Long-distance love stories: 12 TV shows and movies where romance transcends space and time

Star Trek: Discovery, Outlander, Terminator, and more sci-fi TV shows and movies that put the distance in “long-distance relationship”

By Patrick Gomez, Gwen Ihnat, Alex McLevy, William Hughes, Saloni Gajjar | February 9, 2022 | 6:00am

TV Features Paul Stamets

Long-distance love stories: 12 TV shows and movies where romance transcends space and time

The Lake House (Screenshot); Source Code (Screenshot); Outlander (Photo: Starz); Terminator 2 (Screenshot); Star Trek: Discovery (Photo: Jan Thijs/CBS) Graphic: Rebecca Fassola

In honor of The A.V. Club’s Love Week, enjoy this look at extremely long-distance romances from 2021.

As technology continues to advance, physical proximity to our jobs and loved ones becomes more of a perk than a necessity. Still, keeping a relationship going strong isn’t easy over Zoom. A 2010 German study found that the average length of a long-distance relationship was 2.9 years, while “proximal” relationships lasted 7.3 years. But if you aren’t able be with your Valentine this February, don’t give up hope on your lasting love. We only need look to our pop culture role models for proof that not only can Jim and Pam make it through Pam’s summer studying graphic design in New York, couples can survive being separated by lightyears, actual years, and even death. Here are a dozen examples of TV and film love stories that took the meaning of long-distance relationship to the extreme.

The Terminator (1984)

In honor of The A.V. Club’s Love Week, enjoy this look at extremely long-distance romances from 2021. As technology continues to advance, physical proximity to our jobs and loved ones becomes more of a perk than a necessity. Still, keeping a relationship going strong isn’t easy over Zoom. A found that the average length of a long-distance relationship was 2.9 years, while “proximal” relationships lasted 7.3 years. But if you aren’t able be with your Valentine this February, don’t give up hope on your lasting love. We only need look to our pop culture role models for proof that not only can make it through Pam’s summer studying graphic design in New York, couples can survive being separated by lightyears, actual years, and even death. Here are a dozen examples of TV and film love stories that took the meaning of long-distance relationship to the extreme.

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