在偵探類影視劇中，主人公一般都會有一個合作默契的搭檔。兩人一唱一和，用眼神和手勢傳達著信息，行動的步伐也那么一致。有如此精準的配合，犯罪分子自然是逃不掉的。像這樣的搭檔，而且多為男女搭配的合作關系，我們可以稱之為work spouse。

A work spouse is a co-worker, usually of the opposite sex, with whom one shares a special relationship, having bonds similar to those of a marriage; such as, confidences, loyalties, shared experiences, and a degree of honesty or openness. The work spouse is a potentially key relationship when one's actual spouse or boy/girlfriend is not able to be there.

　　Work spouse（工作配偶）指與自己有親密合作關系的異性同事，兩人之間互有的信任、忠誠、共同的經歷以及某種程度的坦誠等都與婚姻關系中的夫妻類似。在現實生活中的配偶或男/女朋友不能在身邊時，工作配偶就會成為主要的依靠對象。

　　The relationship is characterized by many sources as having the immediate intimacy of marriage without the sex or commitment, or platonic, close, opposite-sex couplings, with no romantic strings attached.

　　在很多介紹中，配偶關系被定義為：夫妻般的親密關系，但與性或者承諾無關；或者沒有相戀關系的、柏拉圖式的親密異性伙伴。