The McGill brothers from Better Call Saul. Jimmy was a low-life conman who was still likeable for his roguish charm while Chuck was a law-abiding lawyer, upstanding profesionally, but struggles to be as likeable as Jimmy. The latter contrast is revealed to be a source of resentment from Chuck, who secretly hindered Jimmy's attempt to go straight as a lawyer because he doesn't want Jimmy to his equal in the former one. In the present, Jimmy goes back to committing crime even as a lawyer, but is self-aware enough to know what kind of a person he is while Chuck continues to do petty, vindictive, but legal actions towards Jimmy, all while believing he is morally flawless.
The Booth brothers from Bones — Booth the elder likes his comfort zone while Booth the younger is flashy and much more upwardly mobile. Dr. Sweets observes that this dichotomy is not atypical in victims of childhood abuse. Seeley took on the role of serious protector while the younger Jared took on the role of attention-seeking trouble-maker, both in response to their father's physical abuse of them and their mother. One episode was essentially an in-universe Alternate Continuity short-story being written by Dr. Brennan. In this version, the brothers' personalities remain largely the same, except their roles as protector and trouble-maker are switched with Seeley as a flashy nightclub owner and Jared as a straight-laced police detective.
Captain Ray Holt and his sister Debbie from Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Ray is The Stoic and very closed off emotionally, while Debbie is extremely loud, vivacious and affectionate.
James and Lara Heathridge. James is dominant, physically strong, and is the one who does the actual hunting and killing. Lara is submissive, emotionally fragile and physically handicapped. Also, while they are both delusional, James believes he is on a mission to kill the brides of the devil, while Lara, by the end of the episode, is strongly implied to believe she herself is a bride.
Don and Sam Flack. Don is a straight-laced police detective while Sam, his sister, is a recovering alcoholic and has a felony record.
Danny and Louie Messer. Older brother Louie was a member of The Tanglewood Boys mafia-ish gang for quite a while, whereas Danny took the straight route and became a cop before moving to the crime lab.
A three-episode arc in Season 7 involves Chief Carver and his sister, whose drug and alcohol abuse led to her abusing and neglecting her three children, often deserting them for days at a time. Carver eventually takes them in and raises them as his own, although they are old enough that they still called him "Uncle."
Downton Abbey: Cora is kind, well-mannered, cultured, dresses in Simple, yet Opulent style and has slotted right into life in the English aristocracy. Her brother Harold is a crass, boorish borderline caricature of a Nouveau RicheAmerican who loves flashy clothes, yachts, and short-term relationships with women half his age. It is, perhaps, telling that their mutual greeting after not having seen each other in years is a wave and a "hello".
Drake & Josh has a step-sibling example with the titular characters. Drake is a dense, lazy, hedonistic, and egocentric Handsome Lech, while Josh is an intelligent, studious, upright, and mild-mannered Butt-Monkey.
Los Espookys: Renaldo is polite and respectful to his mother, though he maintains his independence and doesn't just go along with whatever she says, and he knows what he wants out of life and pursues it with all his heart. His sister Beatriz, who is about 15 years younger than him, is rude and bratty but will cave into their mother's demands as soon as she meets any resistance, and she tends to latch onto new dreams with great enthusiasm only to lose interest just as quickly.
Firefly: The Tams. Simon is cooler and calmer and more disciplined, and River is more sensitive and (for obvious reasons) more erratic. On the other hand, she is physically more powerful.
Robert acts before he thinks, longs for the good old days of killing things, and cheats on his wife with numerous whores, many of whom have produced bastards. Contrast with Renly and Stannis. Renly thinks before he acts, prefers council meetings to hunting, and seems to be faithful to one man that he trusts and listens to. This is also in play with Renly and Stannis. Renly is snarky and fun, beloved by the smallfolk and his bannermen alike, has both a lover and a wife that he loves (albeit in different ways), is willing to break the rules, wants the crown because he desires power and thinks he could do a good job, gets things done with diplomacy, and is somewhat flighty and prone to impracticality (staging a tourney when he'd need all his knights in fighting shape for a war). Stannis, on the other hand, is dour and overly serious, has no social skills and only one friend, has a strained relationship with his unwanted wife, is devoted to rules and laws, only wants the crown out of duty and legal right, gets things done via law or conquest, and is logical and pragmatic.
