Welcome back to our annual Summer of Love poll, and this particular year is getting especially heated. With backstabbery abounding on a new season of Orange is the New Black, backstabbery abounding on the new season of Orphan Black, and, well, literally stabbery abounding on MTV's new Scream TV show, the competition is fierce and at its highest stakes yet. Cause yes, when we vote for the #1 couple of the summer, the stakes are high. There are so many glorious couples to choose from, and so many reasons why each one of them is wonderful. Or at least why they make for some pretty interesting television. It's a tight race this year, so make sure you carefully consider all nominees and vote wisely on the last page. Now, who could possibly take this years crown...? You have two weeks to vote as we will close the voting on July, 20. You can vote for multiple couples once per day until voting is closed! May the best couple win, although, we're all winners just from all of this representation!
Alex and Piper (Laura Prepon & Taylor Schilling) - Orange is the New Black
For some, rooting for a relationship beteen Alex and Piper is considered an unpopular opinion. For others, Alex and Piper will always be a lifestyle. For better or for shockingly worse, these two have managed to get over most of their increasingly disturbing issues and continued on with their love story (for the most part. sometimes.). Both women have turned on each other so aggressively it's shocking to believe that they keep managing to leave things in the past and have sex in the library. Truly, if they can mend these kinds of wounds, they might just be soul mates. Well, that is until someone new comes to Litchfield...
Stella and Piper (Ruby Rose & Taylor Schilling) - Orange is the New Black
We shall always remember episode 6 of season 3 as the day Ruby Rose/Stella showed up on our screens. Seriously, the swooning has not stopped since. It didn't stop for Piper either, who sacrificed her love connection with Alex to hook up with Stella. Together, Stella and Piper championed the prison-panties movement, as well as many of our hearts, and became somewhat of a prison power couple. That is, until (SPOILERS!) Piper learned that Stella stole the panty profits so she could have an easier time getting back into the world after her impending release. Bad move, Stella. Piper ended up framing her with just about all the contraband in the prison and it was off to maximum security Stella went. So while this couple may not have ended on the best of terms, they were wonderful while they lasted!
Cosima and Delphine (Tatiana Maslany & Evelyne Brochu) - Orphan Black
We didn't have a lot of great luck with our favorite couples staying together this year, but we're just going to fondly remember the good times for now. This season, Cosima and Delphine were on their worst terms yet, but they still managed plenty of tearful kisses while simultaneously breaking each other's hearts. While things didn't exactly work out (to put it hella lightly) we do believe both women have always had the other's best interests at heart. Here's hoping all that parking lot nonsense was, um, just a dream and they'll totally be back on track next season!
Nomi and Amita (Jamie Clayton & Freema Agyeman) - Sense8
It's hard not to love Nomi and Amanita from the mind screw that is Sense8. You might think your relationship has been tested but until you've stayed solid through doctors attempting non-consensual lobotomies, not-so-imaginary invisible friends, and a little bit of criminal activity, you've got nothing on Nomanita. These ladies are in so much love that there's plenty to share, physically, or mentally - the actual mechanics are somewhat unclear - with Nomi's seven mind squatters. As the saying goes, the couple that has brain orgies together stays together.
Stef and Lena (Teri Polo & Sherri Saum) - The Fosters
Despite the invasion of Monte - the school principal with a thing for Lena - Stef and Lena have been doing a lovely job of communicating and being on each others' sides so far this summer. Of course, we're still only in the first half of the season so it's quite possible a ton of dramatic and heartbreaking things are about to go down, but right now we're crossing our fingers and hoping for Monte to go away forever the best. These two always do seem to end up stronger and more in love than ever after faced with a trial n' tribulation or two, so we have faith.
