8 New TV Couples We Could See Next Season

'The Equalizer,' '9-1-1,' and 'Law & Order: Organized Crime'
Michael Greenberg/CBS; FOX; Peter Kramer/NBC

A season finale can bring some sort of major cliffhanger, leaving lives in the balance (as was the case with several in 2023), but it can also mean the start of new relationships. And so now we’re heading into the summer hiatus — though we don’t know how long that might last due to the writers’ strike — wondering if we might have new favorite couples to follow in the 2023-2024 season.

Over on 9-1-1, at least one new relationship is really beginning while another might follow. Some notable newer slow burns, including on Abbott Elementary and The Equalizer, might have no choice but to ignite after significant steps and confessions during their past seasons. And perhaps something will happen for the longest slow burn, across two shows now, Law & Order: SVU and Organized Crime.

Scroll down as we take a look at some of the new couples we expect to see next season. (For the purpose of this list, we’re considering those for whom there was a significant development in a finale or have been set up to take that important step. We’re also not looking at couples who could get back together, which takes Chicago Fire out of the equation after that finale proposal.)

Annelise Cepero and Oliver Stark in '9-1-1'
FOX

Buck & Natalia, 9-1-1

Things were looking much better for these two at the end of the finale than in the previous episode, when Natalia (Annelise Cepero) left after too much of Buck’s (Oliver Stark) past and present came calling during their dates. And he’d even asked her to help him pick out a new couch, which he’s connected to girlfriends in the past. “I think that says everything, that he’s certainly interested in making her a permanent fixture in his life and seeing where this relationship can go. It’s an exciting thing for him,” Stark told TV Insider after the finale. Dating someone he met on a call hasn’t gone well for Buck in the past, but he has grown since then.

Edy Ganem and Ryan Guzman in '9-1-1'
FOX

Eddie & Marisol, 9-1-1

Eddie (Ryan Guzman) had been looking to find the same magic and chemistry he did with his late wife — and just so happened to run into Marisol (Edy Ganem), whom the 118 had helped earlier in the season. She helped him find what he was looking for in the hardware store, and in the finale-ending montage, he called her and the two set up a date. But is she what he’s looking for? Will it last? They were still very much early days last we saw them and who knows what might happen by the time we see Season 7 on ABC? Whatever the case, we think he might at least be on the right path.

Quinta Brunson and Tyler James Williams visit the Franklin Institute in 'Abbott Elementary'
ABC/Gilles Mingasson

Janine & Gregory, Abbott Elementary

Season 2 featured not only Janine (Quinta Brunson) and Gregory’s (Tyler James Williams) first kiss but also ended with the two confessing their feelings … if only it went anywhere after that. She didn’t want to risk their friendship, and sure, hitting the pause button like that is a bit frustrating, but it’s understandable. Considering the steps they’ve taken already, we wouldn’t be surprised if we see them together before the middle of Season 3.

Matt Lauria as Josh Folsom and Mandeep Dhillon as Allie Rajan in 'CSI: Vegas' - 'In the White Room'
Sonja Flemming/CBS

Josh & Allie, CSI: Vegas

Sure, first there’s the matter of Josh (Matt Lauria) being arrested for possibly killing his mom’s murderer and he’s also technically still with Serena (Ariana Guerra), but that slow burn with Allie (Mandeep Dhillon) has been there since the beginning. And whatever the reasons for it, he did confide in Allie about what was going on with his mother prior to her death. “My relationship with Serena is maybe more welcoming of the parts of myself that I would be too embarrassed or ashamed to reveal to Allie,” Lauria told us. “But then Allie is someone who is everything that I want to be, or the relationship with Allie represents who I want to be and what I’ve worked my whole life for and everything about her feels aspirational.”

Queen Latifah and Tory Kittles in 'The Equalizer' - 'Justified'
Michael Greenberg/CBS

Robyn & Dante, The Equalizer

Assuming Dante (Tory Kittles) survives that major cliffhanger, it seems like we’ll likely see the end of the slow burn and the beginning of a relationship for him and Robyn (Queen Latifah) sooner rather than later. After all, while under the influence of a truth serum in the Season 3 finale, Dante confessed, as she listened, “She showed me things about myself I didn’t even know were there, showed me that justice wasn’t so black and white. I love her for that.” How much longer can they ignore what’s between them after that?

Niko Terho and Alexis Floyd in 'Grey's Anatomy' - 'Love Don’t Cost a Thing'
ABC/Raymond Liu

Adams & Griffith, Grey's Anatomy

Griffith (Alexis Floyd) didn’t go through with her wedding to be with Adams (Niko Terho), and it certainly looks like they’ll be together in Season 20. But there’s also the events of the Season 19 finale cliffhanger — which saw them operating on Sam (Sam Page) after Teddy (Kim Raver) collapsed — to consider. Might that affect their personal relationship?

Jaicy Elliot and Midori Francis in 'Grey's Anatomy'
ABC/Bonnie Osborne

Helm & Yasuda, Grey's Anatomy

Yasuda (Midori Francis) asked Helm (Jaicy Elliot) to be her date to Griffith’s wedding since it would be before the other doc would become her boss … but considering those kisses and everything else we saw from them, something tells us they won’t be able to stay away from each other next season, despite the complicated work dynamics.

Mariska Hargitay as Captain Olivia Benson, Christopher Meloni as Det. Elliot Stabler in 'Law & Order: Organized Crime' - 'With Many Names'
Peter Kramer/NBC

Benson & Stabler, Law & Order: SVU and Organized Crime

It’s been a loooonnng slow burn for Captain Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Detective Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni), but the two did seem to take steps towards one another in the most recent seasons of their shows, from an almost-kiss to that heartfelt gift in the finale crossover (though he is going to be wrapped up in a new case for the foreseeable future). He removed the “E” on the ornament she gave him that Noah’s half-brother’s parents gave her, so it read “Liv Love Laugh,” and he gave her a compass on a necklace to “lead [her] to happiness.” Will 2024 — Organized Crime is now a midseason show — be their year?