The bonds of sisterhood can simultaneously be the most powerful, loving, infuriating, and difficult to deal with relationships in all of human existence, so it comes as no surprise that sisters are some of the most popular fictional relationships on television. Familial dynamics are some of the simplest and most relatable relationships to build a television narrative around, and since so many people can so easily empathize with the experiences of having a sister it's easy to see why so many great relationships between sisters have become downright iconic.
And there have been a lot of interesting sister duos throughout the course of TV history, however there are clear distinctions between the sisterly bonds that were intriguing and those that were absolutely legendary. So here's 10 pairs of sisters who have managed to break away from the crowd and distinguish themselves as the 10 most iconic sisterly duos in all of television.
Meredith & Lexie Grey - Grey's Anatomy
As anyone would expect from the long running Shonda Rhimes medical soap opera, the sisterly bond between Meredith Grey and her long lost little sister Lexie underwent a lot of growing pains. Lexie didn't even know that Meredith existed initially, and Meredith seemed to have an understandably hard time coping with the fact that her sister got the white picket fence perfect family that Meredith always wished she had as a child. But since Lexie and Meredith wound up working and living in such close quarters, they ultimately forged an extremely strong bond with each other that even death couldn't break.
Hilda & Zelda Spellman - Sabrina The Teenage Witch
It has been the absolute thrill of a lifetime to see the world of Sabrina Spellman reborn in the Netflix series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and the Hilda and Zelda Spellman on the newest iteration of Sabrina are iconic in their own right. But it's pretty tough to top the legends that are the Hilda and Zelda Spellman of the original Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
Every kid that was raised on TGIF likely dreamed of being raised by these two amazing witch sisters, and although everything about Sabrina the Teenage Witch seemed like the ultimate magical fantasy it also seems like everyone must have wished to have the kind of bond that Hilda and Zelda did.
DJ & Stephanie Tanner - Full House
It's maybe a little unfair to single Michelle out as the least special sister in the Tanner family, however just by virtue of the fact that she was basically a baby during Full House's initial run and failed to return for the Netflix reboot Fuller House she does kind of naturally lag behind the duo of DJ and Stephanie Tanner. After the death of their mom, oldest sister DJ stepped into the role as the caretaker for her younger sisters, and although they didn't always get along, she and Stephanie clearly had a really strong bond. Although Stephanie and DJ's personalities tend to clash, they're still an iconic pair.
Sarah Manning & Helena - Orphan Black
There seems to be an endless number of clones on Orphan Black, and honestly the relationship between every clone is different, unique, and deserves it's own props for being a complex and nuanced relationship. However the sisterly bond between Sarah Manning and Helena seems like the deepest and most interesting sisterhood out of all of the clones. Aside from being identical, Sarah and Helena are literal twins by birth. Helena and Sarah are their own unique form of train wreck, and their interplay together forces them to grow into much stronger and healthier individuals. Sarah learns to become a leader, and Helena comes to understand that her beliefs about her own sisters are incredibly misguided.
Daria & Quinn Morgendorffer - Daria
Everyone loves a sister duo that are polar opposites of one another, and few TV sisters in history naturally clash more than Daria and Quinn Morgendorffer. Both Daria and Quinn were raised in the quintessential suburban nuclear family, but Daria grew into an intellectual, pessimistic loner while Quinn became the shallow, vapid queen of their entire school.
Daria and Quinn seemed to be in constant combat with one another, or at the very least they never seemed to have a conversation that didn't include some very well placed barbs aimed towards each other, so they were always a pretty painfully relatable reflection of most real life sisterly relationships.
Roseanne Conner & Jackie Harris - Roseanne
When the TV sitcom Roseanne first started, it definitely distinguished itself as a really unique premise about a relatively happy working class family in Illinois that focused on the family's matriarch, Roseanne Conner. And while the main thrust of the series was obviously about the nuclear family of the Conners, one of the most important and narratively interesting relationships in the series was the sisterly bond between Roseanne and her younger sister, Jackie Harris. In addition to being the mother of her own family, older sister Roseanne often times seemed to be playing mom to Jackie too, and despite the fact that they were very different people, the love they shared was legendary.
Tia Landry & Tamera Campbell - Sister, Sister
To be honest, while the premise of Sister, Sister revolved around a pair of twins who were separated at birth and coincidentally met 14 years later, it was almost hard to believe that Tia Landry and Tamera Campbell hadn't known each other for their entire lives. Clearly the fictional sisterly relationship on Sister, Sister was bolstered by the fact that they were portrayed by real life identical twins, Tia and Tamera Mowry, and it seems like the twins brought a lot of their real life personality into their characters. Allegedly a revival of Sister, Sister is in development, and it seems safe to say that a lot of millennials would be thrilled to see Tia and Tamera back in action.
Piper & Phoebe Halliwell - Charmed
All of the Halliwell sisters are legends in their own right, and as literal charmed ones it's safe to say that their sisterly bond is unlike any other. However throughout the course of Charmed the only Halliwell sisters who fought every demonic battle together were Phoebe and Piper, and despite the fact that they had to swap Prue for Paige the show never lost it's luster.
The familial bond between Piper and Phoebe is absolutely unbreakable, and surviving the loss of one sister and the sudden appearance of a long lost one is a pretty unique experience that only the two of them share.
Buffy & Dawn Summers - Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Prior to season five of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Joss Whedon announced that Buffy would be getting a sister in the upcoming year, and the world collectively asked itself how in the hell that was even possible. Well, it's possible because a squad of mystical monks were trying to protect an all powerful key that could open the door to every dimension in the universe all at once, and in an effort to hide it they transformed it into Buffy's human sister. And although Buffy and Dawn weren't born sisters, their bond was unlike any other, and Buffy was willing to even sacrifice her own life for Dawn.
Arya & Sansa Stark - Game Of Thrones
There have been many iconic sisters throughout television history, but it's hard to imagine two more powerful, badass, legendary sisters than Arya and Sansa Stark. Arya is indisputably the most dangerous assassin in Westeros, and she quite literally saved the entire world when she defeated the Night King. And Sansa Stark learned from her experiences as everyone else's victim and became one of the most politically savvy leaders in Westeros, not to mention into the literal queen of the North. Every remaining member of the Stark family are living legends, but Arya and Sansa take the cake as the two most iconic sisters in TV history.