Arrow: The Lance sisters, Sara and Laurel. On top of sharing Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling dynamics, Sara and Laurel have competed for Oliver's affections in the past, with Laurel allegedly sabotaging Sara's chance to start dating Oliver and Sara sleeping with him after he has second thoughts about settling down with Laurel. By the present, the rivalry has largely disappeared, with Laurel being a Cool Big Sis to Sara. Shame they keep dying on one another.
Becoming Elizabeth: Princess Mary (Smart) and Princess Elizabeth (Beautiful) are a complex version of this trope. Mary is older, an Old Maid, Holier Than Thou but far wiser than her kid sister. Elizabeth, on the other hand, is beautiful, passionate and a budding Alpha Bitch but she's also being groomed by her stepfather, much to Mary's horror. True to the historic record, Elizabeth is an excellent student and both sisters have been given a Historical Beauty Upgrade, but they still squarely fit into this trope. The audience knows that eventually, Elizabeth will become a far greater queen than her sister, and even Mary admits Elizabeth is cleverer than she is, but she also points out how naive the young woman is.
The Brady Bunch: One word, repeated thrice: "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!" Although not as prevalent as most people think, since aside from this episode, Marcia and Jan generally got along exceedingly well and even moved in together when they grew up. It's played straight in the movies though where Marcia is a shallow airhead and Jan is an unpopular nerd.
Bridgerton: Daphne (pretty) and Eloise (smart). Daphne is the perfect Regency belle and wholeheartedly embraces the feminine standard of being a good lady wife and mother. Eloise abhors the concepts of marriage and high society and would rather go to university and become a writer. Although they love each other, Daphne doesn't understand Eloise's desire to escape the ton, and Eloise resents how Daphne conforms to societal expectations.
Brothers & Sisters: Downplayed. Both Sarah and Kitty are Smart Sisters, but this being the Walker family...
The Buccaneers (2023): Nan (outspoken, independent, and knows her way around the arts) is the Smart St. George sister, Jinny (ladylike, demure, wants to find a husband) is the Pretty one (which is lampshaded). Though the girls are close, Jinny resents that Nan's actions make it difficult for her to be noticed.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Subverted. The rivalry between Buffy and Dawn is short-lived and somewhat one-sided. However, there are some callbacks to this dynamic in later episodes, especially Season 7's "Him", in which Dawn and Buffy fall under the same guys' love spell.
The Crown (2016): Elizabeth and Margaret’s relationship has shades of this with the former being the smart sister and the latter the pretty one. Given that the show is a fairly accurate piece of historical fiction, a lot of it is Truth in Television. Elizabeth has had the weight of the world on her shoulders from a very young age and envies that Margaret gets all the perks of being a member of the royal family without the responsibility of being Queen. Margaret envies her sister’s happy marriage and sees herself as being her lifelong second fiddle.
This would have played this straight if Darcy wasn't sent to 90210sent to Kenya. However, all interactions between Darcy and Clare fit this trope to a T. And when they aren't interacting, the mention of the other falls into this trope.
Katie and Maya hit this trope, and get to share some actual screentime.
The antagonism of the Sugarbaker sisters, Suzanne (pretty) and Julia (smart), was a major plot component of Designing Women, though they defend each other fiercely from anyone outside their circle.
Played with a bit in Downton Abbey in that older sister Lady Mary is more beautiful, more popular, the favorite of their mother, and it seems wittier than her Hollywood Homely middle sister, Lady Edith. Not to mention that Mary was in an arranged engagement with their second cousin, whom Mary didn't even want but Edith was quite in love with. Top it off with Mary bragging that she can drag any man's attention from Edith whenever she wants, and you have Edith's poisonous jealousy approaching Cain and Abel levels.
Drake & Josh: It's basically a Glorious War Of Brotherly Rivalry. Drake would the "pretty brother" — as he's a Chick Magnet musician who gets a lot of slack because of his good looks. Josh is the "smart brother" who often resents Drake's special treatment.
Elementary: It's played with the two brothers differently. Sherlock is the analytical mildly sociopathic brother, whereas Mycroft is a restauranteur with a taste for the good things in life. However, Sherlock is the better-looking one, especially pre-series when Mycroft was overweight.
