13 Praiseworthy Performances from 2017

There was quite a noticeable shift in television in 2017. 

The small screen was the new big screen and movie stars like Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Jessica Biel and Kristen Bell all rushed to secure their spot. 

It's unclear whether the A-list actresses made shows better or if the shows made them better but there was a lot of really great television.

As I sat down to pick my favorite 13 performances of the year, I thought about what that actually meant to me and to the loyal viewers. 

A memorable performance is one that makes you laugh, leaves you thinking, forces you to feel the trauma and sticks with you long after the season has ended. 

So without further ado, these were our favorite performances of the year along with our favorite supporting scenes. 

Feel free to share yours in the comment section! 

 

1. Kristen Bell - The Good Place

The Good Place has such an outstanding ensemble, every character is a joy to watch for their own reasons. Yet the glue that holds every extra-through-main character together is their fearless and unapologetically herself leader Eleanor Shellstrop. She may have been a hoot in season one but in season two, she cannot stop being "woke." She's full of wit, drive, and blunt one-liners. And better yet, she challenges Michael and the rest of the humans to strive to be their most authentic selves. And her authentic self is exactly what women in 2017, especially, needed on mainstream television.

Best Scene: Season 2 Episode 2 - Every single scene where she figures it out and declares, "This is the bad place." It's a line that wholeheartedly sums up 2017 for me.

2. Justin Hartley - This Is Us

Emotional and complex performance from Chrissy Metz and Sterling K. Brown earned them EMMY nominations, unsurprisingly, but mimicking the series' storyline, one sibling was notably left out: Kevin. That is until now. Justin Hartley's character had some serious storylines in season one but was mostly glossed over as eye-candy, which we're not necessarily complaining about. The problem is that he's always been capable of so much more and season 2 finally allowed us to understand the complexities and childhood trauma that plagued the firstborn. His emotionally charged storyline - the inability to grieve his father, feeling like a failure in both careers and the pill-popping addiction - allowed Hartley to dig deep and add depth to the role. Not to mention, it broke our hearts. He's damaged goods but his transition from "golden boy" to broken has been phenomenal to watch.

Best Scene: Season 2 Episode 8 Undoubtedly, his meltdown on the front lawn after Charlotte refuses to let him inside to find his father's necklace.

3. Kerry Washington - Scandal

What happens when you get control of the White House and B6-13? You think you rule the world. For its final season, Scandal found Olivia Pope channeling her inner badass in a way we've never seen before. And without the white hat. While she's used to doing whatever it takes to get what she wants without the white hat Liv is ruthless, unapologetic, raw and fierce. That's what makes her character, one we've come to know and love, so striking. She commands because she is command; it's her world and we're just living in it. It can be over the top and frustrating but Kerry has found a way to balance Olivia and between those power-move moments, we see a glimmer of the woman who put friends, loyalty and Vermont above all.

Best Scene: Season 7 Episode 7 - When Papa Pope orders Liv to give his bones back and then threatens to kill Quinn. Liv finds herself morally conflicted because she wants to save her friend but doesn't want to be weak and give into what he wants.

4. Nicole Kidman - Big Little Lies

Way before the outpour of sexual assault allegations against virtually every man in Hollywood, one TV show spoke up: Big Little Lies. Nicole Kidman's portrayal of a powerful businesswoman who found herself at the hands of an abusive husband was upsettingly real. Kidman brilliantly portrayed a woman so in denial of how dangerous her reality was, simply because she wanted to maintain the facade that it everything was perfect, that she kept it a secret from herself. Her emotional performances — every gasp, quiver, and plea — stuck with me for a long time after. If there is to be a second season (please let there be), I cannot wait to see how character development.

Best Scene: Season 1 Episode 7 - It doesn't just focus on Kidman, although there were a handful of scenes that she carried all on her own. The best scene featured all the strong females, many of whom were frenemies, banding together to defend each other and right one very tragic wrong.

5. Noah Schnapp - Stranger Things

We don't get to see much of Noah Schnapp's Will Byers in the first season of Stranger Things because well, he's stuck in the Upside Down where he spends most of his time being cold and wet. He became the Stranger kid no one remembered, even though the whole premise focused on him. Come season 2, Schnapp is the center of all the action as the "boy who llved." Sorry, Harry. Schnapp wasn't phased by the challenging job of teetering between the real world and the Upside Down where the otherworldly monster still had a grasp on him. It's almost scary how good he is at portraying the boy coddled by his mother at the same time as he's dishing out the iconic possessed child look. His performance elevated him above the other stranger kids, who are already a grade above other child actors. Kid, you've got some gnarly talent — I'd be lying if I said I didn't cover my eyes while watching.

Best Scene: Season 2 Episode 8 - When the Demogorgon is taking over his body in the hospital and Will's eyes start rolling back.

6. Portia Doubleday - Mr. Robot

Portia's character Angela is a villain redefined. White Rose used her lifelong friendship with Elliot to manipulate her into doing something under the pretense that she was doing the right thing. She's been thrust her into this global hacker conspiracy and since her motives don't align with Elliot's, she's become manipulative for her own purposes. In some eyes that makes her a villain, in some, a human. Portia brings a realness to the character and brilliantly flops between a well put together businesswoman and a damaged little girl because of her emotional bind.

Best Scene: Season 3 Episode 5 - When she launches the attack instead of Elliot because she believes that this is her revenge against E-Corp.

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