10 TV lesbian and sapphic storylines overshadowed on their own shows

We love these TV couples!

TV audiences love a good ship!

Gay and queer relationships are often one of the fandom's favorite parts of a TV show. Whether the couple is canon or not, fans have a lot of fun with fan fiction, fan art, and other ways to express their love.

Unfortunately, lesbian and sapphic couples often get pushed to the side by the fandom in favor of male/male ships — sometimes even male/male ships that aren't even canon. There are other times when sapphic ships don't receive enough attention because a show is too packed with other exciting things happening.

Here are some of our fan-favorite (but often underappreciated) lesbian and sapphic ships from television.

Brittany and Santana — 'Glee'

While Santana and Brittany got plenty of love on Glee, there's no doubt that they were overshadowed on the show by another popular gay couple - Kurt and Blaine.

One of the most blatant examples comes in the episode where Santana and Brittany are getting married. The two young women have planned and organized their dream wedding, and then, at the last minute, they decide to invite Kurt and Blaine to get married alongside them, making their special day about another couple.

Streaming on Hulu

Hen and Karen Wilson — '9-1-1'

If you were to ask most people what the most popular same-sex relationship on 9-1-1 is, you'd most likely hear the answer, Buck and Eddie. While Buck did eventually come out as bisexual on the show, he and Eddie are still just friends.

The show does, however, have a long-running lesbian couple in Henrietta "Hen" Wilson (Aisha Hinds) and her wife, Karen (Tracie Thoms). Hen and Karen have been together since season 1, and now, they are married and have two children.

Streaming on Hulu

Valentina and Mia, 'The White Lotus' (Season 2)

Valentina (Sabrina Impacciatore) was the secret MVP of The White Lotus season 2. While people were being distracted by a family of American womanizers, murderous gays, and a pseudo-uncle-cousin sexual relationship, this lesbian hotel manager had the best storyline of the whole season.

At first, Valentina has an unrequited crush on her subordinate, Isabella. When that doesn't work out, she's heartbroken. That's when sex worker Mia (Beatrice Grannò) approaches her, and Valentina reveals she had never been with a woman before. Mia takes Valentina up to one of the hotel's empty rooms, and her life is forever changed.

Streaming on HBO Max

Nomi Marks and Amanita Caplan — 'Sense8'

We understand why Lito and Miguel are such a popular ship on Sense8, the sci-fi Netflix series from The Wachowskis, but we also want to share our love for Nomi and Amanita! Not only are they an adorable, sexy, and loving lesbian couple, but they are also one of the few good examples of a lesbian relationship involving a trans woman on TV.

Streaming on Netflix

Annalise Keating and Tegan Pride — 'How to Get Away with Murder'

Shonda Rhimes's hit series How to Get Away with Murder featured the complexity of Annalise Keating (Viola Davis) through her relationships — particularly her bisexual identity. In season 2, fans learned that Annalise had a past romantic relationship with Eve Rothlo (Famke Janssen) while attending law school, and how she struggled to embrace that part of her identity. The series went on to show Annalise grappling with her feelings for Eve, suggesting that their connection was still very significant.

As the story unfolded, Annalise's dynamics with Tegan Price (Amirah Vann) evolved from mortal enemies to colleagues to close friends. Their relationship featured some sweet and flirty moments, highlighting Tegan's longstanding crush on Annalise, which grows stronger over time.

In the final season of How to Get Away with Murder, Tegan went as far as confessing her love to Annalise. And even though Annalise had a similar reaction to Eve at first, she still hesitated from fully embracing their relationship — which was interesting, poignant, and could've been explored in a spinoff of its own.

Streaming on Hulu

Ola Nyman and Lily Iglehart, 'Sex Education'

There's a lot of sex and relationships going on in Sex Education. One of the favorites is the relationship between Eric (Ncuti Gatwa) and Adam (Connor Swindells), an openly gay student and his former bully. We also want to give a shout out to another favorite, though often overlooked, relationship: Ola and Lily!

Lily is a strange student who is obsessed with aliens and becomes Ola's chaperone when Ola joins their school in season 2 of the show. Later, Ola has a dream where she kisses Lily, making her realize she is pansexual. Soon, the two start dating, though their relationship isn't without its ups and downs.

Streaming on Netflix

Dr. Tara Lewis and Rebecca Wilson — 'Criminal Minds: Evolution'

When Criminal Minds was revived in 2022, it was renamed Criminal Minds: Evolution. The show has over 350 episodes in its 18 seasons, so there are plenty of relationships to love. One of our favorites is the relationship between pansexual forensic psychologist Dr. Tara Lewis (Aisha Tyler) and prosecutor Rebecca Wilson (Nicole Pacent). The two characters appear on Criminal Minds: Evolution, and are one of our current favorite parts of the show.

Streaming on Paramount+

Ramona Royale and The Coutness — 'American Horror Story: Hotel'

Of course, each season of American Horror Story is full of wild terrors and steamy sex. Still, we want to give some special attention to Ramona and The Countess Elizabeth, played by two legends: Angela Bassett and Lady Gaga.

In the 1970s, Ramona was a blaxploitation film star before meeting Elizabeth. When they met, they started a decade-long relationship, and the Countess turned Ramona into one of her vampires. Unfortunately, so much was going on in this season that their love story got overshadowed.

Streaming on Hulu

Cruz and Josie — 'Lioness'

You might think Lioness is all about action and thrills, but one of the best parts of the show is queer character Gunnery Sergeant Cruz Manuelos (Laysla De Oliveira), who works with the Lioness program. In season 2, she's recruited to shadow Josephina "Josie" Carrillo, a US Army Apache pilot with a family connection to a Mexican cartel. What starts as a job soon turns into love for the two.

Streaming on Paramount+

Tina and Wolfie — 'Nine Perfect Strangers'

This twisty and dark drama about a wellness retreat led by Masha Dmitrichenko (Nicole Kidman) has a great queer couple in season 2 that you might not know about! Wolfie (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) and Tina (King Princess) are a pair of girlfriends who visit the wellness retreat in the second season. Nine Perfect Strangers has a large cast of talented actors, but this is one relationship viewers should key in on.

Streaming on Hulu