It’s that time again, lovelies!
Television gave us so much this year, and we see it as our duty to honor the best of the best. Below, we have 18 categories in the realms of comedy, drama, and limited/anthology series for you to vote on. We may have put together the nominees, but we trust you enough to put the final decisions in your hands.
Buuuuut, before we get to the fun, here are some items to remember:
- The polls will be open from Monday, July 28 at 8:30am ET to Sunday, August 3 at 5pm ET. You are able to vote once per hour in each category. We love to see you going hard for your faves, but be aware that we can see when a couple of IP addresses are spamming the polls and we WILL delete if it gets egregious.
- Forminator’s poll can be finicky – if you submit several in a row too quickly, you may get a message that you’ve already voted in a poll even though you haven’t. If that happens, just give it a couple seconds and try again. Take this as a sign to consider your votes carefully!
- We are but two human women. We do our best, but we can’t watch everything. As always, if you believe that something should be among the nominees that isn’t, it’s probably because we haven’t seen it yet. Please don’t yell at us; we’re trying.
- SPOILERS APLENTY. Be aware as you make your way through these polls, especially the last five categories.
- Our extremely loose eligibility period runs from last year’s Feelies to the moment we locked this list. We don’t align with the Emmys, because here, everything’s fake and the points don’t matter.
Finally, PLEASE get into this. Campaign, push your faves, bully your followers, etc. This is our Super Bowl, so there’s no such thing as too enthusiastic.
Thanks for playing and HAPPY VOTING.
—Sage
Best Drama Series
High Potential
The Last of Us
Matlock
Paradise
The Pitt
Severance
Kim: Honestly, we didn’t have any expectations for the reboot of Matlock, but between a pilot-ending twist that turned the whole premise on its head and a tour de force performance by Academy-Award-winning icon Kathy Bates, the show became Must See TV for us. We love a cozy legal drama with a side of corporate espionage! The highly anticipated second season of The Last of Us (your 2023 Feelie winner for Best Drama!) did not disappoint, even if it did break our hearts. The loss of Pedro Pascal’s Joel allowed for a confident Bella Ramsey to step up as our series lead, and the show remains a stylistic triumph when it comes to production design and cinematography. Finally, The Pitt is the kind of drama we had no idea we were missing until it was given to us. Both a 90s throwback that inspired many an ER rewatch and something completely thrilling and new, The Pitt did the unthinkable in the era of binge watching: it dropped episodes week to week and built its audience over time due to the lost art of water cooler conversation. Plus, as the unofficial theme song says, we watched 15 hours of The Pitt and now we’re doctors.
Sage: Women be solvin’ crimes, and freshman series High Potential is a spunky new addition to the genre. Starring Always Sunny’s Kaitlin Olson as a single mom with a flamboyant fashion sense and a sky-high IQ and Broadway’s own Daniel Sunjata as her reluctant-but-coming-around serious cop partner, this procedural came to us fully formed, with clever cases, a good old fashioned slow burn, and a killer ensemble. It was common knowledge that Hulu’s Paradise was going to kick off with a major twist, but little did we know that every episode of the dystopian (or is it utopian?) thriller would end with a gasp. And if the twists and turns aren’t juicy enough for you, stick around for Sterling K. Brown’s shower scene. (Hey-oooo.) The long, long awaited second season of Severance did not disappoint, chasing Season One’s finale reveals by opening new doors (quite literally!) at a breakneck pace. Masterful dual performances, forbidden love, basement brain surgery, goats(?), mysterious character deep dives, and *checks notes* a college marching band kept us on the edge of our seats and theorizing at the Macro-Data Refinement water cooler.
Best Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary
Ghosts
Hacks
Only Murders in the Building
Shrinking
The Studio
Sage: The gang solves the murder of Charles’ stunt double and dear friend Sazz in Only Murders in the Building Season Four, which also sees the podcast adapted into a feature film, a whole new cast of characters on the west side of the Arconia, the long-distance trials and tribulations of Oliver and his lady love Loretta, and an unforgettable cat fight between guest stars Meryl Streep and Melissa McCarthy. Shrinking continues to be one of the strongest dramedy ensembles on television, with a pitch-perfect cast supporting co-creator Jason Segel as widower, single dad, and therapist Jimmy. The sitcom’s big, bleeding heart doesn’t preclude it from packing the jokes into nearly every line of a dialogue, and every single performer brings it. Kudos to Apple TV on its comedy offerings, because The Studio is an instant, self-aware smash. Starring Seth Rogen as a bumbling but sincere studio executive and featuring an array of as-themselves cameos, this series skewers the business with plenty of empathy for those who try honestly to make good art happen within it.