Empty Nest: The smart but neurotic Carol and the strong and attractive (but not so bright) Barbara Weston compete for their father's affections.
Everybody Loves Raymond: Debra Barone and her older sister Jennifer Whelan: it is strongly hinted their upbringing echoed Ray and Robert, only in this case Debra is made insecure by thinking Jennifer was the favoured one. Home-maker and mother of three Debra is certainly jealous of childless Jennifer's freewheeling single lifestyle.
Faking It: A light-hearted step-sister example — Amy is the smart Tomboy, and Lauren is the girly one. Most of the tension between them revolves around Amy's mother's alleged favoritism of Lauren.
In the BBC sitcom Get Back, the two Bratty Teenage Daughters are academic, repressed, snobbish Eleanor and down-to-Earth, promiscuous, ostentatiously working-class Jo.
Game of Thrones: Sansa and Arya Stark. Sansa fills the role of "the pretty one" as she is popular, courtly, and fashionable, but — although far from stupid — is hopelessly naive, ignorant and Thinks Like a Romance Novel. Meanwhile, Arya fills the role of "the smart one" as she's Street Smart, perceptive and quick-witted, but lacks manners, polish and is considered plain. You cannot leave them alone without both finding ways to hurt the other — and then feel sorry about it later. As the series continues they downplay this, as Sansa becomes more intelligent and manipulative, and the main contrast in later seasons is more like Sansa as "the smart one" and Arya as "the strong, tough one". In Season 7, Littlefinger tries to use this, making Sansa believe Arya is plotting a coup to become Lady of Winterfell and for Sansa to get rid of her. The problem is Sansa knows full well Arya couldn’t care less about being Lady and sees through the whole thing. The girls brilliantly let Littlefinger think his plan is working all the way up to starting a trial for Arya's treason...at which point Littlefinger discovers too late; he's the one on trial with Sansa passing judgement and Arya slicing Baelish's throat herself.
Happy Endings: Mostly averted with Jane and Alex Kerkovich — Jane is older, smarter and controlling, whereas Alex is the young Ditz. However, both are very attractive, and they have a strong, warm connection. Complications arise in a few episodes — like in the first season "Why can't you Read me?" where Jane is worried that the more personable Alex will steal focus from her without meaning to, but even when they're fighting for real in "the Incident" — these issues (who's smarter, who's prettier, etc), don't really come up. Not that it stops them from almost coming to blows (and not hair-pulling, slapping catfighting, either — Jane broke a pool cue in half and Alex lunged for her) before Brad and Max separated them via Over-the-Shoulder Carry).
Hope & Faith: Hope fills the smart sister role — as a responsible stay-at-home mom, while Faith fills the pretty sister role — a fallen Soap Opera actress.
I Dream of Jeannie: Jeannie and her wicked sister, also named Jeannie. Arguably, the pretty one (the blonde Jeannie) is the sympathetic one, and the smart one (the dark-haired Jeannie) is an evil, bitter shrew. The blonde Jeannie may have been less knowing of the modern world, but she does have the excuse of being trapped in a bottle for two millennia, mind you.
The Legend of Xiao Chuo: The three Xiao sisters grow increasingly hostile towards each other over the course of the series. Eventually two of them start plotting against their youngest sister, which ends with one dead and the other exiled.
Little Britain: Parodied when Vicky Pollard's sister Katie is introduced as the pretty one and Vicky as the more intelligent of the two.
The first is the main plot of the series with long lost twins Emma (the smart, kind sister) and Sutton (the superficial, vain sister).
The second is between Sutton and her adopted sister Laurel (who fulfills the smart sister role).
Mad Men: Played with. Peggy Olson being the pretty younger sister with the hot career in Manhattan, while her older sister Anita is a dowdy and heavy housewife living in Brooklyn with their overbearing Mother, a husband, and young children. Anita seems to be slightly envious of her little sister and would try to cut Peggy to size during Season 2.
McLeod's Daughters: Claire and Tess. Claire is the experienced farmer who is forever showing Tess how things run. Although in fairness, Tess is not actually dumb or ditzy, more a fish out of water.
