Jean-Luc Picard made a small change to his drink order. Pop TV’s One Day at a Time reboot threw some shade at its former home. Ron Swanson proved he hadn’t changed a bit in the last five years. And Jessie Spano was no longer so… scared!
All year long, we’ve been collecting TV’s best sound bites in our Quotes of the Week compilations, which honor the dialogue that made us laugh, cry and gasp — sometimes all three, in fact. But as 2020 wraps up, we’re looking back at the Quotes of the Year, featuring 60 of the funniest, most emotional and/or most delightfully meta moments from the past 12 months.
In the list below, you’ll find one Jeopardy! legend insulting another during the show’s Greatest of All Time tournament, Psych 2‘s nod to James Roday Rodriguez’s other TV gig, one of Big Brother‘s best-ever eviction night speeches and an extremely tearful goodbye for Supernatural‘s Winchester brothers.
Meanwhile, Grey’s Anatomy and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. each got multiple shout-outs in our roundup, because picking only one standout line was just too difficult. Plus, we’ve got bon mots and one-liners from Yellowstone, Saturday Night Live, The Conners, Better Call Saul, Schitt’s Creek and Hawaii Five-0, to name a few.
Though it probably goes without saying, we’ll say it anyway: Our Quotes of the Year list includes lotsa spoilers for plot twists, romantic confessions, heartbreaking sendoffs and more. If you aren’t caught up on your favorite series, we’d recommend bookmarking this page for later.
But if you’re ready to dive in, simply scroll through the list below, then drop a comment with the lines that would make your cut for Quotes of the Year.
Still to come in TVLine’s Year in Review: Most Memorable Scene Stealers, Biggest TV Controversies, Shocking Cast Exits and more!
-
CRIMINAL MINDS
Image Credit: CBS screenshot “Today has been amazing. I don’t want it to end.”
“You’ll come back.”
“Will you know me?”
Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) knows that when it comes to Diana’s (Jane Lynch) lucidity, he and his mother are on borrowed time
-
77TH ANNUAL GOLDEN GLOBES
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC “The hero of this next movie is a naive, misguided child who spreads Nazi propaganda and only has imaginary friends. His name is Mark Zuckerberg.”
Sacha Baron Cohen roasts the Facebook CEO while introducing the film Jojo Rabbit
-
JEOPARDY! THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
Image Credit: ABC screenshot “Hey, Brad’s score is still on there.”
James Holzhauer ruthlessly points out that wiping out everyone’s earlier scores leaves Brad Rutter with the same amount he had — zero
-
'CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS'
Image Credit: The CW screenshot “You! Have failed… this universe!”
Really, could Oliver (Stephen Amell) have gone out any other way?
-
SEX EDUCATION
Image Credit: Netflix screenshot “It was really, really bad. He was moving his fingers like he was dialing a 1920s telephone.”
Ola (Patricia Allison) describes to Lily the complete lack of pleasure she received from boyfriend Otis
-
OSCAR NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCEMENT
Image Credit: YouTube screenshot “Congratulations to those men.”
Co-presenter Issa Rae curtly acknowledges the all-male nominees in the Best Directing category
-
STAR TREK: PICARD
Image Credit: CBS All Access screenshot “Tea, Earl Grey… decaf.”
Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) has tweaked his drink order slightly since we last saw him
-
DC'S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW
Image Credit: The CW screenshot “Ray, who else saved the multiverse?”
“Oh, well, The Flash, Supergirl, Batwoman…”
“What, no Superman?”
“No, Superman was there. He’s very handsome.”
Ray (Brandon Routh) recalls meeting Earth-96’s Man of Steel (also played by Brandon Routh)
-
THE GOOD PLACE
Image Credit: NBC screenshot “I’ll say this to you, my friend, with all the love in my heart and all the wisdom of the universe: Take it sleazy.”
In the show’s very final scene, Michael (Ted Danson) thanks a good samaritan with a phrase that would make Eleanor Shellstrop proud
-
THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Image Credit: CBS screenshot “She wants to be friends.”
“I’m sorry, little bro. That’s a real bummer.”
