NEW YORK (AP) — One is the loneliest number and three's a crowd. But a dynamic duo is a match made in heaven, especially when it's found on a TV show. From the crop of new fall series, here are a few fun couples you'll enjoy pairing up with:
— Ben and Kate, from the Fox comedy "Ben and Kate."
He's an eager-beaver goofball. She's an adorable worrywart. They're siblings who helped raise each other in a dysfunctional home. Now, in adulthood, they're back together joining forces to raise Kate's young daughter and keep viewers laughing. Nat Faxon (as the hyperactive Ben) and Dakota Johnson (as over-responsible Kate) share such chemistry you'd swear these actors are brother and sister.
— Gavin and Olivia, from the spooky ABC drama "666 Park Avenue."
Gavin Doran is the courtly owner of a grand apartment house in Manhattan. Olivia is his elegant wife. You would be thrilled to be a tenant in their building — that is, if you can overlook a certain devilish streak they share. Played with deft creepiness by Terry O'Quinn and Vanessa Williams, Gavin and Olivia are just the sort of landlords to lock you into a lease you'll never ever be able to break.
— Joe and Louis, from the CBS comedy "Partners."
Joe (David Krumholtz) and Louis (Michael Urie) are partners in their architecture firm and best friends since high school. Louis is gay and Joe is straight, and each has his own romantic partner. But as they work, pal around and squabble with each other, it seems clear: This is their primary relationship.
— Sheriff Ralph Lamb and mobster Vincent Savino, from the circa-1960s CBS drama "Vegas." As played by Dennis Quaid and Michael Chiklis, this pair clash with style. Lamb is craggy and creased, Savino is dapper and smooth, and as they go about their business from opposite sides of the law, they're finding Las Vegas isn't big enough for both of them. It'll just have to grow.
— Jack and his dad Tony, from the ABC sitcom "Family Tools." Jack Shea is a habitual bungler who, well into adulthood, still hopes to rise above his failures and make his father proud. Now Tony (played by J.K. Simmons) is retiring from his family business, Mr. Jiffy Fix, with no one but his son (Kyle Bornheimer) to take up the reins. Under Tony's jaundiced eye, can Jack change his ways and keep the company going, or will he put Mr. Jiffy Fix in a hopeless fix?
— Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Joan Watson, from the CBS crime drama "Elementary." In this umpteenth variation on the Holmes canon, Jonny Lee Miller plays the famous detective as an irascible P.I. in modern-day New York. Lucy Liu is his rehab caretaker (Holmes has some personal problems) with her own share of regrets. This twosome would rather be anywhere but in each other's necessary company. But it turns out they're a good team at busting bad guys (as they might have guessed had they read those classic Holmes tales).
— Bryan and David, from the NBC comedy "The New Normal." As a committed couple, they see eye-to-eye on many things. Like, how "abnormal" families have become the new normal. Consider a certain African-American "who was raised by a grandma — and that person seems to be doing just fine," says Bryan. "Barack Obama," David chimes in. "No," Bryan corrects him. "Mariah Carey. But YOUR example works, too." As played by Andrew Rannells and Justin Bartha, Bryan and David navigate the show's loopiness (and their impending parenthood) while leaving no doubt they adore each other.
— Catherine "Cat" Chandler and Dr. Vincent Keller, from the WB fantasy drama "Beauty and the Beast." Unbeknownst to her, he saved her life years ago. Now Keller, in hiding and long presumed dead, tries to find an antidote to his distressing condition: When he gets riled, he turns beastly. But Cat (Kristin Kreuk), now a homicide detective, isn't sweating those details. She admires how Keller (Jay Ryan) likes to help people out. Plus he's hot. Nothing tame about her feelings for him!
— Dr. George Coleman and his simian sidekick Dr. Rizzo, from the NBC sitcom "Animal Practice." Dr. Coleman has a veterinary clinic, and good thing: He much prefers animals to people. How lucky, then, that his closest companion and "medical assistant" is an anthropomorphically motivated monkey. Justin Kirk stars as Dr. Coleman, while Crystal seems born to the role as Coleman's second banana.
