History TrueCompanions / LiveActionTV

* ''Series/ReadyOrNot1993'': Despite being [[TomboyAndGirlyGirl total opposites in character and interests]], Busy and Amanda are each other’s closest friend. They try cultivating other friendships when they hit a rough patch, but end up realizing no one else understands them better than each other.

* ''Series/ReadyOrNot'': Despite being [[TomboyAndGirlyGirl total opposites in character and interests]], Busy and Amanda are each other’s closest friend. They try cultivating other friendships when they hit a rough patch, but end up realizing no one else understands them better than each other.

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'':

* ''Series/{{Friends}}'' was described by one critic as a show about a bunch of young adults finding a [[FamilyOfChoice replacement family]] for their own, [[DysfunctionJunction dysfunctional ones]]. Lampshaded by a [[GirlOfTheWeek Guy of the Week]] of Phoebe's whose [[MinorFlawMajorBreakup minor flaw]] was his incessant psychoanalysis of the group. The gang through the ten-year-run support each other in every circumstance from Ross's divorces to Phoebe's surrogacy and Joey's acting career. They operate as a [[LimitedSocialCircle complete, exclusive unit]], and although there are several times, like Ross and Rachel's break up, Ross's marriage to Emily and Chandler and Monica moving away, when they worry the group might split up, nothing's strong enough to break them. The main cast was a RealLife version, too, all insisting on equal pay and screentime, and if they were nominated for awards, you could not nominate one of the cast for Best Lead and another for Best Supporting Cast Member.

* ''Series/{{Friends}}'' was described by one critic as a show about a bunch of young adults finding a [[FamilyOfChoice replacement family]] for their own, [[DysfunctionJunction dysfunctional ones]]. Lampshaded by a [[GirlOfTheWeek Guy of the Week]] of Phoebe's whose [[MinorFlawMajorBreakup minor flaw]] was his incessant psychoanalysis of the group. The gang through the ten year run support each other in every circumstance from Ross's divorces to Phoebe's surrogacy and Joey's acting career. They operate as a [[LimitedSocialCircle complete, exclusive unit]], and although there are several times, like Ross and Rachel's break up, Ross's marriage to Emily and Chandler and Monica moving away, when they worry the group might split up, nothing's strong enough to break them. The cast of ''Friends'' could be considered as a RealLife version, too.

* The Merry Men in ''Series/RobinOfSherwood'' or the outlaws in BBC's ''Series/RobinHood'' (or indeed, any retelling of the RobinHood legend that includes all the Merry Men). In the case of the BBC version, this is more true in the first season. In the second season [[spoiler: Allan]] turns traitor and begins working for the enemy, but in the same episode he has his HeelFaceTurn and returns to his true companions, and outlaws Will and Djaq opt to stay in the Holy Land together as the others return to England. The third season has less emphasis on the outlaws, and newcomers Tuck and Kate never achieve the closeness of true companions that the previous incarnation of the gang did.

* ''Series/TippingTheVelvet'': Nan eventually creates a family for herself made up of Florence, Ralph, and Cyril. There's even a scene where the adult members speculate as to who would be in their personal heavens with them and each one lists all the others.

** The main character, Beckett, Ryan, and Esposito have formed one of these, to the point where Castle offers to let Beckett [[InnocentCohabitation stay at his house]] after [[spoiler:a psychotic serial killer blows up her apartment.]]

* ''Series/TwentyFour'': Strongest display at the end of Season 4. When Jack needs [[spoiler: to fake his death]], [[BigGood David Palmer]], [[TookALevelInKindness Tony Almeida]], [[TheChick Michelle Dessler]], and [[FireForgedFriends Chloe O'Brien]] are the only four people he trusts enough to help him do this. [[spoiler:Which makes Season 5's opening that much more heartbreaking.]]

* Any ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' or ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' team. (And ''Power Rangers'' {{Reunion Show}}s make it seem that all teams are like an extended family... again, if you remember that it doesn't necessarily mean you like each other.) Though some of ''Franchise/{{Kamen Rider}}s'' aren't this, some good examples include the entire Showa-era Riders, Kick Hopper and Punch Hopper from ''Series/KamenRiderKabuto'', the good Imagin from ''Series/KamenRiderDenO'', the Hikari Studio team from ''Series/KamenRiderDecade'' and the Futo detective agency from ''Series/KamenRiderDouble''.
** ''Series/KamenRiderFourze'' is a perfect example with everyone forming a club together and defending one another.