“Are you kidding? I’m in. It might have taken seven seasons, but Monica married Chandler. Could this be a better day?”
Self-proclaimed “Black Chandler” Marty (Marcel Spears) delights in being friend-zoned by upstairs neighbor Keira
-
THIS IS US
Image Credit: NBC screenshot “You’re fat. I’m ancient. We’re gorgeous.”
Rebecca (Mandy Moore) won’t hear any of Kate’s objections to why they shouldn’t take a dip in the hotel pool after hours
-
WILL & GRACE
Image Credit: NBC screenshot “Look, have you ever seen NCIS?”
“No.”
“Has anyone you know ever seen it?”
“No.”
“But you still believe it exists. Will, God is NCIS.”
Jack (Sean Hayes), explaining to Will (Eric McCormack) how he believes in God
-
YOUNG SHELDON
Image Credit: CBS screenshot “Imagine all the stimulating conversations that must go on at these tables… I can see myself going here one day.”
“I think you’d fit right in.”
George Sr. (Lance Barber) agrees that Sheldon (Iain Armitage) would fit right in at Caltech someday
-
GREY'S ANATOMY
Image Credit: ABC screenshot “I wanted to write you a song, but I can’t write songs as fast as I needed to come here and tell you… I don’t want to live without you… You’re the only person that makes me feel all the things that I thought I was too smart or too damaged to feel. You make me want to write love songs in the rain! You make me want to be a parent, and I don’t give a crap whose baby it is!… I fell in love with you, Amelia, and I fell in love with this baby, and that is what matters to me.”
“So you wanna do this, even if he isn’t yours?”
“I do.”
“I really needed to hear that, because I got the results… and he is yours. But you’ve still gotta write me that song!”
A profession of unconditional love from Link (Chris Carmack) is rewarded with a revelation of paternity by Amelia (Caterina Scorsone)
-
GREY'S ANATOMY (Bonus Quote!)
Image Credit: ABC screenshot “How’d you get older?”
Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) asks her vision of George the same question we all had
-
THE WALKING DEAD
Image Credit: AMC screenshot “Took ya long enough.”
Carol (Melissa McBride), upon receipt of nemesis Alpha’s severed head from — surprise! — co-conspirator Negan
-
SUPERSTORE
Image Credit: NBC screenshot “It’s Dina. She doesn’t respond well to outside input. She’s like Tyler Perry.”
Mateo’s (Nico Santos) one-liner was probably not written by Tyler Perry
-
ONE DAY AT A TIME
Image Credit: Pop TV screenshot (2) “Did you decide what we’re watching for movie night?”
“No. It’s like there’s nothing good on Netflix anymore.”
An exchange between Penelope (Justina Machado) and Alex (Marcel Ruiz) culminates in a dig at the Latinx reboot’s former streaming home
-
THE GOOD DOCTOR
Image Credit: ABC screenshot “I always knew I could be a good doctor. But until I met Lea, I never knew I could drive a car, or enjoy music, or sing karaoke, or take tequila shots… or fall in love. I don’t want to stop being the person I am with her. Lea makes me… more.”
Shaun (Freddie Highmore) explains to Vera why he refuses to move on from Lea
-
OUTLANDER
Image Credit: Starz screenshot “The battle is upon us.”
“I suppose good luck will do… I love you, soldier.”
“‘Good luck’ will do. ‘I love you’ does so much better.”
Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Caitriona Balfe) part ways before battle
-
BETTER CALL SAUL
Image Credit: AMC screenshot “You know why I didn’t take the job? ‘Cause it’s too small! I don’t care about it! It’s nothing to me! It’s a bacterium! I travel in worlds you can’t even imagine! You can’t conceive of what I’m capable of! I’m so far beyond you! I’m like a god in human clothing! Lightning bolts shoot from my fingertips!”
Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk) delivers the most colorful rejection of a job offer we’ve ever heard
-
HAWAII FIVE-0
Image Credit: CBS screenshot “If I had a dollar for every time you saved my life… I’d have, like, 20 bucks.”
“You’d have a lot more than that, actually.”
“25 bucks.”
“Yeah.”