Joffrey Baratheon with both of his siblings; he's a sadistic psychopath, while Myrcella and Tommen are perfectly sane, decent and normal — in fact, kind and gentle to a fault. This makes Joffrey and Tommen both awful kings for different reasons.
Kevan is far nicer than his brother, as demonstrated by his relief in seeing Tyrion back safe and sound in "The Pointy End" — a stark contrast to Tywin Lannister's own reaction.
White-blonde hair and a disproportionate sense of entitlement are pretty much the only traits Daenerys Targaryen shares with her brother.
Euron Greyjoy is everything Balon was not. Euron, for all his faults, is brave, proactive, cunning, and willing to make alliances, fight beside his men and actually go out and pay the iron price.
Euron is also this with Aeron. Euron is a bombastic, arrogant, flamboyant pirate. Aeron is a cold, stoic, solemn Priest.
On Grace and Frankie, Brianna & Mallory and Bud & Coyote. Brianna is a tough businesswoman with no desire to even be around kids, while Mallory is a housewife and mother of four. Bud is a responsible lawyer, whereas Coyote is a former professor who had problems with drugs and alcohol, and is now a substitute teacher.
Hank Zipzer has the outgoing, funny and creative Hank versus the serious, intellectual and know-it-all Emily.
Heroes: Hiro and his older sister Kimiko, with Hiro being idealistic, child-like, and bored by the prospect of being a businessman like his father; Kimiko is intelligent, motivated, and ambitious in regards to taking a place within the family's company.
Subverted by the Stinson brothers in How I Met Your Mother: Barney is white and straight, James is black and gay, but otherwise they are identical.
Kamen Rider Ghost: Ganma royal family has Adel, the clean-cut coldhearted pragmatist devoted to the cause and Alain, the obliviously evil Psychopathic Manchild confused about emotions and the whole reason behind their kind's crusade. Decadent Court antics definitely don't make their relationship any easier.
Legend Heroes: Emotional, self-admitted Idiot Hero Liu Bei and stoic, pragmatic Tsundere Gongsun Zhan. He gets them in trouble, is the cause of their Perpetual Poverty and always acts with his heart. She manages the finances, runs the dojo and always thinks in ways of practical life. Liu Bei adores Zhan as his Cool Big Sis. She loves him as much as one can love their (somewhat) Annoying Younger Sibling.
Los Espookys has the brainy, practical Úrsula and her ditzy sister Tati.
Lucifer has Lucifer and Amenadiel. Lucifer is the fun-loving rebel, while Amenadiel is their father's loyal soldier (at least at first). Amenadiel is initially dismissive of humans, but he eventually discovers he enjoys living on Earth and finds life in Heaven to be boring, something Lucifer has known all along. Their middle brother Uriel is cold and calculating, having the loyalty of Amenadiel and Lucifer's moral flexibility. Two of their other (female) siblings are shown, although not long enough to get a good sense of them. Azrael, despite being The Grim Reaper, is actually pretty kind and misses Lucifer. Remiel is more similar to Amenadiel's original personality, but they come into conflict when Remiel comes to Earth to find Amenadiel's half-human child.
Anna Draper, widow of the real Don Draper is free-spirited and warm. She has a sister who is sour and uptight.
Seen also in the Draper children. Sally is aggressive, sometimes a tomboy and sometimes a bully. Bobby is sensitive and quiet.
Matthew Weiner & Co. must love this trope, as it shows up with Plucky Office Girl Peggy Olson and her devout Catholic housewife sister Anita and the sexy, somewhat liberated Megan and her whinier, devout Catholic sister.
NUMB3RS: Don is more "Jock-like" and Charlie is more "Geek-like".
Elliot and Darlene Alderson from Mr. Robot. Both are hackers, have revolutionary goals and are more than a bit unhinged (though Elliot definitely surpasses Darlene in that regard) and that's it for similarities. Elliot suffers from social anxiety disorder, hates being touched and is usually very quiet. Darlene is The Charmer and Femme Fatale, Really Gets Around and is incredibly loud and abrasive.