* The relationship between the members of Music/SClub7 was portrayed this way on their show. They all thought of each other like family, were always there for one another, and became deeply depressed in the episode where [[RealLifeWritesThePlot Paul left the band]]. The relationship between the band members in real life, however, [[UnderminedByReality was a completely different story]].

* ''Franchise/UltraSeries'': The teams of any given series are almost like a loving family, but perhaps the shining example in the franchise is ''Series/UltramanMebius''. Defense crew GUYS are as closely knit as they get with ThePowerOfFriendship, [[OddFriendship especially given]] the team is made up of Mebius in a human disguise, the sole survivor of the previous crew, an international soccer player, a motorcycle racer, a geeky medical student, and a {{Meganekko}} preschool teacher.

** Sweets, Bones and Booth have this perhaps the most notably, with them including Sweets in dinner 'family style' during 'Mayhem on a Cross', Booth referring to him as a little brother, and allowing him to live with them when he [[spoiler: breaks up with Daisy]]. Fans often refer to them as [[FanNickname the Duck Family]]

** In the Season 3 episode where after Connor is kidnapped, Wesley is outcast. Angel and the remaining Team Angel go on a mission to win back Gunn's soul because: "We're not losing another member of this family."

%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order.

** In the season 3 episode where after Connor is kidnapped, Wesley is outcast. Angel and the remaining Team Angel go on a mission to win back Gunn's soul because: "We're not losing another member of this family."

** The above point is raised in a first-season episode which revolves around the romantic entanglements the group get involved in. Jeff points out that while they might be as close as a family, unlike a real family there's also nothing to prevent them from forming romantic relationships with each other. [[ShipTease Cue lots of nervous back-and-forth glances between every single member of the group with every other member of the group]].

** In season 3, when the group is [[spoiler: expelled]] this trope makes it a bittersweet ending rather than a negative one. Pointed out by Troy when Abed questions whether this is still the [[ItMakesSenseInContext happiest timeline]].

** The team interacting with Rossi in his first few episodes comes across a bit like a group of suspicious teenagers getting to know their stepdad when they're not quite over Dad leaving yet. Rossi, in turn, is not used to the team structure of the BAU and is rather distant from the rest of them at first (except [[HeterosexualLifePartners Hotch]]), but after several of his teammates help him solve ThatOneCase that's been bothering him for 20 years--giving the reason that, because he cares about solving it, they do too--he finally warms up to them.

** The original ''Series/{{CSI}}'' team has been entering this trope over time. The season nine premiere only made it explicit, with even TheSpock, Gil Grissom, calling the team his family. In return, more than one team member has stated they think of Grissom as a father figure. Catherine also acknowledges it when she walks into Grissom's office and sees Sara -- as Nick and Greg walk in behind her, she hugs Sara tightly, looks around, and says, "At least we can all be together."

* There's also the FourGirlEnsemble of Susan, Bree, Gabrielle and Lynette from ''Series/DesperateHousewives.'' Note that Edie is clearly ''not'' a part of this group, proven for good when she tried to blackmail Bree in Season Four, causing the other ladies to stand by Bree and basically kick Edie off of Wysteria Lane. By contrast, when Katherine [[spoiler: killed her ex-husband to protect herself and her daughter]], the four quickly covered for her, making it clear they saw her as their true friend.

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E13JourneysEnd "Journey's End"]] has the Doctor and all the companions he's ever had up to that point in the revival series — Rose Tyler, Captain Jack Harkness, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, Sarah Jane Smith and Mickey Smith (Jackie Tyler is asked not to touch anything) — pilot the TARDIS together to bring the Earth back home in an intense sequence that has moved many a fan to tears.

** Brought up again in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E13TheWeddingOfRiverSong The Wedding of River Song]]". After an entire series deconstructing the idea of the Doctor — that he hurts people, that he makes them scared, that he ruins lives, [[spoiler: River shows him how all the universe has responded to her call to help him. Not just past companions, but anyone he's ever touched for the good.]]
** Eleven considers the Paternoster Row gang — Vastra, Jenny and Strax — to qualify as well, since they were there for him when he needed it after the loss of the Ponds.

* Even though the cast of ''Series/{{ER}}'' changed a lot during the show's fifteen year run there's no denying that this trope was true among many of the characters on the show. Both on a smaller scale (the friendships between Greene, Ross and Hathaway and between Benton and Carter for instance) and on a larger scale, as seen in episodes where something bad happened to an ER staff member. The classic episode where John Carter and Lucy Knight are stabbed by a schizophrenic patient [[spoiler:and only Carter survives]] is not only a wonderful example of how they all come together in times like that - the episode title is "''All in the Family''".

