The 9 Best Valentine’s Day Episodes to Stream

Let’s all be honest: The best place to spend Valentine’s Day is on your couch. Whether that means snuggled up with someone special, snuggled up with a half gallon of ice cream, or there by yourself because you are perfectly happy being single, it doesn’t matter. Plop down on that comfy couch turn on some holiday appropriate television and voilà—the perfect Valentine’s Day.

Need some options as far as what to watch? We’ve got you covered below with some TV episodes that are sure to get you in the Valentine’s Day mood, even if your particular “mood” is that you hate it. There’s something for everyone!

“Friends” has several excellent Valentine’s Day-themed episodes (Janice on the mixed tape, anyone?), but this season eight outing has everything you could want in a Valentine’s Day episode: If you’re feeling romantic, watch as Joey struggles with his feelings for Rachel. If you need a laugh, Chandler thinks Monica gave him porn for Valentine’s Day, but it turns out to be an extremely graphic video of a woman giving birth. It is traumatizing—much like this holiday can be!
Streaming on Netflix

Of all “The Simpsons'” Valentine’s Day episodes, choo-choo-choose this one in which Lisa gives Ralph Wiggum a Valentine’s Day card out of pity and he develops an all-encompassing crush on her. We’ve got puns on cards, humiliation on national television, people being emotionally moved by a play about our forefathers, and “Monster Mash.” It’s a classic.
Streaming on Amazon Prime

Leave it to Leslie Knope to create a brand new holiday that is CLEARLY SUPERIOR to the other holidays. “Parks and Rec” would revisit Galentine’s Day several times throughout its run, but gather your gal pals and watch the holiday’s first appearance to learn the true meaning behind it. And know that you, too, are “a beautiful, talented, brilliant, powerful musk-ox,” and you deserve a lovely holiday.
Streaming on Netflix

If you’d like to spend Valentine’s Day celebrating your favorite rom-coms, start here. This episode both pays homage to and pokes fun of your favorite romantic films, while also offering up a little romance itself: It’s an early example of sparks flying between Mindy and Danny, an excellent will-they-won’t-they couple if ever there was one.
Streaming on Hulu

Are you more of a “please stomp on my heart because love is tragic and I don’t care anymore” type of person? Cool. Maybe you’ll be into this episode of “ER” that takes place on Valentine’s Day in which two children become orphaned and two main characters get stabbed by a patient while a Valentine’s Day party rages outside. If you watched ER during its original run, the final moments of this episode haunted your dreams. If you’re a first-timer, well, welcome to the club.
Streaming on Hulu

Even a Valentine’s Day cynic like Louise gets a kiss in this “Bob’s Burgers” episode that pays homage to “Love Actually” with a kissing montage set to some familiar music. Louise realizing she has a soft spot for Regular-Sized Rudy is the standout story here, but the episode is full of sweet moments, like Bob taking a dance class for Linda and Tina donning stilts so she can have a “sky kiss” with Jimmy Jr. even though she can’t jump on a trampoline because of a chili-eating contest she participated in. Okay, the last thing is kind of gross but also hilarious. Yay love!
Streaming on Hulu

Sam Malone’s 20-year-old Valentine’s Day tradition of meeting up with the same woman for an overnight tryst in a cabin isn’t the most romantic thing, but it does offer up a surprisingly poignant episode about getting older. Still, the main draw here is watching psychiatrists Frasier Crane and his wife Lilith try to help some very awkward patients find love. It does not work.
Streaming on Netflix

Would you like to commiserate with others who believe Valentine’s Day is The World’s Worst? Watch this episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” in which people are rushed to the hospital after the roof collapses at a romantic restaurant on Valentine’s Day. Now, that’s a bad Valentine’s Day.
Streaming on Netflix

“Happy Valentine’s Day, no one!” cries Liz Lemon, providing an anthem for us all. Liz assures everyone that even on Valentine’s Day she doesn’t need someone else. She does, however, need someone else to pick her up from the dentist’s office after her root canal. That proves to be a problem. Come for “30 Rock’s” take on this made-up holiday invented to make single people feel bad, stay for Tina Fey making out with a plant she has mistaken for Jon Bon Jovi.
Streaming on Hulu