Single Woman Seeks Good Man in Live-Action TV.
- All Creatures Great & Small (2020): Helen Alderson falls in love with James Herriot for his earnest sweetness, kindness to everyone he meets, and dedication to the animals he cares for.Helen: [to James' parents] You should be so proud of him. I certainly am. And I love him, with all my heart.
- Arrowverse:
- Arrow:
- Laurel Lance might have a reputation for dating bad boys but she didn't really show any interest in Tommy (during Season 1) until he demonstrated he could be something other than a shallow playboy. It's also clear what renewed her interest in a relationship with Oliver was the fact that, even though he tried to hide it as hard as he could, he had become a much better man — the man she always thought he could be.
- Felicity Smoak always managed to see the best in Oliver, and her word carried so much weight with him that he actually acted on the goodness she could see in him even when he couldn't find it himself.
- The Flash (2014):
- All of the men Caitlin Snow has had a confirmed interest in were because of this.
- Ronnie Raymond is a Nice Guy who helped her be more social.
- She was implicitly attracted to Barry Allen for a time because he is an All-Loving Hero.
- She fell for Jay Garrick because he was the Flash of Earth-2, wanting to help defeat Zoom despite losing his powers. This gets reversed when he's revealed to be a Serial Killer named Hunter Zolomon, and he's Zoom.
- Her love interest in Season 3 was Julian Albert Desmond. He's a Jerk with a Heart of Gold as despite how stand-offish he is, his more noble aspects are what attracts her.
- Iris West is also similar in that respect, at least in regards to serious love interests. Eddie Thawne was a Nice Guy detective, and her main love interest is Barry. Yet, when definitive bad boy Tony Woodward tried to hit on her, she was immediately repulsed (though admittedly, he also kidnapped her).
- Supergirl (2015): Kara Danvers is only interested in nice men. She had a crush on James Olsen during Season 1 because of this and only showed interest in Mon-El when he started changing to become a better person.
- Arrow:
- In Beauty and the Beast, Catherine falls in love with Vincent while unable to see, and constantly stresses that to him that he is a good man, not the monster he thinks himself to be.
- In Being Human, Annie definitely goes for the Nice Guy. Sadly, this usually doesn't end too well for her. The closest she came would probably be Mitchell, who was her friend since he moved in with George, defended her after Tully tried to sexually assault her and faced his own demons to rescue her from Hell. Meanwhile, Nina is very happy with the sweet George, to the point of being happy to have a family with him.
- The Big Bang Theory:
- Penny constantly has lots of men hitting on her, and a lot of one-night stands, but the only man she truly shows genuine interest in staying with, and the one she ends up marrying, is Nice Guy Leonard Hofsteader who treats her like a person, encourages her interests, and commiserates with her during her failures.
- Similarly, Bernadette only falls for Howard once he (somewhat) grows up and (mostly) drops the Casanova act.
- The women in Blue Bloods generally prefer their men honest, kind, and brave. Erin and Maria are the only ones who flirt with slightly edgier men, and only mildly at that.
- Linda is Happily Married to Danny, who despite his Cowboy Cop tendencies, never treats Linda — or their children — poorly. Danny may not be all that nice, but he is good.
- Frank draws the admiration of Kelly Davidson, Melanie Maines, and a few others — and not by displaying any bad boy tendencies.
- None of the women interested in Jamie (Sydney, Laura, Bianca, Dana, Jennifer ('Dr. Lambchop'), Tara, Eddie) purr over his bad boy traits. He doesn't seem to have any. Eddie even halfheartedly mocks him as a Boy Scout, as if that were a reason for her not to be interested in him, rather than one of the reasons why she is. She fools nobody.
- Nicky does not brook poor treatment from the males interested in her. She didn't when she was in high school, and she doesn't now.
- Bones has plainly stated in one episode that she's attracted to good men, and eventually falls for Booth who is charming, kindhearted, and loyal.
- This is used for the main plot in an episode of Boy Meets World. A girl Shawn likes says he's a good kisser, but that Cory is better boyfriend material. Shawn realizes that his The Casanova ways aren't doing him any favors and changes his tune, which impresses the girl and convinces her to give him another chance.
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Buffy definitely has a thing for bad boys and when she tries to have a relationship with Nice Guy Riley it doesn't work out because he feels he can't compare to Angel, and Buffy clearly doesn't love him like she loved Angel and later Spike. However, Angel himself isn't as bad as he seems. While Buffy seems to need some darkness in her men, she really does want a good man, as she only truly falls in love with Spike after his full Heel–Face Turn.
