We’re only halfway through the 2020s so far, but the decade has already given us some of the greatest TV characters of all time. Television is the perfect medium to develop lovable characters. Audiences are more likely to become endeared to a character when they’re a weekly staple in their homes, like Ted Lasso’s Roy Kent or Hacks’ Deborah Vance.
20
Eddie Munson
Stranger Things
In just about every season of Stranger Things, the show introduces a new character that fans fall in love with, then gives them an untimely death. In season 4, that character was Eddie Munson, the role that made Joseph Quinn an A-list star. Everyone knew an Eddie Munson in high school — the charming rebel obsessed with D&D and Metallica — and Quinn nailed it.
19
The Ghoul
Fallout
Walton Goggins is a veritable TV icon who’s played a bunch of memorable characters, from Shane Vendrell to Uncle Baby Billy. His most visually distinctive character is The Ghoul from Fallout. The Ghoul is a badass gunslinger in the mold of the Man with No Name, albeit with post-apocalyptic mutations, but before the fallout, he was a beloved Hollywood actor.
18
Sal Saperstein
The Studio
From Catherine O’Hara’s Patty Leigh to Bryan Cranston’s Griffin Mill, there were a ton of hilarious supporting characters who rounded out Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s pitch-perfect Hollywood satire The Studio. But the one who consistently stole the show was Sal Saperstein, played by Ike Barinholtz.
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Sal’s coke habit makes him say wildly inappropriate things in important meetings, his middle-aged insecurities make him worry about becoming old and irrelevant, and his long-time friendship with Adam Scott makes him the star of the Golden Globes.
17
Daemon Targaryen
House of the Dragon
Matt Smith’s irresistible charms have made Daemon Targaryen the breakout character of House of the Dragon, despite the many horrible things he’s done. Daemon is the poster boy for the Targaryen condition; he’s devilishly complex, he’s vicious to his enemies yet loving and supportive of his own family (in his own way), and he doesn’t want the throne but he also doesn’t want to serve anyone else.
16
Misty Quigley
Yellowjackets
Yellowjackets is a show about a girls’ soccer team who regress into cannibalism while stranded in the wilderness and have to keep even darker secrets after they’ve been rescued. Now, imagine how weird someone would have to be to be the outsider in that group. That’s Misty Quigley, the lovable eccentric played by Sammi Hanratty as a teenager and Christina Ricci as an adult.
15
Martha Scott
Baby Reindeer
Richard Gadd’s semi-autobiographical horror story Baby Reindeer is a nightmarish look at what it’s like to have a stalker. The stalker in question, Martha Scott, is one of the most compelling TV villains in recent memory. Jessica Gunning gives a spectacularly unhinged performance in the role, playing Martha at turns as innocuously jovial and terrifyingly threatening.
14
Agatha Harkness
WandaVision/Agatha All Along
Kathryn Hahn stole the show as the diabolical witch Agatha Harkness in WandaVision, but she didn’t get a chance to really shine until she got her own show, Agatha All Along. Agatha has been the standout character in both of Marvel Studios’ best streaming shows. She’s a delightfully campy, mustache-twirling villain, but her spinoff also revealed a surprising amount of depth.
13
Mark Scout
Severance
On the surface, Adam Scott’s Severance protagonist Mark Scout seems to be a typical everyman. But that’s just the way in; he’s the audience’s surrogate as they’re introduced to this bizarre dystopian world. Mark has a lot more depth than it initially seems. He’s so lost and devastated after losing his wife that he’s willing to let a corporation meddle with his consciousness.
12
Jamie Miller
Adolescence
Netflix’s gripping miniseries Adolescence opens with a seemingly ordinary 13-year-old boy being arrested for murder. What follows is a harrowing character study of a wayward kid who got so corrupted by the toxic masculinity on social media that he ended up doing something unspeakable.
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Owen Cooper gives a revelatory turn as Jamie Miller. He starts off pleading his innocence, but soon shows his disturbing true colors. The episode where Jamie sees a forensic psychologist at a youth detention facility powerfully highlights that those facilities can do more harm than good.
11
Toda Mariko
Shōgun
Anna Sawai became the first Japanese actress to win an Emmy for her turn in Shōgun, and she’s more than deserving of the award. Toda Mariko acts as the translator between the show’s two male leads — Lord Yoshii Toranaga and Pilot Major John Blackthorne — but she’s so much more than that. She’s intelligent, loyal, and a devout Catholic convert.