Danny (Scott Caan) and Steve (Alex O’Loughlin) quibble over matters of life and death
-
SCHITT'S CREEK
Image Credit: Pop TV screenshot “David, I promise I will make you so happy here.”
“You f—ing better.”
Patrick (Noah Reid) and David (Daniel Levy), planting roots in the town the latter was sure he wanted to leave
-
MODERN FAMILY
Image Credit: ABC screenshot “Are there lattes? Are there art-house theaters? What if I never see a black-and-white movie, or a black-and-white couple?”
Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) worries he won’t fit in in Missouri
-
BROOKLYN NINE-NINE
Image Credit: NBC screenshot “You took the wrong fluffy boy!”
Capt. Holt (Andre Braugher) wails in the face of Cheddar’s captor before knocking his lights out
-
STATION 19
Image Credit: ABC screenshot “Don’t make me regret endorsing a woman for captain.”
“My former captain knowingly sliced through a roof and fell to his death to save my entire team. These are tears of gratitude, and amazement and wonder, and I will not apologize for having them… The ability to care while doing my job is a quality Captain Herrera both modeled and lauded. My ability to care while doing my job is what makes me superior, not inferior, to those who can’t.”
Bishop (Danielle Savre) refuses to let Dixon (Pat Healy) turn her feelings into a liability
-
A PARKS AND RECREATION SPECIAL
Image Credit: NBC screenshot “When you travel, are you practicing social distancing?”
“I’ve been practicing social distancing since I was 4 years old.”
Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) reassures Leslie (Amy Poehler) that he’s way ahead of the curve on coronavirus safety protocols
-
PRODIGAL SON
Image Credit: Fox screenshot “My girl!”
Martin (Michael Sheen) couldn’t be prouder that Ainsley has gotten involved with the murderous family business
-
DEAD TO ME
Image Credit: Netflix screenshot “Am I dead? Did I die?”
Jen (Christina Applegate) is rendered relatively speechless when she and Judy are greeted at the front door by Steve’s identical twin, Ben
-
RIVERDALE
Image Credit: The CW screenshot “You wanna go to prom with me, Jug?”
“Oh, I’d be honored. But I’m not putting out.”
“Let the fan fiction begin.”
Left with no other options, Archie (KJ Apa) asks Jughead (Cole Sprouse) to prom… and Kevin (Casey Cott) braces for a flood of steamy interpretations
-
THE FLASH
Image Credit: Courtesy of The CW “I said, ‘No onesie!'”
“OK, why does everybody keep calling it that?”
The fastest man alive (Grant Gustin) is no fan of Amunet’s (Katee Sackhoff) nickname for his supersuit
-
MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.
Image Credit: ABC screenshot “What’s a gal like you doing trying to be a mountie? Can’t you find a husband?”
“[Chuckles] OK. Yeah. I mean, I wish that I could hold onto a husband. But for some reason, they end up with broken ribs whenever they give me lip. Now, move or a gal like me will knock out a guy like you in front of people like them.”
After barely setting foot in 1931, Daisy (Chloe Bennet) bumps up against old-timey norms
-
MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. (Bonus Quote!)
Image Credit: ABC screenshot “Thing is, I already have a sister to save. Her name is Jemma Simmons.”
Daisy (Chloe Bennet) isn’t about to let Sybil tell her who her family is
-
KILLING EVE
Image Credit: BBC America screenshot (2) “When I try and think about my future, I just see your face over and over again.”
“It’s a very beautiful face.”
Villanelle (Jodie Comer) can understand why Eve (Sandra Oh) is so obsessed with her
-
LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER
Image Credit: HBO screenshot “Voting is a right. It has to be easy to understand and accessible to everyone — unlike, say, HBO Max. What the f—k is that, by the way? Does anyone actually know? How do I get it? I’m on HBO Max and I don’t know. And why is it so purple? It’s like I’m watching television from inside of Grimace’s a—hole — and not in a good way.”
-
INSECURE
Image Credit: HBO screenshot “Psst. Real talk: My inner Black woman looks just like you.”
“OK, real talk? My outer Black woman needs you to shut the f—k up.”
