From Broad City to Golden Girls: The 20 Best Female Friendships on TV

Find out which of the small screen's best gal pals made our list!

By Chris Harnick, Billy Nilles Feb 17, 2016 8:01 PMTags
Best Female Friendships

Yas, queens!

Broad City is finally back for season three tonight, bringing with it one of TV's finest examples of female friendship. Don't get us wrong, we love a good catfight just as much as everyone else, but there's something about the relationship Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer have created on the Comedy Central hit that feels so refreshing, so honest, and just so right. 

In honor of the comedy's big return, E! News' resident TV Scoop gays thought it would be fun to celebrate the female friendships that came before them. Without further ado, we present the 20 greatest female friendships on TV.

NBCUniversal, Inc.

Abbi and Ilana, Broad City
Obviously, there was only one way to kick off this list, and that's with the women who inspired it. Whether they're nursing one another after dental surgery to hilariously disastrous effect or hanging out with Hillary freakin' Clinton, Abbi & Ilana are one another's greatest champion. They are the ultimate in friendship goals.

Leslie Knope and Ann Perkins, Parks and Recreation
Pawnee had never seen a friendship quite like Leslie (Amy Poehler) and her beautiful tropical fish Ann (Rashida Jones). Leslie's love for Ann sometimes bordered on obsession, but these two women were always there for one another, never fought over a man despite their town's slim pickings, and were each other's Galentine's Day date every year. Ann was always able to calm Leslie down from a manic state, and Leslie always made sure to push Ann to the greatness she knew her BFF was capable of. 

Meredith Grey and Cristina Yang, Grey's Anatomy
In a series all about soapy romantic entanglements, the greatest love story of Grey's Anatomy was between Mer (Ellen Pompeo) and Cristina (Sandra Oh). They were each other's person, after all. It's a testament to this friendship that we were more devastated for Meredith when Cristina left than than when McDreamy died. Forget finding Meredith another man. If Shonda Rhimes ever tries to give Mer a new BFF, there's going to be hell to pay.

Dorothy, Rose, Blanche, and Sophia, The Golden Girls
Who says you can't find your best friend later in life? These four women were always quick with a cheesecake when one of the squad was feeling down in the dumps, and though they mercilessly mocked one another, it was always done with so much love. The friends that get mistakenly arrested for prostitution together stay together, after all.

Daria and Jane, Daria
Daria and Jane gave us all hope that we just might survive high school too, if only we could find the perfectly droll sarcastic yin to our yang. We're just going to ignore how they let Tom Sloane come between them towards the end of the series. No one's perfect in high school.

Olivia Pope and Abby Whelan, Scandal
Let's face it: It's hard for Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) to have friends. Her life just isn't built for it. But even though she and Abby (Darby Stanchfield) have had more than their fair share of issues, they've managed to keep their relationship in tact, still getting together for some red wine and popcorn every now and then. And in a world full of B613s and terrorist mothers, that may be all we can ever hope for.

Monica, Rachel, and Phoebe, Friends
Would a list like this be complete without the women of Friends? No, it wouldn't. While they usually were more of a sextet, Central Perk's three most loyal ladies always managed to have each other's back, even though Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) did lose her and Monica's (Courteney Cox) apartment to the boys that one time. And they always made time to listen to Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) warble "Smelly Cat" at the coffee shop. If that isn't a solid friendship, we don't know what is.

Netflix

Poussey and Taystee, Orange Is the New Black
By finding each other behind bars at Litchfield Correctional, Poussey (Samira Wiley) and Taystee (Danielle Brooks) have found their other halves. They make each other better, they look out for one another, and they share a love that transcends romance. They somehow make prison almost look fun. Almost. And has there been a more heartbreaking scene in Orange Is the New Black's whole run than the season one episode when Taystee was released and Poussey was too late to say goodbye? We dare you to find one.

The Sex and the City ladies
On paper, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda Hobbs (Cynthia Nixon), Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), and Charlotte York (Kristen Davis) should not have worked as friends. Their personalities were all so starkly different, how they ever came together had to have been some divine intervention. But as the series proved—men would come and go, but these four women were the loves of each other's lives. 

Liz Lemon and Jenna Maroney, 30 Rock
Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) and Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) had a sort of unbalanced friendship—but aren't the best comedy friendships that way? Deep down, through Jenna's sociopathic nature and absurdity, she cared about Liz. Remember she was always willing to use her sexuality to help out Liz.

Patsy and Edina, Absolutely Fabulous
Sweetie, darling, these two booze hounds are the best of friends, drunk or sober. They're like the wild aunts you love the most, but certainly don't trust. While their alcohol intake may be questionable (to some), their loyalty to each other certainly isn't.

Xena and Gabrielle, Xena: Warrior Princess
OK, Xena (Lucy Lawless) and Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) were a little more than friends (they were soulmates), but they were truly butt-kicking BFFs who had each other's backs…except when demon babies got involved, but even after that they heeled the rift with some singing. Naturally.

NBC

Maggie and Emma, Playing House
Jessica St. Clair
and Lennon Parham have blessed viewers with the most realistic TV friendship (possibly ever?) because they are actually best friends. They're hilarious with insane chemistry on screen and off.

Rhoda and Mary, The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Neighbors, spiritual guides and more, Mary (Mary Tyler Moore) and Rhoda's (Valerie Harper) friendship was (and still is) the dream for anybody moving to a new city, alone. 

Rory and Lane, Gilmore Girls
Sure, the true friendship at the heart of Gilmore Girls was between the two main Gilmore girls, but Rory (Alexis Bledel) and Lane (Keiko Agena) had their own unique journey. Who else in Stars Hollow but Rory was going to help Lane escape the tyrannical rule of her mother and enjoy the non-Christian music she so desperately craved?

Laverne and Shirley, Laverne & Shirley
The classic duo who took any chance they were given and broke every rule they were read are the epitome of TV friendship. Laverne (Penny Marshall) and Shirley (Cindy Williams) were Abbi and Ilana before they were even born. Respect your elders.

Lindsay and Gretchen, You're the Worst
Another dysfunctional (in the best way) duo, Lindsay (Kether Donohue) and Gretchen (Aya Cash) are no strangers to mischief and the occasional selfishness, but you can fully expect Lindsay would never "New phone, who dis?" to Gretchen.

WB

Buffy and Willow, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The witty banter peppered with pop culture references made everybody want to be part of the Scooby Gang. Willow's (Alyson Hannigan) journey alongside Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is the stuff of TV legends.

Grace and Frankie, Grace and Frankie
There's something to be said about people who start out as frenemies and then slowly, but surely, come to the side of friendship. Watching real life pals Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda take that road has been delightful.

Lucy and Ethel, I Love Lucy
There was no way we could wrap up this list without mentioning the female friendship that started it all. Ethel (Vivian Vance) was a ride-or-die BFF, always willing to participate in whatever bit of insanity Lucy (Lucille Ball) was scheming up next. In a day and age when women preferred to be seen and not heard, these two bucked just about every rule and made the TV landscape for everyone else on this list. Long live Lucy and Ethel!

Did your favorite female TV friendship make the cut? Of course there are more out there, tell us your favorites in the comments below!

Broad City premieres tonight at 10 p.m. on Comedy Central