The 20 best TV sibling rivalries

Claire and Mitchell are two of the key characters of Modern Family, and, like most adult siblings, they have more than their fair share of baggage and squabbling. This mostly has to do with their parents and the fact that each of them has a good relationship with one of their parents. It’s a lot of fun to watch these two characters squabble with one another, particularly since they are both very Type A and very high-strung. It’s easy to see how they’re siblings, and it’s just as easy to see why they wouldn’t always get along so well.

Many times, TV likes to focus on sibling rivalries when characters are young, but Designing Women goes in a different direction. Throughout the first several seasons of the show, Julia and Suzanne Sugarbaker (played by Dixie Carter and Delta Burke, respectively) are a study in opposites. Such is the chemistry between Carter and Burke, as well as the resemblance between the two women, that one can easily believe that they are really watching these two very different sisters try to work together in an interior design firm.

Somebody Somewhere was a special little gem of a show for its three seasons. Bridget Everett gives a heartfelt performance as Sam, a cabaret singer who returns to her Kansas town after her sister's death. One of the key aspects of her growth as a character is her volatile relationship with her sister Tricia. When the series begins, they are almost always at each other’s throats, but slowly but surely, they realize just how much they love and mean to one another. 

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to the fraught relationships between its various characters. Over the course of its many seasons, siblings Dee and Dennis have repeatedly shown that there’s no love lost between them. Indeed, it’s quite hilarious to see the two of them go at it, delivering the kinds of obscene barbs for which the show is justly famous. When it comes right down to it, they each love themselves too much to ever show the other true sibling affection, despite the fact that they’re twins.

Throughout its four seasons, The Righteous Gemstones didn’t shy away from vulgarity and absurdity, particularly when it comes to the three Gemstone siblings Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin. Like so many other siblings in the world of TV, they carry on a heated rivalry, always trading (often ridiculous) insults at one another. When push comes to shove, however, they’re able to put aside their mutual antagonism, for a little while at least, to forge an alliance and help one another out when they need it. 

Modern Family is a remarkable show for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that it features a young cast that is just as talented as the adults. Haley and Alex are, in many ways, the paradigmatic example of sibling rivals, for while Haley is pretty, outgoing, and extroverted, Alex is bookish and introverted. The series spends a lot of time fleshing out their mutual antagonism, but, as so often in TV land, beneath all of the snark, there is a core of true and abiding love.

Elizabeth II, played in various seasons by Claire Foy, Olivia Colman, and Imelda Staunton, is the heart and soul of the Netflix series The Crown.  One of her most pivotal relationships is with her sister, Margaret (played in successive seasons by Vanessa Kirby, Helena Bonham Carter, and Lesley Manville). Theirs is a fraught relationship, in part because Margaret believes she would have made a good queen and because she, like everyone else, has had to sacrifice a lot for the Crown. In the end, though, their love is far more powerful than their rivalry. 

Succession, as its title suggests, focuses on the interfamily squabbling of the various members of the powerful Roy family. The central trio of Kendall, Siobhan, and Roman is often at the center of the series’ various dramas, and watching them scheme and backstab one another remains a key pleasure of the series. No love is lost among the various Roy siblings, and they are more than happy to destroy one another if it means that they will ascend to the top of the family and corporate hierarchy.

Downton Abbey is a series about many things, particularly the advent of modernity and the ways that shifts in society and politics affect the various members of the Crawley family and their staff. Though there’s no shortage of love in the Crawley household, sisters Mary and Edith are like oil and water. Throughout the series’ run, they both deliver some cruel barbs at the other’s expense. While they might be willing to band together when it’s absolutely necessary, it’s also clear that they will never be as close to one another as they were to their late sister, Sybil.

Eric and Laurie Forman take sibling rivalry to new heights in That ‘70s Show. Even though Laurie only appears sporadically in the show, any time she comes on the screen, she manages to do everything in her power to make Eric uncomfortable, often by sleeping with his friends. For his part, Eric also seems to delight in putting his sister down, particularly since it’s clear to everyone that he definitely has the edge in the intelligence department.  

