#besttvperformance

Does anyone else with a Fire TV experience a glitch where the menu becomes tiny for no discernible reason? It’s bad TV performance. Here is the Aaron for Best TV Performance:

WINNER: Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch - WandaVision

‘Bewitching’ is really the only word to describe Elizabeth Olsen’s multifaceted role in WandaVision. Maximoff had never maximized the actor’s talents before, but in the headlining show, the entire universe was finally put under her enchanting sway. Summoning the spirits of Lucille Ball, Elizabeth Montgomery, and her own older sisters, Olsen rose to the challenge of every sitcom pastiche WandaVision dialed up. Each effortless era-specific evolution of the character added to the immortalizing performance for the once underappreciated actor. That makes it an easy pick for the best of the year: after all, what is great, if not talent persevering?

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Hamish Linklater as Father Paul Hill - Midnight Mass

Linklater is a revelation as Mass’ mysterious minister, with preaching both perturbing and profound.

Elle Fanning as Catherine the Great - The Great

Fanning took charge in The Great’s second season; her success was evidently foreordained.

Brad Dourif as Chucky - Chucky

Idle hands are Dourif’s playthings; 30 years later, the Chucky voice actor can still creep viewers out with just his cackle.

Will Forte as MacGruber - MacGruber

Forte’s MacGruber continues to be da bomb; no one’s better prepared for such perfectly-timed meltdowns.

Perhaps my hottest Star Wars take of 2019 is that, as more of a corporate product than a character, I am entirely apathetic to The Mandalorian’s Baby Yoda. Listen, I’m not saying that I cheered when a mercenary had Baby Yoda in his sights in one episode; I’m just saying I didn’t flinch. Here is the Aaron for Best TV Performance:

WINNER: Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen - Arrow

After eight years of hardship and with an entire universe made in his image, Stephen Amell’s Oliver Queen is rightfully the current king of television. One of the greatest pleasures of following the show through its run was watching Amell, who was very green as an actor long before the character actually adopted his moniker, growing increasingly confident and compelling in the role. His recognition here isn’t just as a career accomplishment award though; Season 8’s farewell tour gave him a plethora of piercing emotional moments. As an actor and a person, Amell makes the most of his opportunities; as the Green Arrow, he didn’t throw away his shot.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Regina King as Angela Abar - Watchmen

King’s commanding, multi-layered performance is what gave Watchmen such strong control over its most extraordinary surprises.

Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson - Mr. Robot

As the final season finally cracked open Elliot’s guarded exterior, Malek solidified his likely career-defining performance.

Jharrel Jerome as Korey Wise - When They See Us

The only one of the cast to portray his role as both child and adult, Jerome rises up to the challenge. His featured episode is the show’s most heart-rending.

Mahershala Ali as Wayne Hays - True Detective

A consistently conscientious performer, Ali unites his character across three different time periods to piteous effect.

I don’t have a joke for this one either. I agree it’s not my best performance. Here is The Aaron for Best TV Performance:

WINNER: Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler - Better Call Saul

One wouldn’t have to try hard to make the case that lawyer Kim Wexler was essential to Saul’s success. Subsequently, one could easily wax on about Seehorn’s contributions to the series. From her ingenuity in the courtroom to her resolve in times of crisis, Wexler had throughout the series been its strongest character. In lesser hands, she would have come off as indestructible, but Seehorn never lost sight of the growing cracks in her facade. That dam finally burst in the penultimate episode ‘Waterworks,’ which hinged upon an unbroken take of Wexler’s complete emotional breakdown. The whole-hog heart-rending sequence by Seehorn was indisputable proof that the lawyer was television’s best character, bar none.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman - Better Call Saul

Seehorn’s win shouldn’t diminish the power of the show’s principal attorney; even as his character reached rock bottom, Oderkirk was never less than great, man.