Jake and Ben Brockman in Outnumbered. Ben is outgoing, wild and wrecks chaos throughout the family, Jake is quiet, serious and often acts as a peacemaker. One of their teachers doesn't even believe they're related.
Poirot: Susannah and Rosamund in After the Funeral. Blond-haired Susannah does work for the Church, plans to go to Africa with a charity mission and tries to placate her Big, Screwed-Up Family. Dark-haired Rosamund is a bohemian, flighty actress who fights over her uncle’s inheritance with her relatives. However, the initially shown contrast is eventually a bit blurred: Susannah can be pretty insensitive at times (and has an affair with her cousin), while Rosamund realizes she wants children more than her acting career and seeks advice from nuns on the matter.
Vrak and Vekar from Power Rangers Megaforce, two villainous royal brothers, have different approaches in destroying and conquering Earth. Vrak is the cold, manipulative type; while Vekar is compulsive and is not afraid to throw temper tantrums when things don't go his way.
Sisters Vida and Madison from Power Rangers Mystic Force. Vida is aggressive and tomboyish, while Madison is quiet and girly.
Aunts Lily and Vivian in Pushing Daisies are both eccentric shut-ins, but the similarities end there: Vivian is gentle, flighty, and more emotional, while Lily is sharp and snarky, clever, and keeps her soft streak well-hidden.
Resurrection: Ertuğrul has Ertugrul and Gundogdu. While the former is typically calm, composed, and perfectly capable of executing his plans in secret, the latter is often loud-mouthed, critical of his younger brother, and prone to having meltdowns. Come Season 5, much of Gundogdu’s impatience dies down considerably.
Schitt's Creek has David and Alexis. David is dark-haired, insecure, intellectual, pretentious, neat, introverted, has multiple phobias, is prone to worrying and gets depressed while Alexis is blond, confident, anything but book smart, resourceful, rarely feels emotion, extraverted, brave, upbeat and adapts easily to new situations. The siblings bicker a great deal, but they love each other and will stick up for each other
Justin and Harris Pembleton in Seriously Weird. Justin is easygoing, charismatic, popular and is the Big Man on Campus within a few days of starting at Draper High. Harris is an obnoxious, pompous, insufferable, know-it-all Neat Freak who pisses off almost everyone he talks to.
From BBC's Sherlock, the Holmes brothers are portrayed this way. Sherlock is easily bored and has a tendency to be incautious and oft-dangerously short-sighted when in pursuit of a solution to whatever mystery happens to take his fancy. Mycroft runs a shadowy government agency and is much calmer and more collected than his dramatic, wild brother. This is in contrast to the characters of the original books, where Sherlock was driven and really cared about what he called "his art," while Mycroft was terminally lazy and probably could have been even greater than his brother, if he didn't find the idea of "legwork" detestable.
Identical twins Katie and Emily Fintch from Skins at least in their first season. Katie is the leader, dresses like sex-on-legs and Really Gets Around ("I haven't not had a boyfriend since I was seven"). Emily is eternally in her shadow, dresses slightly more conservative, and falls in love and is monogamous. There is also the tiny little fact that Emily is a closeted Lipstick Lesbian and Katie is a raging homophobe whose favorite target is the girl that Emily has fallen for.
Jean-Luc Picard is The Captain, an explorer and adventurer, while his brother Robert is The Dutiful Son who stayed to work the family vineyards and disdains most modern technology.
Worf is very different than both his adopted and biological brothers. Worf is the dutiful, rule-following paragon while Nikolai is rebellious and impulsive. With Kurn, he is stoic and a bit hidebound while Kurn is a Boisterous Bruiser who has no problem drinking and brawling with his enemies before meeting in combat.
Data has this going on with both of his android brothers, Lore and B-4. Data is The Stoic, The Smart Guy, unfailingly polite, and highly ethical; by contrast, Lore is The Sociopath, and B-4 is an idiot.
Downplayed with the Duras sisters, Lursa and B'etor. Although they're ambitious and double-dealing, Lursa, the elder sister, tends to act more straightforward while addressing their enemies, while B'etor isn't above acting flirtatiously towards them.
