The 100 Greatest TV Performances of the 21st Century (one per show & actor). Ian McShane (Deadwood), Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men), Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag), Anna Sawai (Shōgun), Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey), Peter Dinklage (GoT). Who’s your #1?
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I was incredulously scrolling for Gandolfini until I finally saw that the ground rules are limited to "scripted series that began on or after January 1, 2000." Within that constraint, my guy is Ian McShane as Al Swearengen, followed by Michael K Williams as Omar Little. Shakespeare and Homer.
https://bsky.app/profile/kottke.org/post/3ljsnxcqdfa2b
I'm unclear why Kyle MacLachlan is eligible for this list as a character that debuted in 1990 but someone like Gandolfini isn't, even if his best work as Tony Soprano came in the 00s.
Agree with McShane. Danny McBride as Kenny Powers is too low on this list.
Even though he's roughly the same character on every show he makes, I'm always happy to watch him be some version of Kenny Powers. I'm not so sure I would feel that way about many others on this list.
Walton Goggins in Justified is a pretty significant omission. Otherwise this is great.
I can’t argue with JLD as #1. That was the best comic TV acting I’ve ever seen. But as much as I loved Michael K. Williams in The Wire, for my money Wood Harris’s performance as Avon Barksdale was even better.
If we’re separating quality of performance from quality of show, there are some I’d like to add:
Benedict Cumberbatch in Sherlock
Jared Keeso in Letterkenny
Jean Smart in Hacks
David Tennant in Doctor Who
Stephen Colbert in the Colbert Report
My first thought was "that's an impossible question." My second thought was "Carrie Coon in The Leftovers."
Okay, just finished the article. Overall, a fun list that feels pretty solid as far as these kinds of things go. But also:
No Amy Poehler?
No Walton Goggins?
Also, not shocked to see Rectify left off the list, but Aden Young (and by the end, Clayne Crawford) would have earned their spot here. Same for Andy Daly in Review with Forrest MacNeil, Aya Cash in You're the Worst, and Lizzy Caplan in Party Down.
Jodie Comer in Killing Eve isn’t anywhere on this list? I don’t Villanelle would like that and would likely dump your ice cream on you.
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