Lois Griffin famously noted, “it seems today like all you see is violence in movies and sex on TV.” And she’s not wrong.
As Team TVLine reflects on the past year in television — from the best shows to the worst, and everything in between — we’d be remiss not to recount the times that TV got us all hot and bothered. Check your shame at the door.
To be fair, the “sexiest” scenes don’t necessarily require the act of sex to make our list. In fact, two of our favorite shows reminded us that something as simple as a dance can be incredibly sexy. (That said, most of them do involve sex.)
And it should go without saying (but we’ll say it anyway) that this list is a spoiler minefield, so you might want to consider bookmarking it for later if you aren’t caught up on any of the following shows: A League of Their Own, Bridgerton, Chicago Med, The Cleaning Lady, Euphoria, Evil, Grey’s Anatomy, The Handmaid’s Tale, House of the Dragon, Interview With the Vampire, Nancy Drew, New Amsterdam, Power Book IV: Force, Reacher, The Resident, The Sex Lives of College Girls or Station 19.
Read on for Team TVLine’s picks of 2022’s sexiest scenes, then drop a comment with your own additions. Which other steamy TV moments belong on this list?
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BRIDGERTON
Image Credit: Netflix screenshot No sooner had Anthony and Kate let their illicit passion thrust — and we do mean thrust — them into a forbidden kiss than the viscount pulled away. “I will stop,” he said, desperately attempting to will himself to focus on the “noble” part of “nobleman.” But that was the last thing that his fiancée’s sister wanted. “Do not stop,” she told him. And thankfully, for once, he followed orders. (Season 2, Episode 7)
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CHICAGO MED
Image Credit: NBC screenshot When April showed up at a night club and spotted Ethan, they didn’t even need to exchange any words. Their bodies did all the talking as they shared a sultry dance, officially kicking off the reunion of “Chexton.” (Season 8, Episode 5)
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THE CLEANING LADY
Image Credit: Courtesy of Fox Thony and Arman have, rather amazingly, kept their physical intimacy to a minimum during The Cleaning Lady‘s two seasons, despite an obvious mutual attraction. But during a Season 1 episode in which the pair traveled to Mexico for Luca’s organ transplant, Thony and Arman shared a romantic, sensual slow dance at an evening party — and though the dance did end with a kiss before Thony walked away, it might have been the soft, careful way Arman moved Thony’s hair out of her face near the start of the number that made us swoon the most. (Season 1, Episode 8)
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EUPHORIA
Image Credit: HBO screenshot Only Nate Jacobs would get turned on by the idea of his seriously scary, on-again-off-again girlfriend beating on the bathroom door against which he was getting busy with her best friend. (Season 2, Episode 1)
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EVIL
Image Credit: Paramount+ screenshot Hot, guilty priest + hot, demonic manifestation of said priest’s forbidden desire waggling her forked tongue = a David/(kinda) Kristen moment we loved… but felt the need to go to confession about later. (Season 3, Episode 1)
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GREY'S ANATOMY
Image Credit: ABC screenshot The eye-f–king that Jules and Blue did before sneaking into an on-call room was mere foreplay. Once they got down to the business of playing doctor, the Grey Sloan newbies really made our pulse race with a hookup that was as hot as it was funny. “I don’t even like you,” Jules admitted. “I’m not for everyone,” Blue conceded. More, please — stat. (Season 19, Episode 3)
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THE HANDMAID'S TALE
Image Credit: Hulu screenshot June and Luke have had so few wins over the course of the Hulu drama that we can’t blame them for celebrating the Gilead Center’s shutdown with some kissing in the car — and a verbal acknowledgement that they might both commit murder — followed by some cozy, naked alone time upstairs. (Season 5, Episode 4)
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HOUSE OF THE DRAGON
Image Credit: HBO screenshot Non-icky, non-incestuous sex scenes are indeed possible in the Game of Thrones universe, as proved by House of the Dragon‘s tender tryst between Princess Rhaenyra and Ser Criston Cole. Yes, Rhaenyra had already engaged in foreplay with her own uncle that same evening, but we’re going to conveniently ignore that part, thank you very much. (Season 1, Episode 4)
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INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE
Image Credit: AMC screenshot It was love at first bite for Louis and Lestat, whose off-the-charts chemistry was undeniable in the show’s premiere as temptation gave way to seduction, which led to… well, you know the rest. Was the levitating a little cheesy? Sure, but that didn’t make it any less hot. (Season 1, Episode 1)
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A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
Image Credit: Prime Video screenshot Pro baseballers Carson and Greta, clearly pining for each other for weeks, finally became roommates during the league’s travel season. And they wasted no time, ahem, rounding the bases upon getting a little privacy. (Season 1, Episode 4)
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NANCY DREW
Image Credit: CW screenshot We don’t even need to tell you how much pressure had been building between Nancy and Ace before their long-awaited romp in the sheets — the broken barometer should speak for itself! (Season 3, Episode 13)
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NEW AMSTERDAM
Image Credit: NBC screenshot Before their engagement eventually ended, Max and Helen tried to make the best of a long-distance relationship by creating some sexy new memories over the phone. As Max asked Helen to close her eyes and then detailed how he’d touch her, the phone battery wasn’t the only thing that got hot. (Season 4, Episode 15)
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POWER BOOK IV: FORCE
Image Credit: Starz screenshot Alas, poor Gloria: While she was around, we loved watching the qualities she brought out in — and the clothes she took off — Tommy. (Season 1, Episode 3)
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REACHER
Image Credit: Prime Video screenshot We were already feeling things during Episode 4 of the Prime Video adaptation, after the soft-spoken Reacher opened up about his brother’s recently realized death (by letting Roscoe verbalize it for him, that is). The shower scene that immediately followed simply took the partners-in-crime-solving’s intimacy to a new, steamy level. (Season 1, Episode 4)
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THE RESIDENT
Image Credit: Fox screenshot Unlike The Cleaning Lady‘s steamy slow dance, this musical moment between Conrad and Billie didn’t include a kiss — but it was still plenty satisfying. The way the doctors grew ever closer during their dance at Kit and Bell’s wedding reception, paired with Conrad’s decision to put both of his hands on Billie’s waist and whisper in her ear, told us everything we needed to know about these characters’ growing adoration for each other. (Season 6, Episode 6)
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THE SEX LIVES OF COLLEGE GIRLS
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO Max C’mon, there’s no way a show titled The Sex Lives of College Girls was going to be omitted here, right? But it’s not all the dorm-room debauchery that stands out to us: It’s the lap dances that Kimberly & Co. received at Theta’s strip-show fundraiser, complete with a perfectly synchronized yank of the ladies’ chairs. “Weirdly, I’m into this!” Leighton declared, speaking for all of us. (Season 2, Episode 2)
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STATION 19
Image Credit: ABC screenshot Romantic and sensual in equal measure, secret lovers “Tasha” and “Sully’s” tryst in Season 5’s penultimate episode was smokin’ enough to set off fire alarms. But it was also tender enough to make us believe, or at very least hope, that he wouldn’t ever again let her be “the one that got away.” (Season 5, Episode 17)
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