Kim: One of the key elements of a good TV comedy is consistency and four seasons in, our next three nominees are all at the top of their games. Hacks remains the best buddy comedy on television, and this season answered the question of “What comes next?” after Deborah and Ava finally capture their great Late Night whale. Both Abbott Elementary and Ghosts continue to prove that good network sitcoms are not dead, despite what the (outdated) Nielsen Rating System says. Abbott saw Janine and Gregory navigating their first year as both coworkers and a couple while the entire staff navigated the potential gentrification of their neighborhood as construction began on a luxury golf course. Meanwhile, the gang at Woodstone Manor saw the successful opening of Jay’s restaurant, Sass finally getting laid, AND the long-awaited reveal of Hetty’s ghost power. Like I said – these comedies are thriving and are showing no signs of slowing down.
Best Leading Performance in a Female Role – Drama
Kathy Bates as Madeline Matlock, Matlock
Britt Lower as Helly R./Helena Eagen, Severance
Melanie Lynskey as Shauna Sadecki, Yellowjackets
Kaitlin Olson as Morgan Gillory, High Potential
Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni, Elsbeth
Bella Ramsey as Ellie, The Last of Us
Keri Russell as Kate Wyler, The Diplomat
Kim: Last year’s Feelies champion Carrie Preston continues to delight in Elsbeth. We love the wacky and warm energy Carrie brings to the role always, but we especially loved seeing her go toe to toe with Michael Emerson, her IRL Hubby and a Feelies winner himself. Britt Lower is doing outstanding work on Severance juggling multiple roles. It’s truly amazing seeing her distinguish between Helly R., Helena, and Helena as Helly R. with something as simple as an arched eyebrow or a pursed lip. Kaitlin Olson is the second coming of Erin Brockovich on High Potential. She’s been consistently fantastic as a member of the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia ensemble for nearly 20 years, so it’s been so rewarding to see her find a starring vehicle worthy of her talents. The third season of Yellowjackets took 2023 Feelie winner Melanie Lynskey’s Shauna Sadecki to her darkest and most intense levels yet. Shauna may not always be likable, but between giving Jeff’s potential clients an iconic dressing down and literally taking a bite out of Hilary Swank’s Melissa, she is always watchable.
Sage: Kathy Bates is one of the greats, and I am so enjoying watching her have the time of her life on Matlock. From holding court in courtroom scenes to playing the helpless old woman act with anyone who’ll fall for it, she’s giving one of the liveliest, most touching performances on TV right now. Bella Ramsey takes the reins in The Last of Us Season Two, and so much is asked of them. Still the fierce, funny survivor we got to know in Season One, Ellie is now grieving, battle-hardened, in love, and even more dangerous. Think of the career this actor still has ahead of them! The powerhouse that is Keri Russell is reason enough to tune into The Diplomat. As a messy, adulterous, not always likable emissary, her steely determination and occasionally reckless plays ground the political drama.
Best Leading Performance in a Female Role – Comedy
Quinta Brunson as Janine Teagues, Abbott Elementary
Hannah Einbinder as Ava Daniels, Hacks
Selena Gomez as Mabel Mora, Only Murders in the Building
Kate Hudson as Isla Gordon, Running Point
Edi Patterson as Judy Gemstone, The Righteous Gemstones
Jean Smart as Deborah Vance, Hacks
Sage: What more is there to say? Jean Smart is a goddess; Deborah Vance is the role of her lifetime; and Hacks is still on top of its game. On Abbott Elementary, Quinta Brunson’s Janine Teagues is no longer the painfully idealistic and hopelessly green teacher she was when the series started. A little wiser, more experienced, and settled into a new relationship, Janine still retains the sunny optimism we fell in love with a few years back. While we’d describe her as neither “sunny” nor an “optimist,” Judy Gemstone is a comedy creation for the ages. Edi Patterson’s take-no-prisoners performance as the tough and ambitious preacher’s daughter on The Righteous Gemstones is high-key hilarious, so completely committed, and not soon to be forgotten.
Kim: Dear God, when will major awards bodies start giving Hannah Einbinder her flowers because Hacks absolutely does not work without her being the yin to Jean Smart’s (brilliant) yang. Even though she’s a bit of a human disaster, Ava is the force that drives Deborah to be better than she ever thought she was capable of being, and Hannah’s confidence in her performance grows every season. Selena Gomez continues to give a criminally underrated performance on Only Murders in the Building. She is the perfect foil to the kooky combo of Martin Short and Steve Martin and all of her scenes this season with Eva Longoria were simply delightful. Running Point provides a perfect vehicle for Kate Hudson to remind the world that she’s a fucking Star with a capital S. It’s kind of crazy that it took her this long to take on a television comedy and Mindy Kaling’s brand of humor and Kate’s very specific kind of sparkle are a match made in heaven.
