Top 10 Hottest Almost TV Kisses

For our first entry, we’re looking at an almost kiss that left fans hanging for months. At the end of “Scrubs’” sixth season, J.D. and Elliot are lying together on a hospital bed. The two are simultaneously wondering if they’ve both made huge mistakes by not being together – J.D. is with Kim, and Elliot is about to marry Keith. They start to lean in to kiss each other, when all of a sudden … the episode ends! Talk about a cliffhanger. At the start of the next season, Elliot pulls away from the kiss. Fans would have to wait just a bit longer for these two to finally make things official.

For the entirety of the gone-too-soon baseball drama “Pitch,” Ginny and Mike tiptoe around each other. She’s the first ever female player to grace a Major League baseball diamond, and he’s a cynical veteran with a number of years under his belt. Naturally, the two clash a bit. But towards the end of the show’s first and only season, Mike and Ginny start to get closer – but not close enough. After bailing on a date to meet Mike at a bar, Ginny hugs Mike goodbye outside, as Mike is being traded to another team. The moment lingers, however, and the two get thiiiiis close to kissing … before a phone rings. Talk about a mood killer.

Shawn may call whatever this is “very close talking,” but we definitely call it almost kissing. Shawn and Jules don’t officially get together with each other until the fifth season of “Psych,” but there was a whole lot of flirting along the way. And this moment takes the award for the most obvious flirting ever. After finishing up a case, Shawn meets up with Jules to debrief. He ends up trying to kiss her before she stops him. But, instead of pulling away, Shawn keeps his face just a whisper away from hers while they debate whether or not kissing would be a mistake. While they eventually decide against locking lips, it’s still one of the sexier moments from the show.

The perfect time for almost kisses is just after the heat of battle, and nothing better exemplifies this than our next entry. A spin-off from the popular “Doctor Who” series, “Torchwood” follows Jack, a con man from the future, and his team from the Torchwood Institute. The group, including a character named Ianto, mostly deal with aliens – you know, the usual stuff. After defeating one such beast, Ianto and Jack find themselves in a compromising position on the ground. The look they give each other is filled with tension – seriously, you could cut it with a knife – but Ianto eventually breaks the moment. Ugh, just kiss already!

While fans of “The X-Files” wouldn’t get a real, romantic kiss from Mulder and Scully until season seven, there were a few fake outs early on. And the best one, in our humble opinion, barely even involved Mulder at all. In season four, the duo works on a case that involves a guy who can transform into anyone he wants. As Mulder, he tries to get Scully drunk and seduce her. Scully – ever the skeptic – resists, but just as she is about to kiss “Mulder,” the real one bursts through the door. The shapeshifter knows the jig is up, and fans felt the sting of another fake out.

Is it an almost kiss if it’s all sort of based on a lie? We think so. In the second season of “Arrow,” Oliver Queen’s enemy Slade kidnaps Laurel. Slade thinks Oliver is in love with Laurel, and that this particular transgression will hurt him the most. Well, think again! It turns out, Felicity is the one who Oliver loves the most, something he tells her after pleading with her to stay put at his old house, where she’ll be safe. Of course, Slade finds out about this – but he’s been duped again! The whole thing was planned by Oliver to try and lure Slade out of hiding. It may have started out as a trick, but these do actually end up together later.

The love story between Mr. Bates and Anna on “Downton Abbey” is one of the series’ sweetest and most dramatic. It also features a pretty great almost kiss in season one. At Downton, Mr. Bates works as the valet for Robert Crawley, while Anna is a maid. The two strike up a natural friendship that quickly leads to real romantic feelings for the both of them. In the middle of season one, the two have frequent run-ins – including a moment where they are just about to finally kiss for the first time. Unfortunately, they’re interrupted – but don’t worry! All turns out right in the end.

If we got down to this level of dirty dancing, we’d be aching for a make out sesh too! During flashbacks to a wedding, we watch as Robin struggles with whether she should tell Barney she has feelings for him or not. Just as she’s gotten up the courage to do so, Barney pulls her out on the dance floor instead. The two get up to Baby and Johnny levels of sex appeal, and even do their own little version of a “Dirty Dancing”-esque lift. As Robin comes down in Barney’s arms, things get heated – but just as the two are about to kiss, Barney gets a phone call. It turns out to be another girl, leaving Robin heartbroken.

If we were to give out an award for the sheer amount of interrupted kisses, these two would definitely take it home. Bones and Booth kissed a bunch in this beloved series, but they also sure had a lot of close calls. One of our favorites happens towards the beginning of season five. During a night at the museum, the two sneak down to the Egyptian exhibit, and start to discuss the nature of their relationship. They get closer…and closer…and even closer! It totally looks like they’re about to lay one on each other – but then, as these things usually go, they’re interrupted. But that tension sure is palpable.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Chuck & Sarah, “Chuck” (2007-12)
No Kissing On the First Date

Simon & Kaylee, “Firefly” (2002)
Too Much Drinking Leads to Almost Kisses

Peter & Olivia, “Fringe” (2008-13)
Too Scared To Kiss

Clark & Lois, “Smallville” (2001-11)
Ex-Girlfriends Are Not Conducive to Kissing

Max & Johnny, “2 Broke Girls” (2011-17)
Johnny Blows Max Off

These two are the bane of our existence! Before “Bridgerton,” we don’t know if we would have said that almost kisses can be as satisfying as kisses. But after “Bridgerton?” We know they can. In season two, Kate and Anthony spend more time at each other’s throats than actually being nice to each other. But, that of course leads to oodles of sexual tension between the two. Whether it be almost making out in a library, or an office, or a closet … or any number of random rooms really, these two have chemistry like no other couple. We loved it when they finally did kiss, but we loved the build up even more.