The Targaryens of the series House of the Dragon are a family riven by dysfunction, in no small part because elder sister Rhaenyra has to vie for her throne with her younger brother, Aegon. Theirs is a sibling rivalry that quite tears Westeros apart as the various noble houses find themselves in something of a cleft stick, having to take sides in a family feud involving titanic, fire-breathing dragons. The series expertly uses a sibling rivalry to explore weighty issues related to political power and the downfall of a kingdom.

While sibling rivalry is often played for laughs on television, it can also have serious repercussions, particularly when a kingdom is at stake. In Game of Thrones, for example, Cersei and Tyrion Lannister harbor a cordial hatred of each other, and Cersei even goes so far as to have her younger brother executed. In the end, it’s Tyrion who is left standing after Cersei dies while Daenerys destroys King’s Landing, but it’s clear that their rivalry has left a deep scar and that, at the end of the day, he wishes things could have been different. 

From the very beginning, Bart and Lisa Simpson of The Simpsons have had a rivalry. This is largely because they are a study in opposites. While Lisa is bookish and likes to play by the rules, Bart is the quintessential slacker, someone who never misses an opportunity to cause trouble, whether that’s at home or school. It’s thus always fun to watch these two go at one another, and, although they’re animated characters, they still manage to capture what it’s like to have a sibling. 

Throughout Schitt’s Creek’s run, David and Alexis Rose had an ongoing sibling rivalry. To some extent, this was due to the fact that they spent much of it in the same small hotel room, but it’s also clear that each of them has some emotional baggage to deal with and work through in their own time. Though they never quite stop sniping at each other, they eventually admit that they really love and care deeply about one another. Deep down, they want what’s best for their frustrating sibling.  

Even though the character of Gloria only appears twice in The Golden Girls, those two appearances are enough to show why Dorothy deeply resents her younger sister. Not only does their mother, Sophia, make it clear that Gloria is her favorite, but Gloria also looks down on Dorothy and her various life choices. It all comes to a head in the final season when Gloria sleeps with Dorothy’s ex-husband Stan. Fortunately, they manage to reconcile, thus showing that beneath every sibling rivalry there is often a deep well of love.

Given that they are both convinced of their brilliance and erudition, it makes sense that Frasier and Niles Crane of Frasier  would have a sibling rivalry. Indeed, their lives have taken very similar paths, and it’s clear that Niles, at least, resents the fact that he is often in his brother’s shadow. Though it’s clear that they love each other dearly — they do regularly meet for coffee, after all — half the fun of the show as a whole is to watch Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce show off their remarkable comic chemistry together. 

Like so many other sitcoms, Everybody Loves Raymond features a sibling rivalry, this time between Ray and his younger brother Robert. It’s repeatedly made clear that the latter resents the former, mostly because of the fact that Ray is clearly their mother’s favorite. Their ongoing feud is a potent reminder that sibling rivalries don’t just end because people grow up; they can last for a lifetime. Just as importantly, these kinds of long-lasting rivalries also make for comedy gold.

For the most part, Monica and Ross Geller of Friends  manage to get along rather well. This is notable, considering how neurotic they both are. However, those moments when they end up spatting are truly hilarious to watch, thanks to the outrageously hilarious performances from Courteney Cox and David Schwimmer. While they undoubtedly love one another a great deal, it’s also true that they go out of their way to tattle on one another to their parents, always a key part of any sibling rivalry.

Sibling rivalries don’t come much more fierce than the one between Becky and Darlene Conner, particularly as they appear in Roseanne. Becky and Darlene are studies in opposites, which helps to explain why they are always fighting. As is so often the case with such rivalries, their mutual antagonism stems from just how different they are and their allegiances with each of their parents. When push comes to shove, however, they are able to put their differences aside to find support from one another. 

Married…with Children stripped away the veneer of respectability surrounding the American TV family to expose the dysfunction beneath. While patriarch Al might dominate much of the show, equally entertaining is the ongoing rivalry between his children, Kelly and Bud. While Kelly might be the pretty and popular one, Bud is the one with the brains, and both Christina Applegate and David Faustino lean into the cattiness of the siblings as they each try to deliver the most devastating put-down.