10 Essential Elements That Make Romantic Comedy TV Shows Great

There were high expectations on Darren Starr’s new show, Emily in Paris, because a more addictive romcom than his previous creation Younger is hard to imagine.

Emily in Paris is easy to gulp down, but only partially succeeds in the romance department — the hot French chef who wants to eat his cookie and have it too — and not at all when it comes to comedy.

With TV evolving constantly and genres mixing, it’s hard to say what a romcom is nowadays. Half-hour shows used to tilt towards comedy, but now often are serious, and longer dramedies include much more than romcom. Recently, there seems to be a recurrence of the romcom, and some shows have truly dazzled us.

What makes a great romantic comedy? Well, here is a list of essential elements that make romantic comedy TV shows great:

1. A poignant protagonist

Classic romcoms typically center around a woman looking for, or stumbling upon, Mr. Right. There is an instant connection or dislike, and we know they are destined to be together.

But in TV shows, Mr. Right doesn’t always show up immediately, and so it’s crucial that the female protagonist, because they almost always are female, is someone we love and are invested in.

Avoiding stereotypes and introducing women with depth and flaws, who are interesting and relatable, is not always easy. One of my favorite protagonists is Dr. Mindy Lahiri from The Mindy Project.

What Mindy Kaling (creator of The Mindy Project) does is take the typical traits and concerns — Am I young enough, thin enough? Will I ever meet the right guy? — and mix it with the self-confident, empowered career woman.

Mindy never apologizes for wanting a husband and kids to go along with her demanding job, but while searching for it, she stumbles and falls as she realizes that romance is never quite like it’s portrayed in the movies.

The way Kaling pokes and plays around with stereotypes makes Mindy very relatable, as well as making her incredibly funny and endearing. All of these are excellent traits in the rom-com protagonist.

2. A modern fairytale

Modern fairytales — more realistic stories but with a touch of magic — are welcome additions to the rom-com genre.

In real life, it’s not always evident from the beginning who Mr. Right actually is, or that there even is a Mr. Right. Love is not something predestined, and sometimes the important goal is not finding the guy but finding yourself.

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist and High Fidelity entertainingly toyed with us all season long when it comes to who the protagonist’s Mr. Right would turn out to be.

Is the hot marketing guy or sweet best friend the one for Zoey? And would Rob get back together with her good-looking ex or give the cute new acquaintance a chance? Both shows demonstrate how in modern fairytales, the girl gets to choose her own Mr. Right.

Jane The Virgin dares to make another modern point.

Maybe there is not only one The One, but several, depending on where you are in life and how you evolve. There was little doubt Rafael would be the guy beside Jane at the end, but one of many things that makes the show great is how you could totally ship Jane and Rafael, but still love when Michael was Jane’s designated guy.

3. Gorgeous guys

Gorgeous guys, or girls, are essential, of course, but to be hot is not enough anymore. Love interests also have to be sweet, caring, and worthy of the women they are pining for — yes, pining is a must — and to be quite honest I think most shows succeed at this.

Two actors have become somewhat of romantic darlings lately, showing up in more than one show each. Kingsley Ben-Adir is the hot, sexy, and regretful ex-boyfriend in High Fidelity as well as a promising new boyfriend in Love Life. 

John Gallagher Jr. also makes an appearance in Love Life; he is Rob on a date taking an unexpected turn in the best episode of Modern Love and is yet another sweet guy in one of the best episodes of relationship anthology Easy.

Hot or sweet, both seem to work fine in romcoms these days.

4. Breathtaking romance

With the guys comes the romance and the build-up — with the sexual tension, the misunderstandings, and sometimes the friendships that comes first — is the foundation of the romance part. To make that work without rushing the story, yet not frustrating the audience too much, is not an easy feat.

No one manages this as breathtakingly, passionately, and hilariously as Younger.

It was on Younger Season 1 Episode 6, “Shedonism,” that Charles entered as the owner of the publishing company, and it was not until four seasons later that he and Liza did the deed. In between, the show delivered a parade of comic scenes, equivocal dialogue, and stolen kisses that just blew our minds.

5. A completing ensemble

Whether shows are focusing mostly on delivering a fantastic romantic comedy or have other stories to tell, the additional friends, colleagues, and other surrounding characters have to work.

On Hulu’s Four Weddings and A Funeral, the show has the whole ensemble facing romantic entanglements. These characters are all chiseled into wonderful persons in spite of all their flaws and inadequacies and actually become more interesting than the main couple.

We get haughty, British best friend, the dorky, sweet dude, an irresistible, egocentric bank investor, Alex Jennings as an eccentric politician, and last, but certainly not least, Dermot Mulroney showing up as an unexpected charmer.

The ensemble can make or break a rom-com just as much as the leading romance can.

6. An insightful narrator

Fairytales usually have an all-knowing narrator to help tell the story, so it makes sense for romcoms to have one too, provided they give additional insights to the story. Sometimes, this is done with a voiceover, which can add necessary context and details.

Introverts tend to speak less, observe more, and having a continuous novel going on in their head. High Fidelity uses a tweak of the voice-over element by letting Rob break the fourth wall and have her inner voice speak to the audience, as she reminisces her top heartbreaks.

The narrator on Jane the Virgin is the master who completes a masterpiece.

Not only does he possess inside information we keep wondering how he obtains, but he also sets a witty and hilarious tone. After recapping the essential facts, he pinpoints all things we might not notice, and lastly gives us friendly yet ominous advice, “Let’s enjoy this moment, because it won’t last.”

7. Magnetic music

Music and images go hand in hand to set the tone for the show and create a gripping experience. Like the voiceover, music can give additional insight into the character’s state of mind.

The music in High Fidelity isn’t just part of the record store-based story, it also helps us delve into even more in Rob’s mind. The songs remind her of events in her life, and the songs also help us get to get a sense of who she is. Discovering a couple of new favorite songs along the way is an added bonus.

No show integrates music better than Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. Having characters magically start singing — only to Zoey’s ear — to express their inner feelings is a crazy idea that totally works.

There could be no better way to reveal Simon’s emotions on his way out than his sudden burst into Clash’s Should I Stay or Should I Go. And what better proof than when the character I like the least (obnoxious Lars) after belting out Al Green’s Let’s Stay Together, becomes my favorite heartbroken person on the show.

8. A fresh premise

Just having a novel premise itself doesn’t make a show, but with all the TV out there, it helps to be innovative. Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, Younger, (the age sham), Jane The Virgin (accidental insemination), all came up with great ideas to entice the audience.

Run is a somewhat juvenile yet vastly entertaining romcom, mostly due to Merritt Wever; it gets an extra thumbs up for the intriguing thriller on a train premise.

It doesn’t hurt either that the most romantic stop is Chicago, where Ruby and Billy got to do those things you do in Chicago, walk along the riverside and take one of those architecture river tours.

9 and 10. Humor and heart

Needless to say, a rom-com without humor and heart is not an essential romcom.

Younger had me 13 minutes into the pilot when Liza is defending her middle-aged bottom part to her younger co-workers in the locker room, and after that, it just keeps rolling. It’s such a hilarious show.

As witty and clever Jane The Virgin is, it’s also hard to beat when it comes to heart as Jane has such a big one, filled with love, compassion, and a little self-righteousness

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I wonder when we will see new seasons or shows like these? Which romantic comedies do you enjoy the most? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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