The Winchester Brothers contrast in many ways. Dean is loud, boorish, slutty and is a Big Eater in a nutshell. But he goes quiet when hurting, turns all his angst in on himself and his whole life is wrapped in Samand his family. Sam is mostly celibate (because of that pesky Cartwright Curse), is never shown eating and tends to be the quiet one while Dean takes control. But he gets louder and more dangerous when he's upset and his main Fatal Flaws are Pride and self-absorption. And he's far more independent than Dean, showing signs of wanting to flee the nest, and, unlike Dean, would probably be able to go on permanently with his life if deprived of his family and hunting. The sex scenes (Dean in "Route 666" and "Heaven and Hell," and Sam in "Heart," "I Know What You Did Last Summer," and "Sex and Violence") show a difference between them too. Sex is fun for Dean; he doesn't mind being pushed down on the bed and letting the woman have her way with him. But for Sam, it's violent, kinky and he has to be the one in control and dominating. Sam and Dean's relationship is a parallel for Michael and Lucifer's, who are ying-yang brothers themselves.
It's made clear that Sam and Dean's differences stem from their contrasting rolesin the family. Dean was forced to be his father's obedient soldier and his brother's caretaker while Sam seems to have been allowed some measure of freedom and innocence. It's revealed for example that a lot of Dean's mannerisms were inherited from his father, thus making it also very likely that Sam's personality is a deliberate attempt to distance himself from his family.
Charlie and Alan Harper from Two and a Half Men. One drinks, gambles, attracts the hottest women like moths to a bulb and lives in a nice house overlooking the beach, while the other doesn't drink (on his best days, anyway), is socially awkward, and is hopeless with women... Oh, and he's also divorced, has a kid, and lives off his brother.
Luther and Five. Both have strong leadership qualities and are considered the most mature. Except that Luther is mostly a Gentle Giant who tries to find peaceful solutions to situations, Five on the other hand is a murder happy pint-sized (thanks to messed up Time Travel) Anti-Hero who will make any sacrifice to save the world. Also while Luther relies on Super-Strength and Super-Toughness, Five utilizes a Teleport Spam as a Time Master.
Diego and Klaus. Both are reclusive and street smart but Diego is The Cowl seeking out crime as a Hot-Blooded vigilante whilst Klaus is a laid back drug taking Non-Action Guy. Both spite their adoptive father Hargreaves but while Klaus has grown past him, Diego was very affected by his father's cruelty to point of developing a stammer.
Allison and Vanya, the two sisters. The former is incredibly extroverted having become a glamorous actress; the latter is severely introverted (thanks their father's emotional abuse) having grown up to be writer and violinist. They also both have devastating powers, to point of being a Reality Warper with Allison having a Compelling Voice and Vanya having Mind Over Matters powers.
Luther and Diego. Both are headstrong and butt heads when it comes to the leading the siblings, but Luther where is straightforward and naive Diego is stealthy and cynical. Luther also wears his heart on his sleeve, while Diego keeps his grief bottled up. Luther also works better up close with Good Old Fisticuffs while Diego with his Improbable Aiming Skills works best from a distance with his throwing knives.
Klaus and Ghost Ben. Both are easy going and have/had gruesome powers but whereas Ben is brave and believes in doing the right thing, Klaus is cowardly and cares more about himself. Also while Klaus has trouble getting along with his siblings, Ben cherishes them despite being unable to talk them besides Klaus.
Vicki, a troubled girl addicted to drugs and Matt, a down-to-earth, normal Nice Guy.
Elena, a friendly, relatable Girl Next Door and her angsty Troubled, but Cute younger brother Jeremy. This was most prominent in early seasons, but averted later on the show, especially after Elena turns into a vampire.
Dick and Beaver on Veronica Mars. Dick is loud, stupid, sex-obsessed and borderline-sociopathic. Beaver is quiet, smart, reclusive and actually sociopathic.
The twin brothers in the "War Zone" episode of The Closer. One is a dedicated soldier with a spotless record, the other killed a kind old man and a little boy over a six-pack of beer.
