24 Best TV Performances of 2024
Vic Michaelis in Very Important People
They were already dubbed one of Vulture’s illustrious “Comedians You Should Know,” but Vic Michaelis just keeps getting better. As the overly-serious host of this improvised talk-style show, they know exactly when to prod and when to sit back and let their guests show off. If you haven’t watched ‘VIP,’ you’re missing out on one of the funniest short-form TV shows out there right now.
Bridget Everett in Somebody Somewhere
One of many big losses in the TV landscape this year (several of which are included in this list), is Bridget Everett’s Sam in Somebody Somewhere. The sweet and soft HBO series was a critics’ darling from dot, and the final season was no different. Year after year, Everett’s performance was the beating heart at the center of this show. I’ll miss seeing so much of her. Sam and Bridget.
Airsoft Shooters in the Olympics
The dictionary has a picture of the Olympic shooters next to “stealing the show.” Swimmers? No thanks! These weirdos came with their game faces on, ready for stardom.
Angie K in Real Housewives of Salt Lake City
Angie K wins One-Line of the Year with “high body-count hair.” This is a classic standout Bravo-ism and when coupled with “a little bit pornish” it is unstoppable meme-able. Angie K, you are all of us. She really earned that center snowflake this season.
One of the best things coming out of Instagram right now is Michelladonna’s web show all about Bodega Cats (TM). We’ve been longtime fans of NYC-native standup comic Michelladonna, but her star is rising FAST and FIERCELY these days. If you haven’t watched Shop Cats, do that right now, dude.
Sarah Sherman on Saturday Night Live, Season 50
I’ve been enamored by Sherman’s persona and joke delivery from the very beginning. And she cannot! Be! Stopped! Her half-giggle, half-shocked thing is never not going to hit. It’s so charming and it makes SNL look fun and effortless (something that only the very best cast members can pull off). This year’s Sarah highlights? For my money, it’s roasting Jost about the Victoria’s Secret fashion show and getting roasted in the Martin Short monologue.
Natasia Demetriou in What We Do In the Shadows
The last season of my favorite show brought a lot of goodies this way. Nadja was mostly up to her usual tricks, so I guess what I’m saying is that Demetriou’s average day of work is better than a lot of people’s very best day. Nadja won my heart with her pronunciation of “Jeff” in season one, and I never waivered from my loyalty. This season is no different. Complete with 80s hair and power suits, Nadja’s dip into corporate America was the highlight of the season. In fact, the only downside to Demetriou’s tenure as Nadja? Not enough!
Renne Elise Goldsberry in Girls5Eva
Tragically here to discuss yet another early TV show death. There is no doubt that Goldsberry’s turn as Wickie Roy was one of the best in TV over the last several years. It’s simple fact. Watching this performance is like watching a masterclass is character acting. She’s SO funny and while BIG, this performance has never felt false. I’m glad to have at least one last victory-lap season of one of the best TV shows on now.
Every single moment Mabel Thomas’s Linny is on screen, they’re doing the most. Even if you’ve already binged the season of Rat Czar, you should set aside 50-ish minutes today just to watch again. But this time, don’t take your eyes off Linny. From their improvised spit-take (back into the coffee cup) to their superstar run of alts including “Raturday Night Live,” Thomas acts their dumb little heart out. She’s the exact person you want in an ensemble show–standout hilarity balanced with genuinely supportive acting. They make everyone look so good! Highlight? Throwing the phone into the wall in episode two. Yes, it made a hole. Yes, we had to spackle.
Sheryl Lee Ralph in Abbott Elementary
Duh! The only person topping Sheryl Lee Ralph is Sheryl Lee Ralph. I can’t wait for Mrs. Howard to teach Charlie Kelly how to read. But even without that, Barbara Howard shines brightly!
In a standout show, Martine Gutierez delivered a standout performance. She brought the necessary vibrancy, sexiness, aloofness, and queer sensibility to this role…and then some! Not only did she deliver on the promise of high-quality surrealism, but on the grounded comedy as well. This is a tough duality to juggle and she does it backwards in heels.
Another TV show died too soon. Word just came down that HBO has cancelled this satirical look at Marvel-like mega movies. While suffering from a slowish start and relatively low joke-density, this show came into its own and pulled off several BIG laugh out loud moments. Adefope is at the center of all the very highest highs. Not only is she responsible for the big bridge blow-up, she’s also repeatedly oscillating between the most successful and most in-over-their-head member of the crew. This chaotic back and forth pulls double weight–grounding her performance and making it broad and hilarious. Dag is the best part of Franchise, and I’ll miss her most of all.
Natasha Rothwell in How to Die Alone
Rothwell is very clearly the beating heart of this show. She IS the show. Her performance is rock solid: vulurable and nuanced, funny and grounded…real! From the moment she throws up all over that nice dead lady all the way until the last moment of the season–she’s doing the damn thing. My qualms about this show (that rich gay bestie is BAD NEWS) have nothing on Rothwell’s stellar performance, which carries this show all the way to the level of the best TV this year.