- Inverted when Buffy thinks that Angel might be interested in Faith. Angel, however, assures her that he doesn't want a "bad girl".
- Castle Rick Castle initially comes across as a rich playboy Casanova Wannabe Manchild whom Detective Kate Beckett at best tolerates (when not dealing with Unresolved Sexual Tension), but as the series goes on, she discovers that, while he still is a manchild, he is also a highly intelligent and thoughtful man who is a good father to Alexis and likes to see the people he cares about happy, and is not above using his wealth to achieve that goal. The more she sees of Castle's real self, the more she warms up to him, to the point where they become an Official Couple by the end of Season 4.
- Charmed:
- Piper married Leo who was nice and sweet and literally an angel.
- While Prue is known to have been attracted to bad boys, the only man she was ever in love with was her Season 1 boyfriend Andy, who fits the "Nice Guy" stereotype to a tee.
- Phoebe bounced around with a few different bad boys, but her ultimate love ends up being Coop the gentle cupid.
- In the Season 1 episode "Feats of Clay", Piper and Phoebe have a conversation about this and All Girls Want Bad Boys, and the differing reasons women may bounce between wanting a bad boy or a good guy.Piper: Look at Doug (a Nice Guy waiter at Piper's restaurant). Great guy, kind of boring on the surface, easy to overlook but maybe in the long run, we're better off with his type.
Phoebe: Maybe in the way long run. I think I'm still looking for adventure.
Piper: Then you risk paying the price.
- In Chuck, Sarah Walker is a tough, fighting-geared spy who quickly falls in love with the show's titular character, a nice, caring, normal guy who she's protecting.
- Other women also find Chuck quite attractive in the first three seasons. Lou, Jill, and Hannah are certainly not lusting after Chuck because he's a bad boy. Indeed, Hannah furiously dismisses Chuck as a Jerkass when he breaks up with her because he has no time for her.
- Anna and Alex fall for Morgan. Now Morgan is eccentric and annoying ... but certainly not a bad boy, and comes with a host of admirable qualities.
- The anonymous women who shoot down Jeff and Lester seem to support this trope too. Jeff and Lester are sleazy and creepy ... and their on-show success rate with women (that is to say, none) reflects this well.
- Ellie too. Devon Woodcombe is muscular ex-frat boy, and former ladies man — who also just happens to be a successful doctor, excellent boyfriend/fiancé/husband and devoted father. The nickname "Captain Awesome" didn't happen by accident.
- For the vast majority of Community, Britta falls firmly into the All Girls Want Bad Boys camp, a trait which causes her endless grief and highlights her self-hating nature. When she gets into a relationship with Troy Barnes, it shows how much she's grown as a person.
- Doctor Who:
- Amy with Rory, whom he loved since childhood. Although she initially had doubts about their marriage (granted, this was during the time her history literally had holes in it, as in her parents were temporary erased from existence), and was attracted to the Doctor (superficially, if her flirting says anything), they finally get married. Rory had to die, be erased from existence and wait 2,000 years, but they finally got together.Amy: You know when sometimes you meet someone so beautiful, and then you actually talk to them and five minutes later they're as dull as a brick. Then there's other people, and you meet them and you think, "Not bad, they're okay," and then you get to know them and, and their face just sort of becomes them, like their personality is written all over it, and they just, they turn into something so beautiful ... Rory is the most beautiful man I've ever met.
- In a rarer platonic example, Clara's attitude to the Eleventh Doctor gradually starts to reflect this trope. It helps that the two of them are quite similar personality-wise (playful, introverted, idealist, somewhat childish, etc.), have both suffered sad and traumatic events in their recent past, and are eager to become good friends who protect and comfort each other in times of need. And while they never address it openly, neither Clara or the Doctor deny that they could get along well if they were boyfriend and girlfriend.
- It is a telling point that Clara idolises Marcus Aurelius, the last of Rome's "Five Good Emperors." The opening scene in "Day of the Doctor" has her quoting Aurelius: "Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one." In "Deep Breath", the first adventure of the 12th Doctor (Peter Capaldi), she admitted to Vastra that Aurelius was the only pin-up she had in her room as a teen. She insists that, while initially thrown by the Doctor's change in appearance, she is more interested in a good man than a pretty boy.
