History Main / JustPartners

->'''Elliot Stabler:''' You offering to be my partner?\\
'''Donald Cragen:''' I'm not your type.\\
'''Elliot Stabler:''' ''(grins)'' I don't know. Maybe I'd have better luck with a guy. Women keep leaving me.
-->-- ''LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''

The leads on a crime drama or procedural. This is a male-female relationship, and the duo is usually, but not always, in a law enforcement profession. They do not have to officially be partnered together as long as they don't work with anyone else more closely than they work with each other. They're like the partners of a BuddyCopShow only, you know, different genders.

The duo typically spends a lot of time together off the job. There's probably a [[WillTheyOrWontThey will-they-won't-they]] element between the two characters. Their relationship must be one of the main focuses of the show, and is usually in the form of a JustFriends scenario. There are often countless instances of ShesNotMyGirlfriend and EveryoneCanSeeIt.

Usually they're an OddCouple, especially a [[AgentMulder believer]], and a [[AgentScully skeptic]], but not necessarily, making them [[OppositesAttract fundamentally different]] in their beliefs. Typically, these characters will also experience a difference of opinion on other faith-based subjects, such as religion.

This trope doesn't tend to pop up on [[EnsembleCast ensemble shows]] or shows that only have one lead, such as ''Series/{{House}}'' or ''[[Series/TwentyFour 24]]''.

Relationship strength comparable to HeterosexualLifePartners and PlatonicLifePartners but with [[WillTheyOrWontThey sexual tension]]. If they end up actually hooking up, you probably have a BattleCouple on your hands.
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!!Examples:

[[AC: {{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
* {{Patlabor}} has two examples:
** First with captains Gotoh and Shinobu, which is PlayedStraight, with [[HopelessSuitor Gotoh]] nursing unrequited feelings for Shinobu, who strictly enforces a professional relationship between them.
** Noa and Asuma's relationship is also played straight in the {{OVA}} continuity, but is subverted near the end of the ''Mobile Police/New Files'' continuity, where Noa and Asuma [[MaybeEverAfter show signs of becoming]] [[RelationshipUpgrade "more than friends".]]

[[AC:Live Action TV]]
* ''{{The X Files}}''. Mulder and Scully. They started out purely professional. They [[TheNotLoveInterest did]] [[BerserkButton not]] [[AlwaysSaveTheGirl stay]] [[RelationshipUpgrade that]] [[OfficialCouple way]].
* From ''{{Castle}}'', there's Castle and Beckett. Castle isn't actually a cop, just a writer who's gotten permission to shadow Beckett.
* Dr. Temperance "''{{Bones}}''" Brennan and her partner FBI Agent Booth.
* Jane and Lisbon on ''TheMentalist''.
* Subverted with Peter and Olivia on ''{{Fringe}}'' and played straight in certain universes.
* ''LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' has Elliot Stabler who always works with a woman. Once he was partnered with a man. It didn't go so well.
* Danny Reagan and his partner and Jackie Curatela in ''Series/BlueBloods''.
* Myka and Pete from ''{{Warehouse 13}}'' are this, heavily inspired by the [[AgentScully Scully]][=/=][[AgentMulder Mulder]] dynamic from ''{{The X-Files}}'' shown above.
* Common to all 3 ((CSI)) series. {{CSI}} had Catherine and Grissom until the cast shift, {{CSI NY}} had Mac and Stella. Now Jo is slipping into the part. On {{CSI Miami}}, it's Horatio and Calleigh.
* [[TheInspectorLynleyMysteries Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley]] and his partner DS Barbara Havers. He's rich, titled, and went to {{Oxbridge}}. She's working-class, cranky, and went to Ealing Tech. At the start, she hates him and he's completely frustrated by her. Two seasons in, putting her life and her career on the line for him is nothing short of instinctive. Three seasons in, the only thing capable of keeping him from going in unarmed and unprotected to rescue her from [[spoiler:being held hostage at gunpoint]] is a ''full tactical assault squad''. By the end, they're each other's {{Not Love Interest}}s to the fullest extent of the trope.
* Karen and Davis from {{Corner Gas}}, two small-town cops that have a relationship something like an older brother and younger sister. A few times in the series, other people (Lacy) mistake them for getting together, but this is, every time, a misunderstanding. Even the last episode alludes to it with [[spoiler:the credits say "Karen and Davis eventually fell in love and got married...but not to each other]].
* SherlockHolmes and [[GenderFlip Joan Watson]] on ''{{Series/Elementary}}''.
* Surprise aversion in ''Series/GoldenBoy''. [[spoiler:Det. Tony Arroyo and his partner Det. Deb [=McKenzie=] are secretly dating.]]
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** Noa and Asuma's relationship is also played straight in the {{OVA}} continuity, but is subverted near the end of the ''Mobile Police/New Files'' continuity, where Noa and Asuma's relationship [[MaybeEverAfter shows signs of becoming]] [[RelationshipUpgrade "more than friends".]]