Melrose Place: Deconstructed with Jane Mancini and Sydney Andrews Mancini. While both sisters are beautiful and come from a good family, it is glaringly obvious that Jane is the one on a pedestal as a stable fashion designer who is (initially) happily married to a doctor and is, by default, the perfect daughter. On the other hand, Sydney is more troubled, being looked at as the spare to her sister's heir, the obvious unfavorite (although her prositution, rap sheet, and overall sneaky behavior may have something to do with that) and she desires what Jane has, particularly her husband Michael.
Modern Family: Haley (the pretty one) and Alex (the smart one). Alex even states at one point that she feels a need to be the smart one to differentiate herself from Haley. For a change though neither is portrayed sympathetically.
The MTV movie awards spoofed True Life with Rebel Wilson playing Catherine, the fat and witless sister of Jennifer Lawrence.
Murdoch Mysteries: Dr. Julia Ogden is the older smart sister who studied medicine and became a doctor (in late Victorian Canada!) while Ruby is the pretty younger sister who is slightly careless and pursues adventure, travelling and career in journalism. Whenever Ruby visits Toronto, they bicker a bit and Ruby keeps using Julia's tomboyish nickname "Jules" to annoy her. For a while, they are the two sisters in a Sibling Triangle, both flirting with Detective Murdoch at once. To her credit, Ruby stops once she understands how much Julia actually likes him. Julia also believes that her father preferred Ruby and never approved of her decision to become a doctor (false though, he was very proud of her accomplishments). Despite all of that, the Ogden sisters love each other.
Mustangs FC has a step-sisters example. Marnie is dark-haired and (mostly) serious, and totally devoted to sport. Lara is a strawberry blonde, beautiful and extremely popular. They continually attempt to one-up one another.
Once Upon a Time: Regina, the Evil Queen, versus her half-sister, Zelena, the Wicked Witch of the West. Zelena's Fatal Flaw is jealousy and from her perspective, Regina had everything she ever wanted and she set out to take everything from her sister. Regina begs to differ because their mother Cora, was an emotionally Abusive Parent who saw her daughters as nothing more than mere tools to cement her own social status and majorly screwed up Regina's life. The sisters still bicker and fight, especially after Zelena tricked Regina's Second Love, Robin Hood, into impregnating her and Regina herself is trying to break the cycle of hatred and abuse and redeem herself to true happiness. In Zelena's eyes, she is the smart, worthy one, and her sister is the beautiful, not-green undeserving favorite of their mother. By the end of the fifth season, their mother explicitly asks them to make amends and be good sisters.
One Tree Hill: An odd example exists in the James sisters since there are three of them (technically four, but the oldest is The Ghost) and they're all adults. The older of the three, Taylor, is the party girl troublemaker and the youngest, Haley, is the married Hot-Blooded mother, leading to some pretty intense fights whenever they are in the same scene. Middle sister Quinn tries to balance it out when the fight comes to a head in Season 7, but since that episode features Taylor being quite a Jerkass to Quinn, it quickly devolves. Into an all-out brawl in Haley's swimming pool.
Pan Am: Kate and Laura except its more of the rebel versus the good kid, which eventually results in Laura (the dutiful one) snapping on the eve of her wedding and running away with her sister to join Pan Am as a stewardess. As the sisters spend time together the rivalry generally dies down but does flare up from time to time.
Psych: Episode 6 of Season 4 reveals that Chief Vick has a sister named Barbara who is a member of the Coast Guard. Throughout the episode, the two butt heads over jurisdiction over a case and their dialogue suggests they have been at each other's throats since they were kids.
Reba: Kyra (the smart/snarky sister) and Cheyenne (the popular/ditzy sister).
Becky was the popular Girly Girl, who was keen on overreacting about small things. Darlene was the snarky Tomboy, who grew up to be an artistic Goth as a teenager. Becky was believed to also be the smart sister, as she would get better grades in school than Darlene. But in the end, Becky decided to get married before finishing High School, so Darlene was the first one in the family to go to college.
Their mother and aunt, too. Even as adults, Jackie is attractive but flaky while Roseanne is homely but down to earth.
