Sitcoms have been a staple on television since its beginnings. In fact, TV has managed to prosper for this long partly due to a shows’ ability to make audiences laugh time and time again.
While comedy is the bread and butter of sitcoms, there’s another aspect of sitcoms that make them insanely popular — romance. As fans begin to ship characters, they eventually start doing romantic gestures in order to win over their crush and the audience’s hearts. From special gifts and declarations of love to epic proposals and other life-changing decisions, our favorite sitcoms are home to some of the most iconic romantic gestures of all time.
Parks And Recreation – The Game Of Thrones Throne
NBC’s hit workplace comedy Parks and Recreation had tons of romance over the show’s seven seasons. From proposals and surprise weddings to epic scavenger hunts, the series left no stone unturned.
However, one of the show’s most iconic romantic gesture happened during the sixth season. In celebration of their one-year anniversary, Leslie surprises Ben with a replica of the Game of Thrones Iron Throne. Ben is at a loss for words when he sees it, but his smile says it all — Leslie nailed it, yet again.
Friends – Monica’s Attempted Proposal
With 10 seasons of content, it’s no surprise that the iconic sitcom Friends had its fair share of romantic gestures. In fact, it seems like each of the six characters had a moment to shine when it came to presenting or earning romantic gestures.
However, a fan favorite will always be Monica attempting to propose to Chandler after Richard ruins Chandler’s original proposal. Monica goes all out decorating the apartment in candles, but in the end, she’s overcome by emotion, leaving Chandler to give his original proposal speech.
The Middle – Sue’s Snowglobe
ABC’s sitcom The Middle ran for nine seasons and yet it still remains one of the network’s most underrated sitcoms. While the show mainly focused on the Heck family, there were a handful of romantic gestures that happened throughout the show.
One of the most memorable revolved around a snowglobe which became the physical symbol of Sue’s relationship with her brother’s best friend, Sean. Sean bought the snowglobe, hoping to give it to Sue, but throws it in the trash when he sees Sue with another guy. Little does he know, that night, Sue stumbles upon the snowglobe. Eventually, the snowglobe makes it back to Sean and the two finally get together.
New Girl – Nick’s Birthday Video To Jess
New Girl is yet another sitcom that is full of romantic gestures from episode one all the way to the final episode of season 7. What makes each romantic gesture so special is that they’re tailor-made for each of the characters who receive them.
However, the show set the bar for romantic gestures high early on. During the third season, Nick and Jess are finally together, which means that Nick must pull out all the stops to make Jess’s birthday special. Determined not to disappoint her, Nick manages to organize a special birthday video for Jess, which she sees in a movie theater with all her friends. The best part about the video is all the hard work Nick put into making sure it was great.
The Office – The Comic Book
While fans of The Office may have loved to laugh at Michael Scott and his various office antics, it can be argued that the true appeal of the series stemmed from Jim and Pam’s relationship highs and lows.
During one of the show’s many holiday episodes, Pam decides to step up her Christmas gift game by gifting Jim his very own comic book. Not only is the gift sweet, since Jim likes superheroes, it’s also insanely romantic, since Pam spent almost the entire year creating it by herself. Thus, it goes down as one of The Office’s most romantic gesture of all time.
Friends – Rachel Getting Off The Plane
While television audiences today might not be too fond of Rachel’s romantic gesture in the final episode of Friends, when “The Last One Part 2” aired in May 2004, fans at the time couldn’t help but swoon.
In the episode, Rachel is set to fly to Paris to begin her fashion career. Realizing he could lose Rachel forever, Ross and Phoebe race to the airport, but they’re too late. The only romantic gesture bigger than chasing someone through an airport is the romantic gesture of someone getting off a plane. And that’s exactly what Rachel does — giving up her dream career for Ross in the process.
Modern Family – Mitch Asking Cam To Prom
While Modern Family did have its fair share of romantic gestures over its 11 season run, they seemed to have way more romantic gesture misses. Thankfully, though, Mitch didn’t mess up one of his most iconic romantic gestures for his husband, Cam.
During season 7, Cam and Mitch decide to help Luke and Manny have the best prom ever. But when Cam gets carried away, it’s revealed that he never got to attend his own high school prom. Not wanting Cam to feel left out, Mitch gives Cam his very own proposal and the two attend prom together as chaperones.
Schitt’s Creek – Patrick Serenades David
Schitt’s Creek went from being an underrated Canadian sitcom to literally dominating the 2020 Emmy Awards, sweeping the Comedy category. There is no doubt that the series has a whole lot of heart and its fair share of romantic gestures to go with it.
One of the most iconic moments of the show comes during the fourth season of the show. In order to bring in more customers to the newly opened Rose Apothecary, David agrees to host an open mic night. Little does David know that Patrick plans to get up on the stage and serenade David with a cover of Tina Turner’s “Simply the Best.”
Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Jake Sacrificing His Job For Amy
One of the major draws of Brooklyn Nine-Nine lies within Jake and Amy’s relationship with each other. Of course, that’s why these two are constantly facing obstacles, even though they’re known together.
However, one of their earliest obstacles turned into one of Jake’s best romantic gesture ever. After the precinct gets a new captain in season 3, Jake attempt to resign in order to keep dating Amy after the new captain finds out about their relationship. Nothing says romance more than someone sacrificing their job in the name of love.
Full House: Steve Surprises DJ For Her Senior Prom
Most people might think that the most romantic couple to come out of the former ABC TGIF sitcom Full House was Jesse and Becky, but the real winners were DJ and Steve.
While Steve may have left the show during season 7, he made a special appearance in the final episode of the series. After Michelle gets into a horseback riding accident, DJ decides to miss her senior prom. However, when Steve shows up at her doorstep to take her, she simply can’t say no. Even those these two haven’t seen each other in years, it’s like they’ve never been apart once they’re reunited.
