From Emma Stone in The Curse to Tramell Tillman in Severance, the 2020s have delivered some of the all-time greatest TV performances. The Golden Age of Television may have ended when streaming and its quantity-over-quality model took over the industry, but there’s still plenty of incredible TV getting made.
The 2020s have given us plenty of iconic new TV characters, from Roy Kent to Luthen Rael, and those iconic characters require great actors to bring them to life. So, here are the best TV performances of the decade so far.
Brett Goldstein As Roy Kent
Ted Lasso
Roy Kent looking back in Ted Lasso
Brett Goldstein got to play all the funniest moments in Ted Lasso as Roy Kent, but he also had the unenviable task of marrying the grizzled gruffness of a hardened footballer like Roy Keane or Vinnie Jones with the sweet, wholesome tone of this series. And he pulled it off spectacularly. Roy is a grumbling badass, but he has a heart of gold.
Christina Ricci As Misty Quigley
Yellowjackets
Misty smiling in Yellowjackets season 3, episode 9
Misty Quigley is the school weirdo who would usually go off and find her own people, but the Yellowjackets’ experience in the wilderness has bonded Misty to her mean-girl classmates for life. Wednesday Addams herself, Christina Ricci, was the perfect casting choice for Misty. She leans into the weirdness, but also digs into the psychology and motivations that make Misty the way she is.
Steven Yeun As Danny Cho
Beef
Steven Yeun as Daniel Cho in Beef
The ingenious high-concept premise of Beef takes a relatable everyday incident of road rage and keeps escalating it for an entire miniseries. The reason that premise works is that Steven Yeun’s Danny Cho is so believably frustrated and at the end of his rope that you genuinely buy that he would dedicate all his time and effort to this pointless feud.
Seth Rogen As Matt Remick
The Studio
Matt (Seth Rogen) looking happy in The Studio Season 1 Episode 8
Seth Rogen is often criticized for supposedly always playing the same character — he even poked fun at this notion himself in This is the End — but he gave a genuinely great performance (perhaps the best of his entire career) in The Studio. Matt Remick isn’t just another rehash of Rogen’s usual on-screen persona; he’s petty, nebbish, and insecure, and there isn’t a joint in sight.
The Studio is a pitch-perfect satire of the modern Hollywood movie industry, but the show’s real magic trick is making you empathize with Matt. A straightforward satire would get old fast, but The Studio makes you feel bad for Matt while you’re laughing at him.
Natasha Lyonne As Charlie Cale
Poker Face
Charlie smiling in her car in Poker Face Season 2 Ep 12-6
Amateur sleuth Charlie Cale has proven to be the perfect role for Natasha Lyonne’s unique comic abilities. She nails Columbo’s razor-sharp wit and Kojak’s biting one-liners — and she makes Charlie’s inexplicable lie-detecting superpower surprisingly convincing — but she also brings a real vulnerability to the character whenever she opens herself up to new friends or her life is in danger.
Emma D’Arcy As Rhaenyra Targaryen
House Of The Dragon
Rhaenyra in House of the Dragon season 1 finale
Milly Alcock gave a wonderful performance as a younger Rhaenyra Targaryen in the first few episodes of House of the Dragon, but then Emma D’Arcy took over and solidified this character as a TV icon. D’Arcy’s acting is subtle but powerful, best exemplified in the look of vengeful rage she gives as she declares war at the end of season 1.
Jaz Sinclair As Marie Moreau
Gen V
Marie looking off to the side in Gen V season 1 episode 8
Marie Moreau is a blood-bender who discovered her unusual superpower when she got her first period and accidentally killed both of her parents. She’s been carrying that baggage with her through the whole series, and Jaz Sinclair has captured that underlying trauma and her never-ending quest to make up for that mistake in every single episode of Gen V since.
Cristin Milioti As Sofia Falcone
The Penguin
Sofia (Cristin Milioti) giving an arrogant look in The Penguin Season 1 Ep 8
Colin Farrell did a terrific job in the title role in The Penguin — he turned Oz Cobb from a one-note villain into a deeply damaged human being — but Cristin Milioti completely stole the show as Sofia Falcone. She was intriguing from the moment she stepped on-screen as a cold-hearted killer and uneasy ally of Oz’s, hellbent on exacting revenge.
But it went from a great performance to an all-timer when the show went back to explore Sofia’s tragic backstory. As it turns out, Sofia wasn’t incarcerated in Arkham Asylum because she’s an unhinged maniac; she’s an unhinged maniac because she was incarcerated in Arkham. Milioti captures the badass edge that Sofia developed behind bars, but also the trauma of all the abuse she endured there.
Janelle James As Ava Coleman
Abbott Elementary
Janelle James’ Ava grins while wearing a headset mike in Abbott Elementary season 4
The mark of a great comedic actor is the ability to play a fundamentally unlikable character, lean into their flaws for laughs, and still have the audience love you. Janelle James’ turn as Ava Coleman, Abbott Elementary’s selfish, tone-deaf, mean-spirited principal, is a prime example of this. She’s a horrible person, but you can’t not love her.
Paul Mescal As Connell Waldron
Normal People
Connell with his hands on his head covered in sweat in Normal People
Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones both gave incredible, career-making performances as the central couple in Normal People, but Mescal got a chance to show off slightly more range. As Connell Waldron, he had to hide his true passions from his cool friends, he had to be fiercely protective of his loved ones, and he had to convey unimaginable grief after an untimely loss.