The premise of What I Like About You, is two sisters learning to love and life together in New York City. It is about an older sister, Val, taking in her teenage sister, Holly, and the bond that grows between them. The show is more about two sisters learning and growing up together; more than Val being the adult always teaching Holly new things. They teach each other new things each day and learn about the unbreakable bond between sisters.
Holly is sixteen year old, high school student who doesn't want to leave everything behind to move to Japan with her dad. Instead, she decides to move to New York City with her older sister, Val. Val is very organized and particular, if one thing is out of place she will notice and have to fix it immediately. Holly is more spontaneous and carefree; she sometimes moves things out of place without even thinking about it.
Holly's best friend is Gary and he is always available to offer advice and help her out of sticky situations. Unfortunately, Gary is often the cause her getting in those situations in the first place. However, they play off of each other nicely and their friendship is strong.
Holly is a bit accident prone. She is constantly spilling things on herself or the floor, knocking things over or off the wall, and tripping over her own two feet. Holly tries to help Val out with various events, but they almost always end up in catastrophe. Despite Holly's clumsiness, Val is always there to help clean up the messes. Throughout the series, Holly slowly becomes more patient and less awkward. As she matures, she is more stable and less accident prone. She can catch herself before she makes a big mistake or knocks something over; well, most of the time.
Holly also has problems with love, or rather problems decided who she loves. Henry is Holly's first boyfriend, but then see meets a bike messenger named Vince. When she can't chose between the two, she goes to Paris and meets a band member named Ben. After returning home, her feelings for Vince come back and she ends up breaking up with Ben. Through the final two seasons, Holly and Vince go back and forth trying to tell each other how they feel. Finally, in the fourth season, they get together, only to break up when Vince takes a job in Chicago. In the series finale, a man from her past comes back and tells Holly he can't live without her.
