{"id":85811,"date":"2025-10-20T03:11:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T03:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/85811\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T03:11:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T03:11:10","slug":"top-20-tv-performances-of-the-2020s-so-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/85811\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 20 TV Performances Of The 2020s So Far"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/a> may have ended when streaming and its quantity-over-quality model took over the industry, but there\u2019s still plenty of incredible TV getting made.<\/p>\n

The 2020s have given us plenty of iconic new TV characters<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n

Brett Goldstein As Roy Kent<\/p>\n

Ted Lasso<\/p>\n

\"Roy
\n Roy Kent looking back in Ted Lasso<\/p>\n

Brett Goldstein got to play all the funniest moments in Ted Lasso<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

Christina Ricci As Misty Quigley<\/p>\n

Yellowjackets<\/p>\n

\"Misty
\n Misty smiling in Yellowjackets season 3, episode 9<\/p>\n

Misty Quigley is the school weirdo who would usually go off and find her own people, but the Yellowjackets\u2019 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.<\/p>\n

Steven Yeun As Danny Cho<\/p>\n

Beef<\/p>\n

\"Beef
\n Steven Yeun as Daniel Cho in Beef<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Seth Rogen As Matt Remick<\/p>\n

The Studio<\/p>\n

\"Matt
\n Matt (Seth Rogen) looking happy in The Studio Season 1 Episode 8<\/p>\n

Seth Rogen is often criticized for supposedly always playing the same character \u2014 he even poked fun at this notion himself in This is the End \u2014 but he gave a genuinely great performance (perhaps the best of his entire career) in The Studio. Matt Remick isn\u2019t just another rehash of Rogen\u2019s usual on-screen persona; he\u2019s petty, nebbish, and insecure, and there isn\u2019t a joint in sight.<\/p>\n

The Studio is a pitch-perfect satire of the modern Hollywood movie industry, but the show\u2019s 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\u2019re laughing at him.<\/p>\n

Natasha Lyonne As Charlie Cale<\/p>\n

Poker Face<\/p>\n

\"Charlie
\n Charlie smiling in her car in Poker Face Season 2 Ep 12-6<\/p>\n

Amateur sleuth Charlie Cale has proven to be the perfect role for Natasha Lyonne\u2019s unique comic abilities. She nails Columbo\u2019s razor-sharp wit and Kojak\u2019s biting one-liners \u2014 and she makes Charlie\u2019s inexplicable lie-detecting superpower surprisingly convincing \u2014 but she also brings a real vulnerability to the character whenever she opens herself up to new friends or her life is in danger.<\/p>\n

Emma D’Arcy As Rhaenyra Targaryen<\/p>\n

House Of The Dragon<\/p>\n

\"Rhaenyra
\n Rhaenyra in House of the Dragon season 1 finale<\/p>\n

Milly Alcock gave a wonderful performance as a younger Rhaenyra Targaryen in the first few episodes of House of the Dragon<\/a>, but then Emma D\u2019Arcy took over and solidified this character as a TV icon. D\u2019Arcy\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Jaz Sinclair As Marie Moreau<\/p>\n

Gen V<\/p>\n

\"Marie
\n Marie looking off to the side in Gen V season 1 episode 8<\/p>\n

Marie Moreau is a blood-bender<\/a> who discovered her unusual superpower when she got her first period and accidentally killed both of her parents. She\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Cristin Milioti As Sofia Falcone<\/p>\n

The Penguin<\/p>\n

\"Sofia
\n Sofia (Cristin Milioti) giving an arrogant look in The Penguin Season 1 Ep 8<\/p>\n

Colin Farrell did a terrific job in the title role in The Penguin \u2014 he turned Oz Cobb from a one-note villain into a deeply damaged human being \u2014 but Cristin Milioti completely stole the show as Sofia Falcone<\/a>. She was intriguing from the moment she stepped on-screen as a cold-hearted killer and uneasy ally of Oz\u2019s, hellbent on exacting revenge.<\/p>\n

But it went from a great performance to an all-timer when the show went back to explore Sofia\u2019s tragic backstory. As it turns out, Sofia wasn\u2019t incarcerated in Arkham Asylum because she\u2019s an unhinged maniac; she\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Janelle James As Ava Coleman<\/p>\n

Abbott Elementary<\/p>\n

\"Janelle
\n Janelle James’ Ava grins while wearing a headset mike in Abbott Elementary season 4<\/p>\n

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\u2019 turn as Ava Coleman, Abbott Elementary\u2019s selfish, tone-deaf, mean-spirited principal<\/a>, is a prime example of this. She\u2019s a horrible person, but you can\u2019t not love her.<\/p>\n

Paul Mescal As Connell Waldron<\/p>\n

Normal People<\/p>\n

\"Connell
\n Connell with his hands on his head covered in sweat in Normal People<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From Emma Stone in The Curse to Tramell Tillman in Severance, the 2020s have delivered some of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":85812,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[146,85,46,411],"class_list":["post-85811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85811"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85811\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}