* {{Patlabor}} has two examples, first with captains Gotoh and Shinobu, and Noa and Asuma. The former is PlayedStraight, with [[HopelessSuitor Gotoh]] nursing unrequited feelings for Shinobu, who strictly enforces a professional relationship between them. The latter is also played straight in the {{OVA}} continuity, but is subverted near the end of the ''Mobile Police/New Files'' continuity, where Noa and Asuma's relationship [[MaybeEverAfter shows signs of becoming]] [[RelationshipUpgrade "more than friends".]]

* [[TheInspectorLynleyMysteries Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley]] and his partner DS Barbara Havers. He's rich, titled, and went to {{Oxbridge}}. She's working-class, cranky, and went to the [[BritishUnis University of East London]]. At the start, she hates him and he's completely frustrated by her. Two seasons in, putting her life and her career on the line for him is nothing short of instinctive. Three seasons in, the only thing capable of keeping him from going in unarmed and unprotected to rescue her from [[spoiler:being held hostage at gunpoint]] is a ''full tactical assault squad''. By the end, they're each other's {{Not Love Interest}}s to the fullest extent of the trope.

* Danny Reagan and his partner and Jackie Curatela in ''BlueBloods''.

* {{Patlabor}} has two examples, first with captains Gotoh and Shinobu, and Noa and Asuma. The former is PlayedStraight, with [[HopelessSuitor Gotoh]] nursing unrequited feelings for Shinobu, who strictly enforces a professional relationship between them. The latter is also played straight in the {{OVA}} continuity, but is subverted near the end of the ''Mobile Police/New Files'' continuity, where Noa and Asuma's relationship [[MaybeEverAfter shows signs of becoming]] [[RelationshipUpgrade more than friends.]]

* {{Patlabor}} has two examples, first with captains Gotoh and Shinobu, and Noa and Asuma. The former is PlayedStraight, with [[HopelessSuitor Gotoh]] nursing unrequited feelings for Shinobu, who strictly enforces a professional relationship between them. The latter is also played straight in the OVA continuity, but is subverted near the end of the ''Mobile Police/New Files'' continuity, where Noa and Asuma's relationship [[MaybeEverAfter shows signs of becoming]] [[RelationshipUpgrade more than friends.]]

Relationship strength comparable to HeterosexualLifePartners and PlatonicLifePartners but with [[WillTheyOrWontThey sexual tension]].

* [[TheInspectorLynleyMysteries Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley]] and his partner DS Barbara Havers. He's rich, titled, and went to {{Oxbridge}}. She's working-class, cranky, and went to the [[BritishUnis University of East London]]. At the start, she hates him and he's completely frustrated by her. Two seasons in, putting her life and her career on the line for him is nothing short of instinctive. Three seasons in, the only thing capable of keeping him from going in unarmed and unprotected to rescue her from [[spoiler:being held hostage at gunpoint]] is a ''full tactical assault squad''. By the end, they're each other's {{Not Love Interest}}s in a big, ''big'' way.

* [[TheInspectorLynleyMysteries Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley]] and his partner Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers. He's rich, titled, and went to {{Oxbridge}}. She's working-class, cranky, and went to the [[BritishUnis University of East London]]. At the start, she hates him and he's completely frustrated by her. Two seasons in, putting her life and her career on the line for him is nothing short of instinctive. Three seasons in, the only thing capable of keeping him from going in unarmed and unprotected to rescue her from [[spoiler:being held hostage at gunpoint]] is a ''full tactical assault squad''. By the end, they're each other's {{Not Love Interest}}s in a big, ''big'' way.

* Every so often in ''{{The X-Files}}'' Mulder would flirt with a woman and not notice Scully's jealousy. Outside of that they were all business.

The duo typically spends a lot of time together off the job. There's probably a [[WillTheyOrWontThey will-they-won't-they]] element between the two characters. Their relationship must be one of the main focuses of the show, and is usually in the form of a JustFriends scenario. There are often countless instances of [[ShesNotMyGirlfriend She's Not My Girlfriend]] and EveryoneCanSeeIt.

This trope doesn't tend to pop up on [[EnsembleCast ensemble shows]] or shows that only have one lead, such as ''Series/{{House}}'' or ''[[TwentyFour 24]]''.

* Jane and Lisbon on ''{{The Mentalist}}''.

* Peter and Olivia on ''{{Fringe}}''.

This trope doesn't tend to pop up on [[EnsembleCast ensemble shows]] or shows that only have one lead, such as ''{{House}}'' or ''[[TwentyFour 24]]''.

* From ''{{Castle}}'', there's Castle and Beckett.

!!Examples

'''Elliot Stabler:''' (grins) I don't know. Maybe I'd have better luck with a guy. Women keep leaving me.\\
--'''SpecialVictimsUnit

!Examples

* SpecialVictimsUnit has Elliot Stabler who always works with a woman. Once he was partnered with a man. It didn't go so well.
* Danny Reagan and his partner and Jackie Curatela in BlueBloods.