Aubrey Plaza in Agatha All Along
I’m not the biggest proponent of Marvel properties, but Agatha’s scrappy sensibility and practical effects ultimately won me over. In fact, for me, the standout moment of the entire series is in the penultimate episode (Is it even a list about TV if it doesn’t include the phrase “penultimate episode?”) when Aubrey Plaza’s Rio cuts a slit in the background and steps through it. Picture this: a Wizard of Oz-esque painted back curtain being cut and stepped through. This kind of world-breaking campiness represents the very best of what this show could be. SO much of that energy comes from Plaza (and the rest comes from PlazaXHahn chemistry, which cannot be denied).
For a minute there, it seemed like Jessica Williams was never going to get her flowers. She wasn’t finding that ROLE that could skyrocket her from iconic One of Two Dope Queens to full-blown TV stardom. Shrinking changed all that. Known more for starring Harrison Ford, this show has continued to showcase its heart. It just so happens that the heart is decorated with laughs–thank goodness.
Decameron was the best TV of the year. I don’t have room in this forum to prove my claim, so you’ll just have to trust me and watch it. Tanya Reynolds (who you probably recognize from Sex Education) cuts through the wacky chaos of this show with a brilliant performance. Neuanced and full of feelings, but understated and well-coated in silliness and hilarity.
Decameron was the best TV of the year. Yes, I know I said that right up there. But guess what? It’s true and in this industry landscape, the truth begs saying twice. Zosia Mamet had two really great TV performances this year in Decameron and Laid. In fact, it feels wrong to discuss one without mentioning the other because they’re such stark performances–both hilarious, both completely different showstoppers. One (this one) is a role that requires over-the-top dramatics and rueful vengeance; the other (Laid) is a tearful, but hilarious and maybe slightly ditzy and almost always super supportive friend.
RIP My Lady Jane. Ironically dead too soon, this show will not return for a season two despite a very charming first go-around. Bader hit the scene hard in this role. She pulls off being the smartest, hottest chick in town without seeming at all aloof. Jane is everything–and that’s hard to sell! But, Emily Bader makes it look easy in a half-fantasy, half-historical comedy. It’s a lot! She’s a good juggler.
Have you watched this HBO doc? It’s a quick three-parter. It’s unbelievably good (sometimes literally…). But DARLA was born to be on HBO. The smash cut to Darla in speedboat blasting Taylor Swift? The reading confrontation? The Crow Queen look? Icon stuff, top to bottom.
This girl has needed her own show. Finally, Laid came in clutch to give Stephanie Hsu screentime aplenty. Hsu is rigorously funny and at times cuttingly cruel as Ruby. This show came out late in 2024, so if you haven’t watched yet…NOW is a pretty apt time.
As I mentioned in the Best Bits list, Phaedra came to win (just not the game). She is serving pure Bravo, pure Housewives, pure under the radar Traitor. The one-liners! “I do too much because you do too little” is only topped by “This isn’t the Bachelor, I don’t have to kiss your ass for a rose.” From the jump, Phaedra is in impeccable form and everyone, even “PAR-VUH-TAY” knows it.
Kierra Knightly and Ben Wishaw in Black Doves
Perhaps the best duo of the year. These two have untouchable chemistry! Black Doves is an off-the-wall choice for this list, because it isn’t–strictly speaking–a comedy. But, like early Grey’s Anatomy, this show gets that humor is key in writing biting, fast-paced dialogue. Good shows, drama or comedy, make you laugh and the best shows do it often. Knightly and Wishaw play a spy and “triggerman” (respectively) who are at the center of a messy conspiracy. The action is intense (but fun!). As the season goes on, they form an ensemble of rag-tag assassins, but the show never looses sight of its magic: the relationship between secret super-spy-turned-housewife Helen Webb (Knightly) and heartbroken gay triggerman Sam (Wishaw).
Molly Shannon in Only Murders in the Building
Bev Mellon. The name alone could’ve won her a spot on this list. But the only thing that tops that is Molly Shannon’s performance. As the shattered, wired industry lady, Shannon delivers insults and jokes with the same aplomb.
This season of Bob’s Burgers saw an overdue re-cast by way of the long-time recurring character Marshmallow. Jari Jones is now repping one of the only (if not THE only) Black Transwomen in animated TV. By way of spotlighting this debut, ‘Bob’s’ had a fabulous open mic episode that included Marshmallow playing hero (classic her!) against the power-hungry Fire Marshal (Connor Ratliffe) who might be in love with her. Instead of shutting down the crowded restaurant, Marshmallow convinces him to stay and enjoy the show…including a stellar performance by the woman of the hour that left everyone, her parents and me included, in tears!