- Amy with Rory, whom he loved since childhood. Although she initially had doubts about their marriage (granted, this was during the time her history literally had holes in it, as in her parents were temporary erased from existence), and was attracted to the Doctor (superficially, if her flirting says anything), they finally get married. Rory had to die, be erased from existence and wait 2,000 years, but they finally got together.
- Anna on Downton Abbey, who believes her love Mr. Bates is a good man even when he doesn't.
- Su-yeon from Extraordinary Attorney Woo is tired of casual dating and guys who only want a hookup, and starts actively searching for a Nice Guy who's ready to settle down. Young-woo fixes her up with her friend Min-sik, since Min-sik is sweet, supportive, chivalrous, and a great cook. Unfortunately, he's also extremely socially awkward, and gets so nervous when he sees the gorgeous Su-yeon that he starts making lame jokes to try and calm himself down, and just ends up speaking in food puns, leading to a date full of Cringe Comedy.
- In Family Matters, after Laura's friend, Maxine, is dumped by a guy who was using her because she was helping to pay and get his car fixed, Laura and Eddie try to set her up on a date with Waldo, knowing that he has a crush on her. She's initially not excited because of how dumb he is, she eventually realizes he's a sweet guy, something she wasn't used to. The two end up dating until Waldo eventually leaves the show.
- Firefly
- Kaylee has a crush on Simon. Simon can't figure out what to do about it.
- Also, Zoe is Happily Married to Wash, who is decidedly not a bad boy.
- Inara certainly seems to act more affectionately than usual towards Mal after he proves that he indeed has a heart of gold.
- Friends: At first, Rachel did not know Paolo was a nasty guy. When she realised he was, she complained to Ross that what she really wants is a nice guy, a sweet, caring guy, etc. She did this more than once before they finally got together.
- Note that it took them a season and a half to get together, and then they went through a bitter break up after a year of constant dysfunction. Mostly because, despite how most viewers remember from the 90s, Ross is something of an Entitled Bastard Jerkass and his Character Development in the later seasons was a much-needed humbling Break the Haughty Experience. Rachel herself was always self-centered and demanding, so it was a case for her too.
- Monica was the biggest example, as she dumped more than one Jerkass who screwed her over, and Richard and Pete, her First Love and Second Love, both fit the "Nice Guy" stereotype. (The gang called Richard a good guy and Pete described himself as 'stupidly charming'). She eventually fell hard for her best friend Chandler, who was sweet, insecure, loyal and even mentioned All Girls Want Bad Boys as the reason he couldn't pick up girls. (This was before he and Monica got together).
- Phoebe's case is weird. She is genuinely attracted to guys who treat her well and pay attention to her and are actually kind to others, but thanks to her upbringing most of her relationships are very short lived, and she dates a lot of jerks in the process. She doesn't take abuse from anyone though, doesn't matter if the guy is a cop who turns out to be too trigger happy or some creep who claims to write erotic novels for children, she is quick to break up but still, she is normally just as quick to sabotage a relationship with a nice guy. She eventually ends up with Nice Guy Mike, who loves and respects her but isn't overbearingly positive like Parker or openly self deprecating like David.
- Game of Thrones:
- Robb Stark's romance with Lady Talisa runs on this. He finally lets his feelings for her be known when she tells him a story of how a slave saving her brother's life compelled her to never live in a slaver city again. Talisa is attracted to Robb because he is a good-hearted, ethical man who treats both his allies and his enemies with respect.
- While Daenerys seems to gravitate towards lovers with a darker edge to them for the majority of the series, she eventually falls in love with the noble, earnest, and honourable Jon Snow over the course of Season 7.
- Rachel and Quinn both choose the sweet, ditzy Finn over the Troubled, but Cute Puck in Glee.
- Good Witch has Cassie fall in love with Sam, a gentle and caring doctor. Her first husband, Jake, was said to have been a Nice Guy as well. Daughters Tara (married to a Nice Guy policeman) and Grace (who dates a couple of guys, both of whom are sweet and good-natured), and cousin Abigail follow this trend, even if Abigail prefers the Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
- Grimm: Adalind Schade undergoes believable Character Development after giving birth to the son of her mortal enemy, Nick Burkhardt. His chivalry and goodness to her are genuinely shocking, given Adalind's rather unhappy life and almost complete inexperience with such kindness from the men in her life. The origin of the pregnancy in (albeit desperate) deception and assault on her part made Nick's kindness to her especially significant. She eventually becomes Nick's Second Love, falling completely for her erstwhile nemesis.
- In How I Met Your Mother, Lily is Happily Married to Marshall, who is probably the sweetest guy on the show.
