Performer of the Week: Brian Cox

HONORABLE MENTION: Sara Gilbert

Wednesday’s Conners offered a visual we never thought we’d see: Darlene Conner dancing! It might have seemed out of character for Sara Gilbert‘s acid-tongued alter ego to try and seduce husband Ben, but the end result was nothing short of sublime. Gilbert, who rarely, if ever, gets asked to do physical comedy, fully committed to the bit, in turn delivering one of her funniest performances to date. Don’t believe us? Pull up the scene in question and watch her shimmy her way into Jay R. Ferguson’s eye line as Darlene declares that she and Ben never dance anymore. Or when she grinds up against him and clarifies that she’s not wearing perfume; she walked through a blast of Febreze. Was it over the top? Outrageously so! But Gilbert rose to the occasion and delivered a perfect 10.

HONORABLE MENTION: Kiefer Sutherland

Don’t get us wrong — there will always be a place in our hearts for laser-focused Jack Bauer. But what Kiefer Sutherland is doing on Paramount+’s Rabbit Hole is distinct and… well, a bit nutty. Corporate espionage expert John Weir established himself early on as being a bit paranoid, due to his late father’s leanings. Well, said Dad (played by Charles Dance) is in fact alive, and this week he and John had a breakfast conversation that was rollicking and at times combative, affording Sutherland a chance to be so entertainingly animated in a way that CTU’s Jack never was. Whether defending turkey bacon (“It’s not some big political thing, I just like it”), positively roaring at Ben boasting how he was “there” for him in kindergarten, or carrying on a mild-mannered side conversation with Hailey throughout, Sutherland was a delight to watch.

HONORABLE MENTION: Julian Works

Tuesday’s unexpectedly heavy episode of 9-1-1: Lone Star rested largely on the shoulders of Julian Works, who pulled double duty as firefighter Mateo Chavez and his “identical cousin” Marvin. What began as a fun visual gag gradually deepened into a heartbreaking exploration of guilt, honor and forgiveness, peeling back layers of the character we never expected the show to examine. Much of the episode, particularly Mateo’s sitcom-style nightmare, played to Works’ well-established comedic strengths, but he also deserves credit for the character’s darker moments, which felt like the audience was spiraling right alongside him.

Which performance(s) knocked your socks off this week? Tell us in Comments!