Audrey and Rachel (Bex Taylor-Klaus & Sosie Bacon) - Scream
We may be only one episode in to MTV's reincarnation of the Scream movie franchise but we are already digging Bex Taylor-Klaus's queer girl Audrey and her shy girlfriend Rachel. Being outed by your car make-out sesh going viral may not be every high schoolers dream, but Audrey handled it with a brave face while the uploaders were brutally murdered. Ah, the frivolity of youth. We're hoping Audrey will be the first ever queer 'final girl' in mainstream horror, though we're a little concerned Rachel's days might be numbered. Or, in a macabre best case scenario, maybe they're a slashing, stabbing, and snogging mask-wearing murder team. There's always hope.
Cosima and Shay (Tatiana Maslany & Ksenia Solo) - Orphan Black
We're rarely as thrilled with casting news as we were when it was announced Lost Girl's Ksenia Solo would be swinging over to Orphan Black for a bit. Her presence did not disappoint for a moment. She's been absolutely adorable as the naturalistic hippie/confusing militant Shay, who may or may not be secretly studying Cosima, and she is literally the only person we'd accept as a love interest for Cosima if we absolutely have to give up on Delphine. Delphine herself even decided to root for that relationship after almost torturing Shay to death by giving Shay files on Cosima so the two can talk about Clone Club instead of breaking up over its secrecy. If Delphine approves, so do we.
Faith and Amy (Breeda Wool & Malea Mitchell) - UnREAL
Lifetime's new scripted series UnREAL shows life behind-the-scenes of a Bachelor-type reality show, so we knew from the start we could expect some serious drama. To our happy surprise, this has ended up involving one of the contestants, adorable southern belle Faith, more or less accidentally revealing her secret girlfriend in her hometown in Mississippi when she took the show's bachelor Adam back for a visit. Faith decides she wants to announce her relationship with Amy to the world, but when she has some second thoughts about the revelation on camera, Adam comes to her rescue and helps her keep her cover. Here's hoping Faith and Amy get a happy ending!
Gail and Lauralee (Charlotte Sullivan & Bridget Wareham) - Rookie Blue
Rookie Blue returned for the summer with Gail fully focused on her mission to adopt a child. Or mostly focussed, because who could blame her for a little flirting with adoptions officer Lauralee? With Holly's sudden departure in the past (Gail seems to have taken it better than we did), Officer Peck might just have room in her life for another woman. At least Lauralee's profession and their mutual melting over Gail's future adoptee implies she might be into family life. Who knows, maybe soon we'll be right there with Gail, asking 'Holly who?' Either way we think it's going to be a summer of even more changes for this fiery policewoman, and we'll be right there with her.
Poussey and Soso (Samira Wiley & Kimiko Glenn) - Orange is the New Black
This is more of a wishful thinking couple, but we're really super wishfully thinking this might be a real deal next season. Soso needed a reason to live, Poussey needed someone to love, and it looked like towards the end of the season as they drifted towards each other in somewhat happy harmony that they might actually be the missing piece in each other's lives. This couple could very well be a key player in next year's Summer of Love, but for now we're sure there are more than a few folks out there who are definitely rooting for these two even now.
Suzanne and Maureen (Uzo Aduba & Emily Althaus) - Orange is the New Black
This is yet another example of jumping the gun a bit OITNB style, but we really are rooting for Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren's happiness and hope things go much better for her and Maureen then they did with dear Piper. Of course, things are already off to a much better start with Maureen fangirling over Suzanne's erotica in season 3 and the two doing a little bit adorable turtle-related flirtation in the lake. Suzanne could certainly use a soul mate, and we fully approve of Maureen and her precious turtle-flirting!
Emily and literally whoever she dates (Shay Mitchell & Some Cute Girl) - Pretty Little Liars
We are happy to talk about Paily forever but ya'll, Paige (Lindsey Shaw) literally left on a jet plane and we're not sure when she'll be back again. So we guess it might be time to move on. Emily is now a free agent, and even though it's quite possible that lone-wolfing it at the moment will set Emily back in this poll, it just wouldn't be a Summer of Love without her. To be fair, however, the girls of Rosewood are much safer for Emily's singleness. So until she finds a new GF, Emily will just be dancin' with herself. Literally.