Best Series About Friendship

Why is friendship actually a harder subject to build a show around than romance or family?

Because friendship, unlike romance or family, doesn't come with automatic narrative stakes built into the relationship's basic structure. A show has to work harder to make you care whether two friends stay close, since there's no wedding to build toward, no inheritance at stake, no blood tie forcing continued contact. The shows that pull this off well tend to treat the friendship's actual maintenance and vulnerability as dramatically significant in its own right, not just as a comfortable backdrop for other plots.

If you want friendship depicted with real, unglamorous honesty

Broad City. Abbi and Ilana's friendship is depicted with genuine, specific intimacy and support, treating their bond as the actual central relationship of the show, more significant than any romantic subplot either character has.

Insecure. Issa and Molly's friendship carries real weight and real conflict across the show's run, refusing to treat female friendship as automatically harmonious just because it's not romantic.

If you want friendship under genuine external pressure

Stranger Things. The core kids' friendship group is tested repeatedly by supernatural stakes, but the show's actual emotional core consistently comes back to the bonds between them rather than the monster of the season.

The Wire, particularly its depiction of loyalty among characters on both sides of the law, treats friendship and betrayal within institutions as genuinely significant, sometimes more consequential than family ties.

If you want a workplace friendship at the center

Parks and Recreation. Leslie Knope and Ron Swanson's genuinely unlikely friendship, built despite fundamentally opposed political philosophies, becomes one of the show's most beloved and carefully developed relationships.

Grey's Anatomy, at least in its earlier seasons, built real weight around Meredith and Cristina's friendship, memorably described within the show itself as each other's actual soulmate relationship, ahead of any romantic partner.

If you want friendship depicted across a long span of time

Friends, for all its dated elements, remains a genuine touchstone for depicting how friendship functions as a chosen family structure over an extended period, six people who consistently choose each other across life changes.

My Brilliant Friend. A genuinely more literary, complicated take on lifelong friendship, following two women across decades with real tension, jealousy, and devotion woven together rather than a simpler, uncomplicated bond.

My honest opinion on why Insecure handles friendship better than most shows attempt

I think it's because the show refuses to treat Issa and Molly's friendship as automatically safe just because it's not romantic, letting real hurt, jealousy, and genuine rupture occur between them the way a show would typically only allow for a romantic couple. That willingness to give a platonic friendship the same dramatic stakes usually reserved for romance is exactly what makes it feel so genuinely significant within the show.

Does a good friendship show need external plot stakes, like Stranger Things' supernatural threats?

Not necessarily, and several entries on this list, Broad City and Insecure especially, prove a friendship's internal dynamics can carry a show without needing external stakes layered on top. External pressure can help illustrate a friendship's strength, but it's not required if the relationship itself is written with enough specificity and honesty.

How should you pick from this list?

If you want unglamorous, specific honesty about friendship, Broad City or Insecure deliver that most directly. If you want friendship tested by real external stakes, Stranger Things fits that mood. If you want a longer, more complicated view across decades, My Brilliant Friend rewards that patience.

Frequently asked questions

What's a show that treats female friendship with real depth and conflict? Insecure, following Issa and Molly's friendship through genuine hurt and rupture, not just uncomplicated support.

Is Stranger Things really about friendship at its core? Yes, despite the supernatural plot, the show's emotional core consistently returns to the bonds within its central friend group.

What's a good show about friendship across a long span of time? My Brilliant Friend, following two women's complicated friendship across decades.

Does a friendship-focused show need external plot stakes to work? Not necessarily. Shows like Broad City prove internal relationship dynamics alone can carry a series.

Want something matched more specifically to your mood?

Our series recommendation quiz can help you find something else in this register based on what kind of friendship story you're drawn to tonight.