LOVE, ACTUALLY
Eight Valentine’s Day episodes that capture the spirit and fun of the holiday
Be mine at TV time. Whether you’re snuggling up with your love, spending some time on yourself or opting to eat in to avoid the crowds, your favorite television characters can keep you company on this minor holiday.
With only so many stories to be told, shows need as much inspiration as they can to set the scene for heartwarming hijinks.
You might even pick up a few tips and tricks to take on the road when you’re ready to get back out there. Your TV doesn’t care about your relationship status!
Rom-coms gets all the attention on Feb. 14, but the small screen is just as capable of making viewers laugh and cry.
Here are some memorable Valentine’s Day episodes.
‘Friends’ Season 1, Episode 14, ‘The One With the Candy Hearts’
Ever the wingman, Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) tags along on Joey Tribbiani’s (Matt LeBlanc) date — and at request of Joey’s date — only to be set up with Janice (Maggie Wheeler), who he recently dumped on New Year’s Eve. And just like that they’re back together, but only for a day since Chandler has learned his lesson from the last go-around.
Stream on Max.
‘New Girl’ Season 4, Episode 15, ‘The Crawl’
Nick Miller (Jake Johnson) is all about the long game and, with a new bar opening in the area, he uses it to complete a bar crawl he’s been planning — and it couldn’t come a moment sooner because he was just dumped and it’s Valentine’s Day. As they travel from place to place, Nick amasses a quirky following, who chant, “The crawl is for all!”
Stream on Hulu.
‘The Simpsons’ Season 4, Episode 15, ‘I Love Lisa’
Lisa Simpson (Yeardley Smith) feels the love and pays it forward to her classmate Ralph Wiggum (Nancy Cartwright) when she sees that no one has given him a valentine. Ralph being Ralph, he interprets Lisa “choo-choo-choosing” him as a romantic gesture and goes after her like his father, Chief Wiggum (Hank Azaria), pursues perps.
Stream on Disney+.
‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Season 6, Episode 14, ‘Valentine’s Day Massacre’
For some of the staff at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, treating their significant others to dinner turns into treating wounds after a restaurant’s roof collapses.
Stream on Netflix.
‘Gilmore Girls’ Season 6, Episode 15, ‘A Vineyard Valentine’
Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel) decides it’s not a romantic getaway without her mother tagging along. She invites Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Luke (Scott Patterson) to spend Valentine’s Day weekend at her boyfriend Logan’s (Matt Czuchry) Martha’s Vineyard property..
Stream on Netflix.
‘Parks and Recreation’ Season 2, Episode 16, ‘Galentine’s Day’
This take on Valentine’s Day might have existed before Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) commemorated it in 2010, but Galentine’s Day is her holiday. On Feb. 13, Leslie’s mother, Marlene (Pamela Reed), regales the party with a “Romeo and Juliet” story of her own with a lifeguard named Frank (John Laroquette).
After Leslie passes the tale on to her then-boyfriend, Justin (Justin Theroux), they set off to reunite the young lovers at a dance ... and ultimately, Leslie breaks up with Justin.
Stream on Peacock.
‘How I Met Your Mother’ Season 6, Episode 16, ‘Desperation Day’
Like on “Parks and Recreation,” Valentine’s Day eve is for the ladies — or, more accurately, taking advantage of single ladies’ desperation. Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) fondly refers to it as “Desperation Day” and Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders) decides to lean into her single status and hang out with her co-workers.
While the rest of the gang is away in Minnesota, Barney and Robin post up at MacLaren’s, each on a separate mission. He finds himself attracted to one of Robin’s co-workers, who winds up rejecting him after he explains to her how to play laser tag. Once the clock strikes midnight, Robin takes the opportunity to point out he failed, but she sets him up on a date with her colleague for Valentine’s Day.
Stream on Hulu.
‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Season 2, Episode 16, ‘Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered’
Up the stakes as Xander Harris (Nicholas Brendon) gives his girlfriend, Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter), a silver necklace as a token of his affection. He doesn’t know that her friends have turned her against him and she breaks up with him, causing him to cast a love spell on her for revenge.
Because Xander’s aim wasn’t true, the spell backfires and everyone but Cordelia sets their sights on him. Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) isn’t immune and attempts to seduce him in the school’s library. At one point, she’s turned into a rat and a love-crazed mob attacks Xander and Cordelia. All’s well in the end as Buffy changes back to her teenage self and the lovebirds walk off into the sunset.
Stream on Hulu.