- Theodore Evelyn Mosby, the perfect husband material anyone could wish for, as he is very sweet, caring, and usually goes out of his way in making people feel loved and valued. Him trailing in a string of failed romances is by no means caused by a character flaw (other than the fact that he is sometimes naive and way too often overdoes his romantic gestures); rather, it is mostly caused by unfortunate circumstances and his inability to come into terms with his lingering feelings for Robin. Once he gets over that hurdle, however, he finally meets the girl of his dreams and rightfully earns his happily ever after with the Mother.
- Speaking of Robin, despite their incompatibility, she pretty much appreciates Ted's good qualities — in fact, part of the reason why most of her relationships never worked out is because they often can't measure up to what Ted has done for her. In the series finale, she considers Ted to be the man she should have married.
- Law & Order: SVU: Detective Amanda Rollins spends much of the show in and out of one bad relationship after another with a variety of bad boys, which is unsurprising given her family history but still frustrating to her friends. When she finally does fall in love for keeps, though, it's with her best friend, her rock, and the only father figure her daughters have ever known — her former (police) partner, ADA Dominick "Sonny" Carisi, a gentle, family-oriented, upstanding Italian Catholic boy from Staten Island who has always been there for her and loves her for who she is.
- In the very short-lived ABC series Life as We Know It, after Dino's dad found out his wife was cheating on him, moved out, and started dating someone else. Her reasons: the hockey coach is funny and good with kids.
- Lois & Clark: In similar fashion to the entry in the Comic Books section, this trope is the raison d'etre of the first two seasons. Lois has a history of jerk boyfriends (if you can call them boyfriends) but still has romantic longings — though she'll deny it vehemently if you ask. Then she meets Clark and finds that he's not a jerk at all, though those pesky Secret Identity problems make this less clear-cut to her than viewers may think. Once they get together, the trope morphs into How To Live With A Superhero.
- In the Magnum, P.I. episode "Lest We Forget," a prostitute tries to elope with a navy flier in World War II for this reason. After Pearl Harbor, they each think each other dead and have to wait fifty years before Magnum reunites them.
- Guinevere from Merlin (2008) shows no interest in prattish Arthur whatsoever until he begins to show some humility.
- Mimpi Metropolitan: It took a while since she prefers him as a friend at first, but eventually Melani chooses Bambang over the handsome-but-obnoxious Alexi and Juna because of this. As she tells Pipin, Melani loves Bambang for being caring, helpful, and his occasional wisdom, which outweigh his overly-emotional tendencies.
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2024): When John and Jane go on a double date with another Smith pair, they’re asked by Jane #2 if they believe they would still be compatible if they hadn’t been matched together by the agency. In response, Jane says she really respects John and that he has a good heart.
- Our Miss Brooks: Miss Brook's goal throughout the radio, television series and filmadaptation. Her heart is clearly set on the very decent and attractive biology teacher Mr. Boynton. Unfortunately, Mr. Boynton is very shy and almost altogether Oblivious to Love. Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton finally get married at the end of the movie.
- This trope runs across the board for most of the official pairings in Parks and Recreation.
- Leslie, after having gotten over her crush on The Casanova Mark, went through a series of different dates before settling down with the nice and stable Ben.
- Ann similarly goes through a period of terrible boyfriends before getting together with Chris.
- The Snark Knight April was initially against conventional relationships, having been in a vaguely polyamorous relationship with two equally cynical and moody gay guys (one of whom is "straight for her", whatever that means). Then she meets and befriends the good-natured Andy, who actually is straight and completely into her, in addition to being dedicated to bettering himself for her sake.
- After learning from Ron not to confuse drama with happiness, Donna rekindles a romance with patient and compassionate Joe, and later marries him.
- The basis behind the Parks Department's resident Butt-Monkey Jerry's marriage with his stunningly gorgeous wife Gayle. While everyone else wonders how he could be so lucky, it's shown repeatedly that Jerry is a very nice and amiable guy, is quite artistic and cultured, is a loving and devoted family man, and appears to be much more confident and self-assured when away from the office. Add in the fact that he was slimmer in his younger years (apparently resembling a young Chris Traeger) and is said to be shockingly well endowed, and his appeal seems less mysterious.
- Sex and the City:
- Charlotte kept saying how she was after a good marrying man. She dated a bunch of handsome men, many of whom turned out to be jerks or losers. She finally falls in love with Harry Goldfarb, a short, bald, pudgy lawyer with irritating habits and wound up happily married to him. Two factors certainly helped. One, he was her divorce lawyer and sort-of emotional anchor. Two, despite his average looks he was VERY good in bed.
