Best Romance Series 2018–2025: 15 Must-Watch Picks

6 min read

If you’re searching for the best romance series 2018–2025 has produced, this guide brings together 15 carefully selected titles across modern, historical, emotional, and character-driven love stories.

Love on television is no longer limited to grand declarations or inevitable happy endings. In recent years, romance series have moved across different settings, generations, and emotional intensities. Some focus on first love and identity. Others explore marriage, separation, social hierarchy, or personal ambition.

This guide is structured as a map rather than a ranking. Each series begins between 2018 and 2025. The goal is not to determine which is “best,” but to help you understand what each story is about before deciding where to start.

Some relationships begin in youth and evolve over time. Others form under pressure, distance, or social constraint. Some are shaped by historical backdrops. Others unfold in contemporary urban life.

If you are looking for a specific type of romantic narrative, the sections below will help you navigate.

Quick Start Guide

Looking for youth-centered romance and emotional growth?
Normal People, The Summer I Turned Pretty, Love Alarm, Nevertheless, The Flatshare

Interested in mature relationships and long-term commitment?
Scenes from a Marriage, Virgin River, Sweet Magnolias, Love Life, Love Me, The Interest of Love

Prefer historical or period-based romance?
Sanditon, A Suitable Boy, The Buccaneers

This is not a hierarchy. It is a directional guide.

Where to Start

If you are new to romance series or unsure where to begin, these can serve as entry points:

• For a youth-centered relationship story: Normal People
• For a light contemporary romantic tone: The Summer I Turned Pretty
• For a long-term emotional connection across years: One Day
• For a marriage-focused relationship: Scenes from a Marriage
• For a small-town adult romance: Virgin River
• For a period-based romantic setting: Sanditon
• For a mature workplace romance: The Interest of Love

Romance Themes in the Best Romance Series 2018–2025

Romance Series Overvie

Love Alarm (2019)

Season: 2 — Status: Completed

Set in a world where a mobile app reveals mutual romantic feelings.
Kim Jojo navigates high school while dealing with personal trauma.
Two boys become central figures in her life.
The app influences how relationships form and end.
Social pressure increases as the technology spreads.
The story explores romance within a digital framework.

Virgin River (2019)

Season: 8 — Status: Continuing

Mel moves to a small town seeking a fresh start.
She becomes the local nurse practitioner.
Jack, a former Marine, runs the town’s bar.
They begin forming a relationship.
The town’s residents become involved in their lives.
The story unfolds within a close-knit community.

Sanditon (2019)

Season: 3 — Status: Completed

Charlotte Heywood visits the seaside town of Sanditon.
The town aims to become a fashionable resort.
She meets Sidney Parker upon arrival.
Class expectations influence their relationship.
Other couples form within the town.
The story unfolds in Regency-era England.

Normal People (2020)

MINI SERIES

Season: 1 (12 episodes) — Status: Completed

The series centers on Marianne and Connell, who attend the same high school in Ireland.
Despite coming from different social backgrounds, they form a private relationship.
Their connection continues through university years.
Life choices and changing environments affect their dynamic.
They experience separate relationships while remaining connected.
The story follows their long-term emotional bond.

Sweet Magnolias (2020)

Season: 5 — Status: Continuing

Three lifelong friends support each other in South Carolina.
Maddie navigates divorce and new beginnings.
Her relationship with a baseball coach develops.
Family responsibilities shape her decisions.
Friendship remains central throughout.
The story follows adult relationships in a small town.

Love & Anarchy (2020)

Season: 2 — Status: Completed

Sofie starts working at a publishing house.
She meets younger employee Max.
Their connection begins through a playful challenge.
The situation evolves into secrecy.
Sofie’s marriage becomes strained.
The story focuses on desire and consequence.

A Suitable Boy (2020)

MINI SERIES

Season: 1 (6 episodes) — Status: Completed

Lata’s mother searches for a suitable husband for her daughter.
Lata meets three different men.
Each represents a different future.
Family expectations shape the process.
Post-independence India forms the backdrop.
The story centers on marriage and choice.

Love Life (2020–2021)

Season: 2 — Status: Completed

Each season follows a different main character.
Season one centers on Darby’s romantic history.
Season two focuses on Marcus after his divorce.
Every relationship marks a different stage of life.
Career and friendships influence decisions.
The story presents love across multiple chapters.

Scenes from a Marriage (2021)

MINI SERIES

Season: 1 (5 episodes) — Status: Completed

Mira and Jonathan are a long-married couple.
Their relationship begins to change over time.
Professional ambitions affect their dynamic.
They separate while remaining emotionally connected.
Reunions complicate their choices.
The story examines a marriage in transition.

Nevertheless (2021)

Season: 1 (10 episodes) — Status: Completed

Art student Nabi meets Jae-eon at university.
He avoids commitment while remaining emotionally involved.
Their relationship begins without clear expectations.
Friends observe and comment on their situation.
Trust issues shape their interactions.
The story focuses on a modern campus romance.

Love Me (2021–2023)

Season: 2 — Status: Unconfirmed

The series follows Clara and Glen, who have both lost their spouses.
As they navigate grief, they attempt to rebuild their personal lives.
New romantic relationships begin to form within the family.
Their adult children face their own relationship challenges.
Past memories and present choices influence their decisions.
The story centers on love, loss, and second chances within one family.

The Summer I Turned Pretty (2022)

Season: 3 — Status: Completed

Belly spends every summer at a beach house with family friends.
She reconnects each year with brothers Conrad and Jeremiah.
As she grows older, the dynamics shift.
Family tensions influence the summer gatherings.
Romantic feelings intensify between the three characters.
The story unfolds over consecutive summers.

The Flatshare (2022)

Season: 1 (6 episodes) — Status: Unconfirmed

Tiffy and Leon share an apartment without meeting in person.
They communicate through written notes.
Both are dealing with complicated personal lives.
Their emotional connection grows gradually.
Past relationships affect their present choices.
The story centers on an unconventional living arrangement.

The Interest of Love (2022)

Season: 1 (16 episodes) — Status: Completed

Four employees work at the same bank branch.
Ha Sang-soo becomes close to Soo-young.
Social and economic differences affect their relationship.
Misunderstandings create distance.
Parallel relationships unfold among colleagues.
The story develops within a workplace setting.

The Buccaneers (2023)

Season: 3 — Status: Continuing

A group of American women arrive in London.
They seek marriages within British aristocracy.
Cultural differences shape their experiences.
Romantic attachments develop in high society.
Friendships influence decisions.
The story unfolds in 19th-century England.

Final Thoughts

Romance on television no longer revolves around ideal endings or singular emotional arcs. What has shifted in recent years is this: relationships are presented with context. Social class, career pressure, migration, family expectations, and personal ambition are no longer background details — they are active forces shaping intimacy.

Post-2018 narratives tend to avoid simple binaries. Love is not automatically redemptive; independence is not automatically isolating; commitment is not automatically secure. Emotional grey areas have become more visible.

The series included in this guide share a common point: none of them reduce romance to decoration. Whether set in youth, adulthood, historical periods, or darker emotional spaces, relationships remain structurally central to the story.

Approaching romance stories with attention to setting, timing, and social framework often changes how they are experienced. The emotional core may be universal, but the narrative construction around it varies significantly.

If you would like to explore how different genres build their narratives, you can continue in the TV Series section for other thematic guides, or move to the Movies section to see how similar relational dynamics unfold in film form.