Performer Of The Year: The 22 Finalists

We've made our list, checked it twice — and man, there were a lot of excellent TV performances this year.

All year long, Team TVLine has recognized the small screen's most compelling work via our Performer of the Week column, honoring actors from broadcast, cable and streaming series as they've made us weep with sadness or laughter. (Sometimes both!) But now, we're tasked with naming a Performer of the Year... and the field was so crowded, we added two extra spots on our annual list of finalists for the big honor.

Named alphabetically below, our list of 22 nominees doubles as a "ballot" of sorts. (Note: As usual, any contenders comprised of multiple co-stars — in this case, Heartstopper's Kit Connor and Joe Locke — compete as and will be considered one finalist.)

On Tuesday, Dec. 20, we will crown one of the nominees (and only one!) our 2022 Performer of the Year, dethroning the 2021 victor, Succession's Jeremy Strong. And while our esteemed panel of judges won't necessarily be swayed by the Comments section, we're itching to see if our 22 finalists line up with your favorite performances of the year.

Scroll through the list below to see who's in the running from this year's shows, then drop a comment with your thoughts on who might be named Performer of the Year 2022.

Before we even laid eyes on the Netflix dark comedy's series finale, Applegate had already been turning in some of her funniest, most heartfelt work in Season 3's preceding nine episodes. But in the show's swan song, the beloved TV vet cleared her own very high bar, delivering the best performance of her career in the process. The Married With Children alum recently suggested that her MS diagnosis could force her into early retirement. Selfishly, we really hope that is not the case.

The death of her father, and the childhood trauma the loss dredged up, threw a tightly wound Sheila Rubin off her axis, sending the character on a mentally and physically tumultuous journey — and giving the nimble Byrne a sterling showcase in the Apple TV+ dramedy's second season. When Sheila suffered an inevitable breakdown in Episode 3, Byrne grounded the emotional fireworks in decades of pain and resentment, making the somber, healing closing scene between her and her complicit mother all the more resonant.

Of course he'll always be Michael Scott to us, but Carell delivered perhaps his finest dramatic work yet in Hulu's unbearably tense psychological drama. With graying hair and a full beard, Carell emanated wisdom and compassion as therapist Dr. Alan Strauss, who did his best to find a shred of humanity inside serial killer Sam during their intense therapy sessions. Carell kept his cool despite some very tough circumstances, and he also let us see in flashbacks that Alan had demons of his own to overcome. The Patient was a two-person play, essentially, but Carell's emotionally insightful work made sure it was never less than riveting.

They had us at "hi." Yep, right from the start of Netflix's Emmy-winning romance, the teenagers who play Nick Nelson and Charlie Spring so beautifully embodied the tentativeness and fear, hope and euphoria of a crush becoming realized that we found ourselves being swept away like we hadn't been... well, since the first time we fell in like. And in this age of "Don't say gay" bills, threats to marriage equality and continued violence against the LGBTQ+ community, the leading men's work — a feat of remarkable vulnerability — isn't just admirable, it's important.

Considine was excellent as the conflicted sovereign throughout the Game of Thrones prequel's first season, but he truly shone as Viserys' death grew nigh. A lesser actor might've been swallowed whole by the special effects used to convey the king's rapidly declining physical health. But Considine's genius lay in the way he allowed Viserys' bodily decline to be the catalyst for the king's emotionally stripped-down final moments. King Viserys may be dead, but long live the power of Considine's performance!

Don't be fooled by that sunny smile: Daphne isn't someone you want to mess with. Fahy wowed us with her turn as the pampered world traveler who could seem blissfully oblivious one minute and then coldly calculating the next. She may not be aware of what's going on in the world (the news is just too depressing, guys), but when it comes to her husband Cameron's infidelities, her eyes are wide open. The White Lotus always provides an all-you-can-eat buffet of excellent performances, and Fahy's surprisingly complex performance was the slightly sour cherry on top.

It's official: Hader's hitman-turned-aspiring actor is a horrible human being, with the SNL vet methodically stripping away the guy's likability to reveal the withered and tortured soul underneath. Season 3 showcased Hader's darkest (and best) work yet as a disheveled and depressed Barry plunged into a downward spiral of romantic obsession and violent desperation. Hader still managed to find thin strands of comedy here and there in Barry's predicament, but the laughs were few and far between. By season's end, Barry had lost his girlfriend, his mentor and his freedom — and Hader had hit new heights as a performer.

Though she appeared in only one episode of Netflix's comic-book adaptation, Howell-Baptiste instantly commanded the screen and provided a very welcome foil for the show's highly emo title character. Howell-Baptiste truly made us believe Death felt like she was part of the human condition, despite being so thoroughly outside of it: Her warm smiles and gentle placing of hands as she approaches those who are dying communicated the importance with which the character viewed her purpose. Here's hoping she shows up more often in Season 2!

In headlining Disney+'s first MCU series of the year, Isaac faced a nearly superhuman task. We first met him as Steven Grant, a mild-mannered "British" gift shop employee, only to then realize that Steven is but an alternate personality of American mercenary Marc Spector. Working within that construct, Isaac often had to interact with himself, and let's just say that Steven and Marc did not get on at first! Throw in the gents' shared breakdown and subsequent search for answers, plus fleeting glimpses of a third personality (cab driver Jake Lockley), and Isaac delivered no less than a tour de force performance.

Whenever Abbott Elementary gifts us with an Ava-centric episode, we know we're in for a treat, thanks to James' always-snappy and highly entertaining performance. Whether the principal is subbing for a sick Janine or trying to save the school's funding, James shoots off hilarious zingers like firecrackers. And in the brief glimpses of Ava's softer side, James reminds us that while Ava might be ill-equipped to handle the role of principal, she does care about her students in her own way.

