Sometimes, all eyes aren’t on the leading lady.
Team TVLine has already taken an in-depth look at the Performers of the Year (including who we chose as the winner of the whole shebang). But now, we’re diving into some performances that may have been slightly less celebrated, but are no less deserving of our accolades.
While they may not have been the stars of their respective shows, these 24 TV characters stole every second they appeared on screen. The year’s group of scene stealers hails from series both new and returning, dominating stories with their witty quips, physical comedy prowess and/or dramatic turns that ripped our hearts out. From a Haunting little girl and villainous Sabrina baddie, to a Cloud 9 fan favorite and a glammed out uncle, we’re spotlighting the characters who not only turned our heads, but demanded our attention.
In addition to the fictional fare, we’ve also selected a couple unscripted picks, including a kickass bounty hunter (and not the one you may think!) and one of the few Big Brother houseguests who truly deserved the “all-star” moniker.
Review our choices in the list below, then hit the comments section with your scene-stealing favorites from 2020.
Still to come in TVLine’s Year in Review: Series Finales Graded, TV’s Biggest Controversies, Most Shocking Cast Exits and more!
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Janelle Pierzina, Big Brother All-Stars
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS On the whole, Big Brother‘s second All-Stars season was a snooze. But CBS did one thing right in bringing back Janelle Pierzina, a two-time third-place finisher and overall franchise legend. From her unapologetic dislike of Nicole Franzel to her skill at making punishment costumes look like high fashion, Janelle brought some much-needed personality to the BB house; we only wish she hadn’t been forced to move out so soon.
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Madame Satan, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix “I don’t get no respect” could well be the catchphrase of the malevolent Lilith, who’s had a devil of a time trying to get comfortable on the throne of Hell. But at least we will eagerly bow down to the would-be queen, as awestruck as we are by the way portrayer Michelle Gomez makes even minor irritations majorly entertaining.
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Jackie Harris, The Conners
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC By far the zaniest of the Conner bunch, stage and screen veteran Laurie Metcalf continued going for broke in Season 3, surprising us with her whackadoodle delivery and boundless energy, even after all these years. The best part: Jackie knows she’s unhinged, which gives Metcalf all of the room she needs to really lean into the crazy.
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Carol and Don, Dave
Image Credit: FXX screenshot Dave’s parents have pretty much no idea what his rap career entails — but darn it, they’re trying! Throughout the FXX comedy’s first season, Carol and Don (played to comedic perfection by Gina Hecht and David Paymer) brought some of the biggest laughs as they enthusiastically and unironically supported their son’s musical ambitions. Our personal favorite? Carol and Don getting in line to meet their own son at his backstage meet-and-greet, even offering him a plant as a good-luck gift.
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Sue Dearbon, The Flash
Image Credit: Courtesy of The CW The enigmatic former socialite is always full of surprises, mad skills, secret agendas and spunk, and unlike Lou Grant, we LOVE spunk. Hopefully, given would-be love interest Ralph’s uncertain future, we have not seen the last of her.
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Annie, The Flight Attendant
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO Max Zosia Mamet’s legal eagle has the patience of a saint when it comes to friend and client Cassie’s ill-advised, oft-incriminating decisions — but not enough so that she doesn’t let loose with the heavy sarcasm to argue her points.
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Barry, The Goldbergs
Image Credit: ABC screenshot Each member of the Goldberg family is eccentric in his or her own way, but Big Tasty’s karate master-turned-rapper extraordinaire (in his dreams, anyway) continued going above and beyond. Troy Gentile brings unbridled energy to the role, allowing the semi-delusional Barry to comically spiral and usurp any and all of the attention. While it’s a near miracle his JTP crew puts up with his antics, we wouldn’t change him for the world.
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Charity, Greenleaf
Image Credit: Courtesy of OWN Yeah, yeah, we know: The OWN drama was supposed to be all about Grace’s journey. But in the series’ final season, it was her sister who got our attention — and, you bet your Bible, held onto it like a string of rosary beads. Whether Deborah Joy Winans’ put-upon alter ego was deflecting her mother’s criticism, locking horns with nemesis Judee or trying desperately to remember what she’d ever seen in that no-account Phil, the would-be pastor showed us a heavenly time.
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Flora Wingrave, The Haunting of Bly Manor
Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix The most precocious resident of Bly Manor, Flora immediately captured our hearts with her earnest greeting to Dani and perfectly splendid tour of the titular home. Our attachment to the girl only grew as she desperately tried to avoid getting “tucked away” in old memories — and when Flora offered Bly’s chef, Owen, some comforting words about grief after he lost his mother, we were more ruined than Dani’s attempts at British tea.
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Colby, The Haves and the Have Nots
Image Credit: Courtesy of OWN Talk about making a splash! In just a half-season of the OWN soap, Matt Mercurio’s mischievous rent boy opened a well-deserved can of whupass on Justin’s homophobic brother, gave not as good but better than he got from queen of mean Veronica and threw a pool party that was so hilariously ill-advised, it ended in gunfire.