Sarah Goldberg as Sally Reed - Barry

Reed may be a struggling actor, but Goldberg is a star; the impact of her outbursts forces viewers to confront the true extent of Barry’s violent behavior.

Paddy Considine as King Viserys I Targaryen - House of the Dragon

Considine’s exasperated monarch, scaling back infighting to his very last breath, was the crowning achievement of the spin-off’s first season.

Paul Walter Hauser as Larry Hall - Black Bird

After his hair-raising handling of serial killer Hall, Black Bird is sure to send Hauser’s career soaring to new heights.

An actor’s job is to tell a vision of a character through vocal inflection, facial expressions, and body language, so let’s award those that best brought their vision to life. Here is the Aaron for Best TV Performance:

WINNER: Bill Hader as Barry Block - Barry

Traditionally comedic actors going on to excel in dramatic roles is hardly rare (Bob Odenkirk, Steve Carell, etc.), but it’s no less surprising or impressive seeing Bill Hader shine in a role that unearths his full potential as it slowly peels back the layers on the hitman-turned-actor. With all the grace his counterpart lacks, Hader juggles the variety of tones the premise calls for with ease, cultivating boisterous laughs from an egregiously bad line-reading of Glengarry Glen Ross and sympathy even in the character’s most monstrous moments. From deadpan humor to the darkest depths of the soul, Hader’s performance hits all the right marks.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Darren Criss as Andrew Cunanan - American Crime Story

An unsettling tour-de-force, Glee Alum Darren Criss’ transformation into real-life serial killer Andrew Cunanan is a dangerously compelling watch that commands the entire season.

Thandie Newton as Maeve Millay - Westworld

Newton provides the strongest emotional resonance in a series too often caught up in its intellectual postulating through her deeply-human performance as one of the park’s synthetic hosts.

Melissa Benoist as Kara Danvers/Supergirl - Supergirl

Leaping over all of the rocky hurdles that have plagued the show, Benoist’s performance has always been a highlight due to her inspiring sincerity, that recalls Christopher Reeve’s legendary performance as the character’s cousin.

Nat Faxon as Principal Krupp/Captain Underpants, The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants

Faxon can switch his voice from the gruff meanness of Krupp to the agreeable overexuberant folly of Captain Underpants at the seeming snap of a finger, the perfect prerequisite for making the duel-natured character feel whole.

Oh, man, another performer category to introduce? You would think with all the big stars gravitating towards the small screen nowadays, and all the talent that was already there, I would be able to come up with something better. Here is The Aaron for Best TV Performance:

WINNER: Rachel Bloom as Rebecca Bunch - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Rachel Bloom is now the first two-time winner for an Aaron acting award, having previously won this category last year, but I really had no other option than to give it to her once again as she brought even more depth to an already phenomenal character. This last year saw Bloom’s Rebecca Bunch go through many ups and downs, through bizarre antics and excruciating hardship, while always remaining enchanting, empowering, and agonizingly relatable. Whether transforming the character into a 90s revenge-thriller style villain, or providing a starkly honest depiction of recovering from mental illness, Bloom imbues her character with endless warmth and pathos, showing that Rebecca is so much more than the intentional misnomer of its title.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Andy Daly as Forrest McNeil - Review

The manic energy and piteous fallibility that Daly brought to the Forrest McNeil character is what kept the character so sympathetic and entertaining throughout his uncompromising obsession.

Dan Stevens as David Haller - Legion

Legion asks us to live in Haller’s head as we question what is real, and this viewpoint proves captivating thanks to Stevens’ effortless charm and the tortured depth of his performance.

Carrie Coon as Gloria Burgle - Fargo

Carrie Coon’s dedicated Officer Burgle, direct, uncompromising, and quick-witted in the face of conniving pathological liars, is the television hero that this year needed.

Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones - Riverdale

Sprouse’s brooding, conflicted interpretation of the classic comic book slacker made him the heartthrob of Riverdale viewers everywhere, and one of the most endlessly watchable characters on TV.