Lead roles that don't have romance/dating storylines in Non-Romance genres

[MacMadame]

Wasn't he a hallucination of a crew member? It's been awhile since I've seen the movie.

No, he was real. But in the end, when she is very close to giving up, she does hallucinate him. But he was definitely real and they were the last people left standing which, in some vehicles would have meant either a romance or at least sexual tension.

Moana is another Disney character who isn't looking for love. And while I haven't seen Encanto, I believe Miranda isn't either, is she? In theory, Mickey Mouse has been single for almost 100 years, too

He has a girlfriend though. And so does Donald Duck.

How about Star Trek Picard? I haven't finished watching season 2 and they were talking about his hiding from romance, but I don't think they'll go there.

Um...

Spoiler

IMO they are setting up this entire season to redo the moment when he rejects Laris.

 

[ballettmaus]

He has a girlfriend though. And so does Donald Duck.

Not sure about Donald but I think Mickey and Minnie aren't officially an item.

 

[MacMadame]

Not sure about Donald but I think Mickey and Minnie aren't officially an item.

They go on dates and give each other presents and kiss. That's good enough for me!

 

[Jay42]

I honestly don't know if we can call Doctor Who non-binary now that we have a female doctor. Is he/she really non-binary in either form? I didn't have access to the show when Jodie Whitaker took over so I don't know how she is playing the Doctor. Either way he/she is alien and not human.

My friends and I usually go for genderfluid. There's enough canon evidence now to support the idea that Time Lords are genderfluid. We also tend to go with the pronouns of whatever gender the Doctor is presenting as if we're talking about a specific incarnation of the Doctor but then use they/them pronouns if we're referring to the Doctor's character on the whole as opposed to specific incarnations. We also spend a pretty fair amount of time talking about Doctor Who which is why we have a system lol.

Two Canadian male dominated shows from the past that had little to no romantic plot lines were: The Beachcombers (adventures in coastal BC) and Due South (K-9 Mountie stationed in Chicago with US detective partner.) The lead on Due South was so HAWT too (Paul Gross.)

Eta I disagree about Elsa, I think she saved herself.

In the world of Canadian sitcoms, there's also Corner Gas. There's some chemistry with Brent and Lacey in season 1 but after that they just kind of forget it and move on. The only couple of Oscar and Emma. Of course some of that changes in the movie but I've only seen it once and I found it kind of meh so I'm not likely to watch it again.

I agree with you about Elsa.

Moana is another Disney character who isn't looking for love. And while I haven't seen Encanto, I believe Miranda isn't either, is she? In theory, Mickey Mouse has been single for almost 100 years, too

You are correct, there's no love interest for Mirabel in Encanto. There wasn't really time for one.

 

[slicekw]

I sorta want to nominate Absolutely Fabulous because it's really about the women, innit?

 

[ballettmaus]

You are correct, there's no love interest for Mirabel in Encanto. There wasn't really time for one.

Mirabel, my bad

 

[VGThuy]

You can find tons of fanfic in all popular fandoms that are anti-romance. In fact, they’re a loud part of the fanfic community as they carve out their own niche in the community since so many equate fanfic with shipping.

A lot of indie films that eschew formulas have lead female characters who aren’t put in romances. I’m sure there are a lot of contemporary books written by younger folks and women that have lead females that aren’t put in romances or at least try to subvert the expectation somehow.

 

[Japanfan]

'Frozen River' with Melissa Leo comes to mind. Excellent film.

 

[dewey]

The Father Brown Mysteries? Or does that not count because he is a priest?

 

[skategal]

Father Ted sitcom from Ireland.

So funny.

No romance, of course.

 

[Cachoo]

I think the fascinating thing is to find a young, female lead and protagonist who doesn't fall in love because that seems to be the formula in film after film.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

I think the fascinating thing is to find a young, female lead and protagonist who doesn't fall in love because that seems to be the formula in film after film.

^^^^^^^^^^This

 

[Cachoo]

I think I've found a new heroine for this thread. But there is one more episode to go before I know with certainty. She is not 20 something but 30 something and divorced and she certainly is a man magnet. And yet she is very much her own person who is determined to carve her own path. Juno Temple plays Bettye McCartt in "The Offer" which is about the challenges involved with making "The Godfather." Bettye died a few years ago and I wish she could have lived to see this. This is an ensemble cast and there are six actors— Temple, Miles Teller, Burn Gorman, Matthew Goode, Dan Fogler and Giovanni Ribisi who carry the show. Good stuff.