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Terry, I May Destroy You
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO Whenever HBO’s hard-hitting dramedy threatened to get too grim, Arabella’s aspiring actress BFF would lighten the mood with a giggle or a shimmy. Weruche Opia’s exuberance absolutely lit up the screen, and Terry’s unbreakable bond with Arabella (“My birth is your birth, my death is your death”) is the kind of ride-or-die friendship we all need in our lives.
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Carla, Love Fraud
Image Credit: Courtesy of Showtime Just when we thought The Mandalorian had a monopoly on kickass bounty hunters, along came Carla Campbell, the breakout star of Showtime’s true crime docuseries Love Fraud. The brash, foul-mouthed 60-year-old avenger of wronged women took down the series’ big bad (romantic con artist Richard Scott Smith), and she did so fearlessly, confidently, colorfully and, best of all, pro bono.
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Arkady, NCIS: Los Angeles
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS Between his semi-broken English and long history with Callen & Co., the retired KGB officer/Anna’s father (played by Vyto Ruginis) always brings levity to even the most intense of cases — such as in this season’s premiere, when he haggled with Kensi and Deeks before sharing needed intel.
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Uncle Clifford, P-Valley
Image Credit: Courtesy of Starz Whether she’s in full acrylics and glitter holding court at The Pynk or playing it straight while begging for clemency at the bank, it’s very difficult to take your eyes off the hilarious
motheruncle hen played by Nico Annan — not that we’d ever want to. -
Pete Strickland, Perry Mason
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO Sleazy and greedy (but in the most charming of ways!), Pete served as Perry’s partner in snooping and delighted us with his eagerness to get his hands dirty. Played by prestige TV veteran Shea Whigham, Pete was a hard-boiled, foul-mouthed throwback whose utter lack of sentiment was strangely refreshing.
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Lexi, Saved by the Bell
Image Credit: Courtesy of Peacock Whether running a scheme with Mac or giving a pep talk to Daisy, Josie Totah’s former mean girl delivers hilarious zingers like nobody’s business. And when she’s not stealing scenes with her sharp-tongued wit, she’s tugging at our heartstrings with her surprising vulnerability and depth.
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Elliott Goss, Search Party
Image Credit: HBO Max screenshot Search Party‘s hipsters are, for lack of a better term, likeable a-holes, and look no further than Elliot Goss for proof. His narcissism and self-absorption went largely unchecked in Season 3, but his hilarity certainly did not. Despite his friends’ brutal court battle, Elliot had no problem enjoying his grandiose wedding, and clamoring for fame by exchanging verbal spars on a trashy political TV show. It’s safe to say that whenever actor John Early’s on screen, it’s all eyes on Elliot.
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Rory, Single Parents
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC High on the list of the many — many! — things that we’ll miss about ABC’s prickly-sweet sitcom is Devin Trey Campbell’s fabulous tween, whose on-point wardrobe and love of mischief often made it easy to forget that he was one of the kids, not one of the title characters.
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Cindy/Shiv, DC's Stargirl
Image Credit: Courtesy of DC Universe/The CW Blue Valley High’s alpha mean girl is… well, yeah, a mean girl. But once we learned that she is so much more — a budding supervillainess, in fact — we reveled in every sassy sparring session with heroes, minions and demented Daddy Dearest alike.
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Vic, Station 19
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC Barrett Doss is a leading lady through and through (if we had a nickel for every time we’ve described her as a gift from the romcom gods, we’d be richer than Shonda!). But even when the actress is playing second banana in a scene, she inadvertently steals it, bringing to bear a presence that’s so radiant, the ABC drama’s lighting director could take the day off.
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Sayid, Superstore
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC The Cloud 9 employee has been among our faves for quite some time now, but his recent feud with Justine (“You can’t call everyone Mama!”) put him over the top. #SistersAreDoinItForThemselves
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Keeley, Ted Lasso
Image Credit: Courtesy of Apple TV+ Is it her voice? Her vivaciousness? Or simply her way of putting the best face on a cock-up? Whatever the case, the model-turned-AFC Richmond “brand manager” brightens up any scene she is in, either as friend, lover or Hotel TV Concierge.
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Gunther, Woke
Image Credit: Courtesy of Hulu We’ve enjoyed Blake Anderson since his Workaholics days, and he added fun new layers to his longhaired stoner persona on Hulu’s politically conscious comedy. Whether pitching an energy drink spiked with cocaine or earnestly debating a three-way hookup, Gunther always brought laughs — and a surprising amount of depth — to the party.
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Teeter, Yellowstone
Image Credit: Courtesy of Paramount Network Let’s all give a big (ranch) hand to Jennifer Landon’s new bunk-house wrangler, shall we? Sure, we may not have understood even a fifth of what the marble-mouthed cowgirl said, but she was still so freaking funny that we hung on her every word. Syllable? Grunt?