Searching for an MIA Tiffany, Kelli (Natasha Rothwell) doesn’t have time to make small talk with an admirer
-
I MAY DESTROY YOU
Image Credit: HBO screenshot “I am a GIF, Bella! I’m a GIF!”
Terry (Weruche Opia), thrilled to have been immortalized online after pal Arabella outed Zain as a rapist
-
PSYCH 2: LASSIE COME HOME
Image Credit: Peacock screenshot (2) “You left behind a slow cooker with a three-pound roast in it. You nearly This Is Us’d the entire block.”
“This Is Us? Dad, why are you watching that show? There’s the same on ABC, but newer.”
Henry (Corbin Bernsen) and Shawn’s (James Roday Rodriguez) exchange is, of course, a nod to Rodriguez starring on ABC’s A Million Little Things, which is often compared to NBC’s This Is Us by critics. (Click here for our interview with the actor for his thoughts on the “silly meta” line.)
-
BLINDSPOT
Image Credit: NBC screenshot “Hey. You should see this.”
“Uh, excuse me, that’s not our problem anymore. My friend and I here are about to spin off into a grand series of primetime adventures that you really must see…”
Rich Dotcom (Ennis Esmer) can’t be bothered with FBI business now that he and Patterson might get their own
showinternational expedition -
YELLOWSTONE
Image Credit: Paramount Network screenshot “You are the trailer park… I am the tornado.”
Yeah, no, Roarke doesn’t intimidate Beth (Kelly Reilly) — like, at all
-
THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON
Image Credit: NBC screenshot “Wow, the NRA as we know it could be gone. Aw, thoughts and prayers.”
-
WYNONNA EARP
Image Credit: Syfy screenshot “No way. Not today. When I dreamt about dying, it involved me, in Waverly’s arms, and Waverly in Sara Lance cosplay.”
Nicole (Kat Barrell) apparently has a Legend-ary crush
-
GREENLEAF
Image Credit: OWN screenshot “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Sowing discord in the fields of my peace. They needed it.”
Lady Mae (Lynn Whitfield), bringing her relationship with daughter Grace (Merle Dandridge) full circle
-
FULL FRONTAL WITH SAMANTHA BEE
Image Credit: TBS screenshot “We have to remain vigilant, aware and ready to strike — like Ellen DeGeneres when she runs across a too-nice crew member.”
Bee takes a swipe at a certain daytime talk show host while urging Democrats not to get complacent in the lead-up to the election
-
LUCIFER
Image Credit: Netflix screenshot “There I was, wandering the corridors of Hell, when I heard a voice. A voice I never expected to hear in Hell.”
“Well, who was it? Mother Teresa? Mister Rogers? Adele?”
Amenadiel (D.B. Woodside) explains to Lucifer (Tom Ellis) why he left his post Down Under
-
DANCING WITH THE STARS
Image Credit: ABC screenshot “Carole, for me, you didn’t quite kill the paso doble…”
Too soon, Bruno. Too soon. (Unless, of course, Baskin didn’t do it!)
-
BIG BROTHER
Image Credit: CBS screenshot “Twenty-one seasons of winners and not one of those faces looked like mine. So when I walked through those doors, I had that desire, that determination to be that very first face to give hope to those behind me who have the desire to come in here and play this game. Not seeing a face that looks like mine is very discouraging, it’s hurtful and it does make me feel like maybe it’s impossible. But I’m wrong about that because it’s definitively possible. We can do it. It just hasn’t been done yet… I want to acknowledge every African American who has walked through those doors with the same desire to be that face that I have. I see you, I salute you and I appreciate you. You came in here, you knew the odds were against you, you knew it was going to be an uphill battle and you still fought and you fought like hell. For that, I love you, I admire you and I acknowledge you all today.”
Da’Vonne gives one of the most powerful Big Brother eviction speeches ever
-
DEBATE NIGHT IN AMERICA
Image Credit: CNN screenshot “You used some high-minded language, I’m just going to say it like it is: That was a s—tshow.”
CNN’s Dana Bash one-ups Jake Tapper’s “hot mess inside a dumpster fire inside a train wreck” while describing President Trump’s first face-off with Joe Biden
-
EMILY IN PARIS
Image Credit: Netflix screenshot “I can’t believe it was Dan.”
