boys grew up. Eddie began to embrace his role as big brother, and Emery and Evan became more well-rounded characters.

They matured and the show’s dynamics began to change. We saw more of their adventures together and watched them learn from each other and about each other. By the time the series ended the focus had shifted from Eddie’s social life at school to the tight-knit trio the Huang boys had become.

Eddie, Emery, and Evan go on quite the journey together on Fresh Off the Boat, and the heartwarming path it takes them on is a joy to watch.

14. Fleabag & Claire (Fleabag)

Season 2 of Fleabag opens with the titular character declaring that what we are about to see is a love story. And she’s right, only it’s not the love story we expect or the one she’s even referring to at that moment.

Fleabag is a love story about sisters and all the fraught complexities and conflicted emotions that make up those relationships. It’s not a story about sisters that are best friends or that always even like each other, but rather a fragile bond forged through shared experiences and a bluntly honest understanding of each other for better or worse.

Claire and Fleabag have been the constant in each other’s lives and are the most important relationship each of them has. They love each other despite themselves and support each other however awkwardly.

15. The Clones (Orphan Black)

The clones on Orphan Black didn’t choose to be sisters, at least not until they did. Initially, they are thrown together by a conspiracy when they discover their true identity as clones.

None of them are interested in being a part of each others’ lives beyond what’s needed to unravel the mystery of their origins and the people trying to control them. When they first discover that they are clones, their connection is simply one of necessity.

Over time though, they learn to rely on each other and take care of each other. They build trust and form a bond none of them knew they needed.

In a show about control and freedom these “sestras” and Felix, who despite not being a clone is absolutely and honorary “sestra,” are forced together by circumstances that want to deny them both of those things. But ultimately, they end up choosing each other and finding a family.

16. Ansel and Dex (Stumptown)

Stumptown’s Ansel and Dex are the most recent TV siblings to make this list. Still in its first season, there is a lot we don’t know about these two or their relationship yet.

What is clear from the start, however, is that even though technically Dex is Ansel’s guardian, they take care of each other, and it’s more often Ansel making sure Dex is ok than the other way around. Dex sometime struggles with letting Ansel grow up because she feels a little lost without him.

Yet, in the end, she always does what’s right for him so he can thrive. Dex and Ansel’s story may be new but they’re already one of our favorites.

17. Lyn and Emma (Vida)

Lyn and Emma have a complicated relationship. Vida lets these sisters have a messy, angry, forgiving, and rich relationship. They grieve differently, but they are bound to each other in their grief too.

The cinematography, music, and dialogue all support the keen development of this central pair.

The closing shot of Season 2 highlights how much Lyn cares about Emma’s approval, and it hits home in a big way. “You did good, Lyn,” is simply one of the best lines of sisterly dialogue in existence. That, coupled with the “would you kill me as a zombie” question make this sibling relationship one of the greats.

18. Oliver and Thea (Arrow)

Oliver and Thea have weathered a lot of storms: shipwrecks and drug addiction, assassins, and resurrections. At times, it has strained their relationship, but their conflicts, whether external or internal, never broke it.

Over eight seasons, Oliver and Thea have pulled each other back from the edge, told each other the truth, and become the best versions of themselves together. The pair have shown time and again that they don’t give up on each other.

In the early seasons of Arrow, before Oliver fell in love with Felicity and before Diggle became a true brother in arms, the relationship between Thea and Oliver gave the show its heart.

While Oliver’s circle of important relationships grew and Willa Holland, who played Thea, eventually left the show, the centrality of that relationship never faded. It simply matured into something richer and deeper.

19. The Fosters Siblings

When we first meet the Adams-Foster clan they have just added two new foster children Callie and Jude to their family. This family takes in these young teens and shows them a love they’ve always been lacking.

Even though the relations between the five siblings — Brandon, Mariana, Jesus, Callie, and Jude — start off a bit rough, by the time Jude and eventually Callie become official members of the family, they’re all inseparable.

Through all the ups and downs of the family unit between finances and health scares they have each other’s backs and would walk to the ends of the earth for each other.

Mariana and Callie grow especially close that when they go off to college they decide to live together — which leads into their story on Good Trouble. 

20. David and Alexis (Schitt’s Creek)

One of the most touching relationships on TV is between David and Alexis on Schitt’s Creek, which is something that might have come as a surprise to the characters themselves when we first meet them.

When the Roses are first forced to live in Schitt’s Creek, David and Alexis are essentially strangers living separate lives and acknowledging each other mostly through snipping and poking.

Their banter is all brilliantly written and perfectly delivered by Dan Levy and Annie Murphy. Even if the pair never evolved beyond that, they’d still be one of the most fun duos to watch on TV. 

But the relationship does evolve. As the pair adjusts to their new normal and make a home in Schitt’s Creek, there’s a sweetness and honesty that’s revealed to be lurking behind all the eye rolls and “Ew Davids.” 

Don’t get it wrong, the quips and funny back and forth, thankfully, never go away, but when it’s important Alexis and David help each other make good choices and root for the other’s happiness as much as we do.

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Who are your favorite TV siblings from the last 10 years? Let us know in the comments below!

* Additional contributions by Mary Misasi, Allison Nichols, Esme Mazzeo, and Janelle McCammack. 

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