- Both Miranda and Samantha's respective men, Steve and Smith, fit this as well. Smith was as sweet and loyal as he was Mr. Fanservice, and Steve is the embodiment of what women say when they wish they could meet a nice man. Big... never at any point resembled this trope.
- Sex/Life: Billie constantly talks about how Cooper is such a good nice man, which was a welcome respite from the serious damage all those "bad boy" types left on her. She even admits that he's the far better and safer man for her than Brad ever was. That being said, her earliest interactions with Brad where they established a sexual connection, he was doing nice things for her, too.
- Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye: In "Cold Case", the men get dragged into a Bachelor Auction. At the hospital benefit, it's revealed that the winner for the date with Bobby was a sweet older lady. While Darcy D'Angelo is watching them slow-dance, she notes that he's making the lady feel like the brightest star in the room. She comments that one has to love a guy who behaves that way.
- Teen Wolf: Allison wasn't interested in getting a boyfriend, until she met sweet, high school loser Scott. Likewise, Kira is quickly won over by his friendliness and kindness when she arrives, and for bonus points is just as nice and dorky as Scott himself.
- Scott's mother Melissa is seeking a good man, including splitting up with Scott's dad when his alcoholism and work got out of control. Too bad she's asked out by Peter Hale. However, her Ship Tease with Stiles' dad, the loyal and hard-working Sheriff plays this straight.
- The Tribe:
- Exaggerated in the first season. The series takes place in a lawless, post-apocalyptic city, where civilization has entirely collapsed and people do terrible things to survive. Most characters — both male and female — have grown pragmatic and distrustful because of this, if not outright evil. And then there's Bray, who is introduced as Trudy's protector, refusing adamantly to abandon her and her unborn child. Even though the child isn't his. Even though the child is actually the son of his tyrannical younger brother. And said brother is hunting Trudy because of this, and Trudy is emotionally fragile at the best of times. Bray still stands up to the tribe of protagonists, saying 'If I join, so does she.' The ensuing flood of romantic attention and catfights nearly destroys the fledging tribe.
- Later on, Bray exemplifies the other end of this trope. He tries to stay away from said romantic attention, focusing instead on scavenging and helping his tribe... and thus falls for Amber, the confident, responsible leader of said tribe who is strongly dedicated to helping others. She's a bit reluctant to return Bray's feelings, seeing him as The Casanova who spread discord among her tribe, but they eventually hook up and become the political version of a Battle Couple.
- Gender Inverted with Lex, a Jerkass. After dating Zandra and Alice, he realises that what he really wants in a partner is someone he can respect, someone who shares similar survival abilities and isn't afraid to disagree with him. He finds this in Tai-San.
- The Walking Dead Television Universe:
- Maggie Greene falls in love with Glenn after seeing how brave, kind, smart, and selfless he is.
- Michonne falls for Rick after seeing what a dedicated leader and good man he is.
- Rosita eventually gets into a long-term relationship with Gabriel Stokes, who by this point has reformed into a loyal, kind, and honest leader.
- Sasha initially falls for Bob Stookey, a genuinely Nice Guy. After his death, she doesn't warm up to Abraham Ford's interest in her until he dials back how strongly he was coming on, stops flirting with her behind his girlfriend's back (leaving her in the process), and shows he's maturing into someone who actually wants to live a normal life.
- Enid falls for Carl and later Alden, two kind and heroic young men.
- Oceanside resident Jules quickly becomes attracted to Luke, probably the nicest guy on the show since the death of Glenn.
- Unique example with Max Mercer, aka "Stephanie". She begins contacting Eugene over the radio, and falls for him after they spend virtually entire days talking to each other, sharing similar interests and senses of humor - all without even seeing him. Once they finally meet in person, she starts a relationship with him properly after seeing what a brave and loyal man he is.
- In Fear the Walking Dead, Grace falls for Morgan who is just as big-hearted as she is. June also marries John Dorie, one of the kindest souls introduced across the franchise.
- Elena from The Vampire Diaries, with first Matt, then Stefan, and even Damon, as they didn't wind up together until after he'd shown the heart of gold beneath his snarky and dangerous exterior.
- Mildred Hubble in Weirdsister College found herself attracted to the bad boy and Jerkass Nick Hobbes but eventually chose nice guy Ben instead.
- Donna Moss on The West Wing.