“What?”
“Gossip Girl. We watched the entire series to find out it’s Dan.”
Legendary fashion designer Pierre Cadault (Jean-Christophe Bouvet) lets his disappointed inner Gossip Girl fanboy out after Emily makes an impassioned speech about being obsessed with the show’s fashion
-
THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR
Image Credit: Netflix screenshot “You’re not dying, you know.”
“What do you mean?”
“When Mum and Dad died, I thought I was going to die, too. I was sure of it. But then I thought, what if I was already dead? But nobody else knew, and I was walking around dead, but everybody could see and hear me? That was dreadful. It only felt like dying because actually, I was still alive. You have to be, to feel that way. I wasn’t dead. I was just really, really sad.”
After Owen (Rahul Kohli) loses his mother, Flora (Amelie Bea Smith) slays us all while describing grief
-
FEAR THE WALKING DEAD
Image Credit: AMC screenshot “Morgan Jones is dead, and you are dealing with somebody else now.”
Morgan (Lennie James), in essence telling nemesis Virginia, “No more Mr. Nice Guy”
-
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
Image Credit: NBC screenshot “NBC held a town hall event with President Trump, because what can I say? We have a type.”
-
THE CONNERS
Image Credit: ABC screenshot “The supervisor looked just like George Clooney… Man, I should’ve hit that till I broke it.”
Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) reminisces about former Wellman Plastics boss (and sometimes bedmate) Booker
-
THE BOYS
Image Credit: Amazon Prime screenshot “Girls do get it done.”
Frenchie (Tomer Capon), watching Starlight, Queen Maeve and Kimiko beat up Stormfront
-
THE BACHELORETTE
Image Credit: ABC screenshot “To sit there and say [I’m] the oldest Bachelorette — guess what? I’m the oldest Bachelorette — 39, standing here, single — because I didn’t settle for men like that.”
If Yosef thought he was insulting Clare by calling her the oldest Bachelorette in series history, he’s got a lot to learn
-
ELECTION NIGHT IN AMERICA CONTINUED
Image Credit: CNN screenshot “That is the president of the United States. That is the most powerful person in the world, and we see him like an obese turtle on his back, flailing in the hot sun, realizing his time is over.”
Anderson Cooper, like many other cable news hosts, is appalled by President Trump’s baseless claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election
-
THE UNDOING
Image Credit: HBO screenshot “Make no mistake: I am a c—ksucker. And I don’t mean that in the sense of gay belittlement, as it’s currently come to be interpreted. No. I’m an old-fashioned c—ksucker. The more traditional kind. The kind who f—ks over anyone who hurts me or a loved one. You speak of ugliness, Mr. Connaver? You have not yet met… ugliness.”
After his grandson gets quasi-suspended, Franklin (Donald Sutherland) issues a cryptic, colorful warning to the private school’s dean
-
SUPERNATURAL
Image Credit: The CW screenshot “I can’t do this alone.”
“Yes, you can.”
“Well, I don’t want to.”
Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) recreate an exchange they had in the pilot episode as Dean is dying
-
THE MANDALORIAN
Image Credit: Disney+ screenshot “Come over here…. I want to see if he’ll listen to you.”
“That would be a first.”
Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) tests the Child’s bond with Mando
-
FAMILY GUY
Image Credit: Fox screenshot “We can’t leave a symbol like that in the town square. Pawtucket Pat was a horrible racist!”
“Well, so is Tucker Carlson, but we still say hi to him at the company picnic!”
Brian and Peter (both voiced by Seth MacFarlane) may be at odds here, but there’s one thing on which we can all agree: We’d love to be a fly on the wall at these imaginary company picnics where real-life Fox News personalities have to mingle with animated Fox characters
-
SAVED BY THE BELL
Image Credit: Peacock screenshot “I’m Jessie f—king Spano! Now, get out of my office!”
Jessie (Elizabeth Berkley Lauren) tells her “narcissistic, fake-woke, dreamcatcher, tattoo-having, homemade-jerky-smelling dumbass” of a husband to take a hike