The show even has a male example with Becky's and Darlene's husbands, who happened to be brothers: Mark was rough-edged, hard-working, and a womanizer, albeit dumb; David was sensitive, artistic, and smarter, but comparatively fickle.
The Secret World of Alex Mack: Played semi-straight with the Mack sisters. Older sister Annie is the textbook smart one, often called a super-genius, and while Alex is average rather than pretty or popular, she has several friends while Annie has none. They bicker a lot, and Alex is often jealous of Annie's success, but they can't ever stay on seriously bad terms; Annie is Alex's Secret-Keeper and the only one who comes close to understanding how Alex's powers work.
Sherlock The Holmes brothers are another gender-flipped example. Both are extremely intelligent and have similar good looks, but older brother Mycroft is the more "serious" one (concerned with the good of England and seeing the practical need for deduction) where younger brother Sherlock is the equivalent of the "pretty" one (self-centered and only concerned with himself and his work). Doesn't stop them from sniping at each other like a couple of schoolgirls:
Sherlock: Putting on weight again, Mycroft?
Mycroft: Losing it, in fact.
7th Heaven: An interesting subversion occurs with Mary and Lucy Camden. Mary is The Smart One and a tomboy while Lucy's The Pretty One and loves fashion and boys...yet Mary is the popular sister while Lucy is insecure and constantly struggling to fit in.
Mostly averted with Dana and Karen, even if they seemingly fit the trope perfectly. Dana is a smart and snarky Go-Getter Girl, Karen is a popular and ditzy Proud Beauty but there's no rivalry between them and they usually get along. Played straight, however, in the episode "Sister Act" when they fight over a boy and this trope is lampshaded at the end: Karen is secretly insecure about being less intelligent than Dana, while Dana doesn't consider herself pretty compared to Dude Magnet Karen.
Also played straight with Karen and her stepsister Al. Al is not particularly book smart (more of a sporty tomboy) but is very witty, snarky and she often teases her overly vain stepsister Karen in early seasons. They stop bickering in later seasons and become good friends.
Supernatural: Genderflipped example in the Winchester boys: Sam is the intelligent College Boy brother who tries to be rational and think things through while Dean is the ruggedly handsome lady killer with a girl in every port (or truck stop) with a habit of rushing into things and having a shoot first then burn and salt it before asking questions policy. This is somewhat subverted as Sam gets darker after dying and being resurrected when Dean makes a Deal with the Devil in Season 2.
That '70s Show: Kitty and her twin sister, Paula. Paula was always the pretty social butterfly and their mother's favorite, while Kitty was the responsible, grounded one.
Averted with Anne and Mary Boleyn, Catherine and Anne Parr and Mary and Elizabeth I Tudor all getting along very well.
Male example with the brothers Edward and Thomas Seymour.
Two of a Kind: Mary-Kate and Ashley are Polar Opposite Twins who occasionally argue and are jealous of each other. Ashley is the popular one who loves fashion and boys, while Mary-Kate is a snarky Street Smart tomboy (though Ashley is the Book Smart one and gets better grades).
Ugly Betty: Hilda (the pretty one) and Betty (the smart one) as two sisters who have grown up and put aside their rivalry to finally become friends.
Velvet: While neither sister is the "dumb" one, Clara is the more flirtatious outgoing Montesinos sister while Rita is the dorky Montesinos sister who is insecure about her attractiveness to men.
Victorious: The trope is zig-zagged with Tori and her sister Trina. Trina is girly, glamour-obsessed, and confident, while Tori is a smart Girl Next Door and a bit more passive. However, Tori is the popular one (loved by everyone except the Alpha Bitch), while Trina is a Small Name, Big Ego hated by everyone. Another variation is that Trina is the one who gets the Hollywood Homely treatment, and is considered unattractive despite being as pretty as her sister.
The X-Files: Dana and Melissa Scully, though it was never emphasized very much. Both raised in a Navy household, Dana went to medical school and joined the FBI. She is very straitlaced and fact-oriented. Older sister Melissa, on the other hand, is the opposite; she deals with energies, crystals, and may or may not be empathic.
