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25 of TV’s best (and worst) on again off again couples

By Sundi Rose

THE GOOD PLACE -- "The Answer" Episode 409 -- Pictured: (l-r) Kristen Bell as Eleanor, William Jackson Harper as Chidi -- (Photo by: Colleen Hayes/NBC)
THE GOOD PLACE -- "The Answer" Episode 409 -- Pictured: (l-r) Kristen Bell as Eleanor, William Jackson Harper as Chidi -- (Photo by: Colleen Hayes/NBC) /
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on again off again couples
Promotional portrait of American actors Ted Danson and Shelley Long from the TV series, ‘Cheers,’ 1982. (Photo by NBC Television/Getty Images) /

Sam and Diane – Cheers

Their love story: Ted Danson may be known to modern TV audiences as Michael, boss of The Good Place, but to a whole other generation of viewers he was one half of the iconic duo Sam and Diane. The other half, Shelly Long, played her character as a pretentious, petulant college student against Danson’s ex-athlete playboy. The two were openly hostile to each other in those early episodes, yet even after they did get together they mostly only bickered and aggravated each other.

The two were quickly established as possible love interests in season 1 by writers. Their budding romance drew bigger and bigger audiences, and their antagonistic dynamic was a major part of the draw. To keep audiences interested, they officially brought the two together in the season finale of the first season with a kiss. However, in classic “will they/won’t they” fashion, they continued to break them up, usually in some season-ending cliffhanger.

Did they or didn’t they: Much to the disappointment of loyal fans, they didn’t end up together. Diane was written off the show in the fifth season, and didn’t return until the series finale in 1993. She was replaced with Kirstie Alley as Rebecca Howe and the show returned to its original premise, focusing on the regulars in the bar.

How to watch it unfold: There are 11 seasons of Cheers, and all of them are on Hulu right now. If you only care about watching Sam and Diane break up and then get together again, you only have to watch the first five.

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