** The relationship between Pilot and Aeryn is strange and distinct enough to warrant further elaboration. They, more than the others, change the most in the early episodes: Aeryn from a soldier in a galaxy-spanning military dictatorship, Pilot as essentially a slave to that dictatorship. This is demonstrated in an episode where the science-y members of the crew (John and Zhaan) are unavailable, so Aeryn has to do testing on Rygel on her own, complaining that she is unsuited for this kind of work--only for Pilot to admit that he has difficulty understanding complex sciences, too. Later on they share DNA, causing their bond to be made physical. Aeryn is often times the only one who sees Pilot as a distinct being rather than an offshoot of Moya. This makes the episode "[[Recap/FarscapeS02E05TheWayWeWerent The Way We Weren't]]" all the more painful, as it reveals the dark past of both of them, and puts serious doubts that their relationship will survive the revelation that [[spoiler: Aeryn was part of a firing squad that killed Moya's former Pilot]]. However, [[spoiler: the two manage to re-bond and forgive each other and themselves for their past sins.]]

** And ''again'' in the season two episode "Rumours," where, after serious gossip threatens to tear the club apart, they ultimately [[spoiler: buy Sam's guitar back from the pawn shop]] and support him via song.
** Brittany beautifully [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] it in the season two finale:

** The Jenkintown Posse (JTP), initially consisting of Barry Goldberg, Geoff Schwartz, Rob Smith, and Andy Cogan. Matt Bradley later joined in season 4 as the resident chill member, despite Barry's initial reluctance to recruit him.
** In season 5, Beverly Goldberg would form her own group, the Frentas (a portmanteau of "friend" and "yenta"), with Essie Karp, Virginia Kremp, and Linda Schwartz.

* In ''Series/HappyEndings'' this trope is illustrated often almost to the point of Deconstruction with how much time the characters all spend together. The biggest proof is illustrated in the main theme of the first season-the friends all staying together despite Alex running out on her and Dave's wedding-both of them care too much about their friendship family to mess it up. Likewise, while Dave and Alex are still adjusting to being friends, and fighting a lot, the other four are willing to go out of their way to do things twice-once with each of them, such as having a meal or watching a movie. In season 3, Penny's mom really shines a light on it.

* ''Series/HouseOfAnubis''- Sibuna definitely qualifies. They aren't immune to bickering or teasing, but they are loyal to the end, and each one has shown a willingness to get hurt or even killed in order to save another member who needs it. It spoke a lot when the other four Sibuna members were perfectly willing and determined to help Nina in season 2 immediately upon getting the chance, despite her main concern being ''their'' safety.
* Ted, Marshall, Barney, Lily and Robin - despite being very different people - form one of these in ''Series/HowIMetYourMother.'' They're also somewhat unique in that their group's immortality is ensured not because of the PlotImmunity and LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt that accompanies most of these examples but because the story is ''set in the future'', where the comments of Future!Ted and his kids makes it clear they are all still best friends (e.g., referring to them as "Aunt" and "Uncle", as well as through {{Flash Forward}}s and other clear spoilers). He admits that yes, by the year 2030 they had all drifted apart a ''little'' bit in the sense that they weren't always sitting together in the booth at [=McLaren's=] every single night, but as he puts it, "Our booth was wherever the five of us were together."

%%** Season Two added Ames (who eventually ends up in a sort-of father/daughter relationship with TokenEvilTeammate Gurerro) and Ilsa Pucchi (although she's a bit more distant from the others, being in essence their employer)

* Team Gibbs in ''Series/{{NCIS}}'', made abundantly clear any time any one of them ends up in some kind of trouble. The Season 4 premiere episode "Shalom", in which Ziva is suspected of being a DoubleAgent and goes on the run from the FBI, provides a particularly clear example, as do the first two episodes of Season 6. Which makes the ending of Season 6 all the more poignant. Gibbs himself is, obviously, the TeamDad, and when she transfers to the Navy Yard at the beginning of season 15, forensic psychologist Jacqueline "Jack" Sloane slips easily into the TeamMom role, up to and including co-parenting the "kids" with Gibbs.

