The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on love, marriage, and family life. Employing both social science and cultural studies perspectives, this new article by DIJ social scientist Nora Kottmann, Forum Mithani, and DIJ alumna Elisabeth Scherer discusses romantic and familial relationships and their respective depictions in four Japanese romantic dramas (ren’ai dorama) produced under pandemic conditions. The article touches upon the COVID-19 pandemic and related policies in Japan, elaborates on conditions of TV production during the pandemic, and asks: How have TV series addressed love, dating and (marital) relationships during the pandemic? “Screening Love: Relational practices in Japanese TV dramas produced during the COVID-19 pandemic” (Japan Focus: The Asia-Pacific Journal 20 (14/3): 1–21) identifies a trend consistent with ‘re-traditionalization’ on the one hand, and depictions of diverse, unconventional relational practices that are critical of the marital institution on the other. It is available open access.