As new Lumon hire Helly, Lower acted as our window into the very weird world of Apple TV+'s dystopian thriller. Helly didn't know why she was there, and wanted to get the hell out — all very relatable! — and Lower brought a ferocious vigor to Helly's relentless rebellion. But as we started to peel back the layers of Helly's backstory, Lower's performance got even more fascinating, mixing fiery outrage with cold precision. She's earned herself a waffle party, for sure, and also this Performer of the Year nomination.

Let's be honest: Netflix's time-tripping comedy could get stuck in a repetitive loop for the next 10 seasons and we'd still watch, thanks to Lyonne's magnificently entertaining turn as the wisecracking Nadia. Lyonne shined once again as Nadia delved into a fresh timeline-hopping adventure in Season 2, with her singularly raspy, cool-as-a-cucumber delivery making just about every line she said hilarious. She wasn't afraid to get vulnerable, either, as Nadia faced some long-buried family trauma and the inevitability of death. We'd be happy to bend the rules of space and time with her again, and again, and again, and again...

It's beyond rare for TVLine to recognize a performance on a reality show as one of the year's best. But beyond rare is exactly what Monsoon delivered in the first-ever all-winners edition of All Stars. Whether stealing Snatch Game with spot-on impressions of Natasha Lyonne and Judy Garland, giving a "draguation" speech that was at once hilarious and thoughtful, or turning a bit part in Santa's School for Girls into quite a bit more, Drag Race's Season 5 victor left no question that they had to be crowned Queen of All Queens.

The NBC drama's final season gave Moore her toughest acting challenge yet, and she nailed it in elegantly heartbreaking fashion. As Rebecca's dementia overtook her life, Moore turned the Pearson matriarch inward, giving a quiet, painfully realistic performance of a woman robbed of her memories. Moore's crowning glory was the series' penultimate hour, in which she (as younger Rebecca) surveyed her life and broke our hearts anew as Rebecca reunited with her long-lost love, Jack.

There's a reason Wednesday is one of Netflix's most-watched shows ever, and it has everything to do with Ortega's stellar run as the titular character in Season 1. From her perfectly deadpan delivery to that spooky dance she personally choreographed — drawing inspiration from Siouxsie Sioux, '80s goth dance clubs and OG on-screen Wednesday Lisa Loring, among others — Ortega gave a career-defining performance that solidified the young actress as a formidable force on screen.

Justice for Rhea! The criminally underrated co-star of AMC's Breaking Bad prequel finally got the kudos she deserves this year, notching her first-ever Emmy nomination for her role as formidably skilled attorney Kim Wexler. That was for the first half of Saul's final season, though, and she topped herself in the final episodes with a devastating breakup scene and a heart-wrenching bus breakdown. Through Saul's six seasons, Seehorn was always the show's stealth MVP, and her final scenes as Kim Wexler represented one hell of a closing statement.

Much has been made about the skill with which Seyfried replicated Elizabeth Holmes' trademark, oft-ridiculed voice — and with good reason. The Big Love vet nailed her alter ego's performative, authoritative baritone. But the real genius of Seyfried's Emmy-winning work in Hulu's limited series was in how she telegraphed the disgraced Theranos founder's reckless ambition, unrelenting hubris and pathological denial. When it all came crashing down in the finale, the actress captured Elizabeth's exorcism-level meltdown with terrifying vigor.

In his commitment to playing The Boys' Homelander in all his deranged yet vulnerable glory, Starr has crafted an indelible TV villain. In Season 3, the actor took his character to new highs and lows, winning back the public's love despite his horrific actions, yet losing any chance of earning his father Soldier Boy's love and respect. And during every second of Homelander's journey, Starr was absolutely captivating.

Five seasons into the Hulu drama, and Strahovski is still finding new ways to mess us up emotionally in the complicated role of Serena Joy Waterford. Praise be! We were captivated watching her every scene, from Serena's desperate reliance on June as she went into labor to her fiery indignation at returning to Toronto and realizing she had become a de facto handmaid. Our only question: How does Strahovski so beautifully evoke both our sympathies and our contempt... sometimes within a matter of minutes?

As the talented but troubled chef at the center of Hulu's frantically paced restaurant dramedy, the Shameless veteran cooked up a fascinating lead performance: a little salty and a little spicy, with lots of interesting flavors and textures layered in as well. White's chef Carmy commanded the kitchen with a quiet intensity during the anxiety-inducing cooking scenes, and he laid his soul bare in a mesmerizing monologue about his brother's death in the season finale. It's good that The Bear is coming back for a second season, because we're hungry for more.

As the elderly Sunja, Youn was the beating heart of Apple TV+'s sprawling, trilingual saga. An early highlight of Youn's performance came when Solomon took his grandmother to sweet-talk a stubborn landowner; instead, with a bite of white rice imported from South Korea, Sunja realized how much home means to her, as well, and what followed was a wave of conflicting emotions that swept over Sunja. As evidenced by the first season alone, Sunja over many decades has experienced so much (including having loved and lost), and Youn made us feel that with every look into her seen-it-all eyes.

Rue's very scary trajectory in the HBO drama's second season was so affecting because of Zendaya's gutting performance as the drug-addicted teen. The Emmy-winning actress steered Rue through her erratic and emotional hairpin turns at high velocity, careening the character toward disaster but always (barely) pulling her back from the brink. The harrowing intervention in Episode 5? Thanks to Zendaya, we'll be thinking about that one for a while.