 

[MacMadame]

The Bettye McCartt character is awesome! Juno Temple does a good job.

 

[aliceanne]

Diana Rigg’s Mrs. Peel character. Her sex appeal was a given and yet she never dated or had a boyfriend. Even her late husband was never lamented or referred to.

 

[Vash01]

What about Tootsie/Dustin Hoffman?

Sorry I have not followed this thread. May be it has been already mentioned.

 

[ballettmaus]

Diana Rigg’s Mrs. Peel character. Her sex appeal was a given and yet she never dated or had a boyfriend. Even her late husband was never lamented or referred to.

I think the reason she didn't date was because her husband was missing and not officially dead yet, so technically she was still married and, at the time, it would have been considered inappropriate for her to date.

 

[MacMadame]

I think the reason she didn't date was because her husband was missing and not officially dead yet, so technically she was still married and, at the time, it would have been considered inappropriate for her to date.

He came back for her last episode. It's the reason her character left Steed.

 

[aliceanne]

He came back for her last episode. It's the reason her character left Steed.

I think it was more they brought him back because Diana Rigg had decided to leave the show. The producers were afraid killing her off would prove unpopular.

 

[MacMadame]

I think it was more they brought him back because Diana Rigg had decided to leave the show. The producers were afraid killing her off would prove unpopular.

You are talking about real life and I"m talking about what takes place on the show. Your and my statements are both true.

 

[Cachoo]

The Bettye McCartt character is awesome! Juno Temple does a good job.

And she’s done it! All hail Bettye McCart. Juno Temple (and the writer) take a bow. Also I think there be some sort of award for Miles Teller’s awesome hair. This is the first role where the 30 something man has replaced the 20 something kid. Bright future….

 

[Vash01]

Rainman - both Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise were without any real romance.

 

[Sylvia]

@Cachoo posted this 1 year ago:

My favorite film of all time is “Local Hero” and here is why: The main character is sent to a beautiful coastal town in GBritain to make way for a big American oil company.

If we had the traditional Hollywood film Mac (the lead) would fall in love with a local lass who would show him the error of his American ways and he would join the townsfolk to fight evil American oil.
NONE of this happens and the movie is so delightfully surprising in so many ways. If you would tell me that my fave film would not have the traditional romance we usually see I would not have believed you. And yet this film is a gem (to me at least.) It fits this thread’s criteria.

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Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

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The wonderfully quirky and atmospheric Local Hero is on TCM tonight and I'm definitely re-watching for the Scottish scenery: https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/81658/local-hero#overview

 

[Bunny Hop]

Sherlock Holmes!

First character I thought of. In the original stories Holmes is explicit about his antipathy towards women. Which is why it usually drives me nuts when re-interpretations find a way to give Holmes a romance (occasionally done well, more often not). But Dr Watson gets married at the end of the second story (the novel 'The Sign Of Four') and is married in a number of the short stories.

I only read one Temperance Brennan book but there wasn't anything romantic in it that I remember. I know the tv show did.

She definitely hooks up with Booth and I think another character in some of the books. I stopped reading them though as she started to annoy me. In a different way to how the TV character started to annoy me.

I honestly don't know if we can call Doctor Who non-binary now that we have a female doctor. Is he/she really non-binary in either form? I didn't have access to the show when Jodie Whitaker took over so I don't know how she is playing the Doctor. Either way he/she is alien and not human.

Also depends on which iteration of Doctor Who people are talking about. In original Doctor Who (pre-Christopher Eccleston/David Tennant et al) there was never any hint of romance for the Doctor, so would very much fit the criteria of no romance. Even when a companion ended up leaving to get married or something it was barely touched on in the plots. Whereas in New-Who a lot of the companions are constantly mooning over him (Rose, Martha etc). One of the reasons I stopped watching.

Due South (K-9 Mountie stationed in Chicago with US detective partner.) The lead on Due South was so HAWT too (Paul Gross.)

But there were episodes of Due South where they gave Fraser a romance or potential romantic interest including the best episode of the entire series where a woman from his past returns to tempt him. Which has reminded me that I'm overdue a Due South re-watch (I have it all on DVD and have been to two conventions).