* ''Series/OnceUponATime'': It's not quite as blatant as most examples, but this seems to be the relationship that has formed between, at the very least, Snow, Charming, Red, and Grumpy, and possibly also including the other dwarves and Granny. After the events of the first half of season three, Regina (!!) can be added to that list. Behind the scenes, Lana Parrilla (Regina) has become a second mom to Jared Gilmore (Henry).

* ''Series/ThePretender'' skews this one six ways from Sunday. Jarod, Miss Parker, Sydney, and Broots are true companions despite the fact that Jarod broke free from the Centre, Parker is hunting Jarod (while still being [[BelligerentSexualTension kind of in love with him)]], Sydney is everyone's father figure (while still being morally suspect as to which side he's on - the Centre or Jarod's), and Broots is the resident ButtMonkey. But professional loyalties aside, they all agree that they're kind of family. Demonstrated explicitly in "Donoterase" when Jarod [[spoiler: allows himself to be captured by Lyle and Bridgette rather than leave a wounded Parker behind]].
* ''Series/PrettyLittleLiars'': The four titular Liars--Spencer Hastings, Hanna Marin, Aria Montgomery, and Emily Fields--are definitely this. They're put through hell many, many times by multiple different stalkers using the name "A", and while they argue sometimes, they're always there for each other and able to come together as a team when the chips are down.

* Both subverted and played straight on ''Series/PrisonBreak''. Subverted with the original group that broke out of prison in season one, as seen during season one and two a number of times, including but not limited to [[spoiler: T-Bag's hand being cut off, Tweener and Haywire being left behind, and Michael trying to steal the money out from everyone except Sucre]]. Played straight in that Michael, Linc and Sucre are true companions in season one; LJ and Sara are added to in season two. Subverted again in season three, as Mahone and Michael (much less the rest of the group) have no problem backstabbing each other while trying to break out of Sona. Played straight in early season four (as they're on their way to becoming one) and then subverted when the group splinters in the later part of the season. The direct-to-DVD gives us the basic group, seen in the season four finale [[spoiler: at Michael's funeral]], of Linc, Michael, Sara, Sucre, and Mahone.

** The season 3 premiere ''Into the Fire'' shows that this camaraderie has come to include the entire SGC. When General Hammond learns from Colonel Makepeace that SG-1 has been captured by Hathor, he immediately organizes a rescue mission with every available SG team. The kicker? He refuses to order any of his soldiers to go on what could very well be a suicide mission. So when he asks for those willing to go through with the mission ''to take one step-'', cue every SG team member stepping forward before he's even finished his sentence.

** This was never better exemplified than in the [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries original series]] episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS3E12TheEmpath The Empath]]", where each member of the PowerTrio was bound and determined to sacrifice himself to save the other two. [=McCoy=] eventually wins that particular argument - with a hypospray. The more things change, [[Film/StarTrek2009 the more they stay the same...]]

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': As [[HeterosexualLifePartners brothers]] who would sell their souls for one another, Dean and Sam started out this way and have added Team Free Will to the roster. They so much consider Bobby family that in season six, [[spoiler:when Dean had to think of a name for a baby he and Sam were taking care of, he chose Bobby instead of John (his actual father.) Factor in Sam calling Bobby 'sir' (what he called John) and]] Bobby's probably more of a father than their real father. Dean tells Castiel he's like a brother to him in later seasons.

** Castiel rebelled against Heaven to help Dean and Sam. Bobby considers them like sons to him, and in season seven episode "Death's Door" says [[spoiler:to his abusive father in a memory while he's dying:]]

* ''Series/TeenWolf'': The show's core is undoubtedly [[TheHero Scott]] and [[MuggleBestFriend Stiles]] - lifelong HeterosexualLifePartners and poster boys for UndyingLoyalty - but their circle gradually extends to include Allison, Lydia, Derek, Isaac, Kira, Malia and sometimes Ethan and Aiden.

* In ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'', the foursome of Merlin, Arthur, Gwen, and Morgana used to be this before [[spoiler: [[FaceHeelTurn Morgana turned evil]].]] In the SeasonFinale of Season 3, it appears to be [[FireForgedFriends setting up]] the Knights of the Round Table to become this in Season 4.

** ''Series/{{CSINY}}'' is much the same, with all of them acting like family. Danny and Lindsay got married, Mac is a father figure and Lucy's godfather, Flack and both Mac and Danny are like brothers, Mac is a father figure for Hawkes sometimes, and first Stella and then Jo were close to all of them.

* ''Franchise/CSIVerse'':

----