Best Leading Performance in a Male Role – Drama
Penn Badgley as Joe Goldberg, You
Sterling K. Brown as Xavier Collins, Paradise
Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock, Daredevil: Born Again
Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor, Doctor Who
Zachary Quinto as Dr. Oliver Wolf, Brilliant Minds
Adam Scott as Mark S./Mark, Severance
Noah Wyle as Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavich, The Pitt
Kim: After what feels like a lifetime, Zachary Quinto returned to the network that made him a star as Dr. Oliver Wolf on NBC’s Brilliant Minds. Oliver is basically Gregory House except gay and with a functioning sensitivity chip, and Zachary’s magnetism in the role reminds you just why he was the breakout star on Heroes 19 (!!!!!) years ago. Sterling K. Brown also returned to our television screens this year, reuniting with This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman on the unexpectedly delightful Paradise. Xavier Collins is the polar opposite of Randall Pearson, all stoic and emotionally constipated, but Sterling embodies him with such ease that I was and still am prepared to start a letter writing campaign to cast him as the next James Bond. Finally, it was 2024 Feelie winner Ncuti Gatwa’s second and unexpectedly final series in the TARDIS, and no one can say he didn’t leave everything on the table before he regenerated. His Doctor burned fast and burned bright and we’ll always be left wondering what else he could have been capable of if only he’d had more time and a solid production agreement for more episodes.
Sage: There’s just something about Noah Wyle in a set of scrubs. The entire cast is superb, but Noah is the heart and soul of The Pitt as Dr. Robby leads his residents, interns, and med students through the shift from hell. One of our most physical actors, he is incredibly present at every moment, and it doesn’t hurt that he basically invented having “kind eyes.” It’s a good thing Adam Scott has the range, because Season Two of Severance called on him to play, essentially, three characters. Mark S, Before Outie-Mark, and After Outie-Mark may share some baseline characteristics, but their individual views of the world are wildly different. Watching Adam negotiate terms with himself over that tape-delayed Mark S/Mark phone call was a masterclass in subtlety. Charlie Cox was put on this earth to play Matt Murdock. Daredevil: Born Again brought one of the most perfectly cast Marvel heroes back to us, and it felt like he’d just been hanging out in Hell’s Kitchen waiting for us all that time. The sly smile, the seething Catholic guilt, the brutal and beautiful fight choreography…this is the MCU good stuff. The final season of You ended Joe Goldberg’s transcontinental reign of terror, and the man himself would probably have a lot to say about the fact that I’ll genuinely miss him. Penn Badgley gave a tour-de-force performance on what started as a Lifetime show, playing Joe as the romantic hero he sees himself to be. Never has a serial killer been as watchable as he is loathsome.
Best Leading Performance in Male Role – Comedy
Ted Danson as Charles Nieuwendyk, A Man on the Inside
Steve Martin as Charles Haden-Savage, Only Murders in the Building
Danny McBride as Jesse Gemstone, The Righteous Gemstones
Seth Rogen as Matt Remick, The Studio
Jason Segel as Jimmy Laird, Shrinking
Martin Short as Oliver Putnam, Only Murders in the Building
Sage: Seth Rogen is great at a lot of things (including throwing pottery!), but maybe his most formidable strength is the ability to play an ultimately good-hearted guy whose very existence courts disaster. The only thing funnier than Matt’s weekly crash outs on The Studio are his weekly pratfalls, which can happen anywhere from a Sarah Polley set to the Golden Globes. There are Danny McBride line reads from The Righteous Gemstones that I will think about until the day I die. (“The Tom Hanks by hisself one!”) The show’s creator and eldest Gemstone sibling closed out the megachurch comedy’s flawless run by going as big as always. It’s been a minute since National Treasure Ted Danson has been up for a Feelie, and we’re so happy to have him back. Playing a widower in need of a purpose on A Man on the Inside, he exudes warmth, looks great in a suit, and has not lost a beat of his comic timing.
Kim: How lucky are we that comedy legends Martin Short and Steve Martin continue to bless us with their talents on Only Murders in the Building? Season Four was a tough one at times for our two senior citizen detectives as Charles grappled with his grief and guilt over Sazz’s murder while Oliver fretted over his long distance relationship with Loretta (Marty’s real life girlfriend Meryl Streep) while constantly butting heads with Zach Galifianakis on the set of their movie. Season Two of Shrinking saw Jimmy backslide a bit as he faced the consequences of his unconventional therapy techniques and was forced to reckon with the drunk driver who killed his wife. Jason Segel never fails to make Jimmy’s pain relatable and funny though, and it was truly delightful watching him inch towards a place of forgiveness and healing over the course of the season.
Best Supporting Performance in a Female Role – Drama
Patricia Arquette as Harmony Kobel, Severance
Anna Camp as Reagan and Maddie Lockwood, You
Allison Janney as Grace Penn, The Diplomat
Katherine LaNasa as Nurse Dana Evans, The Pitt
Skye P. Marshall as Olympia Lawrence, Matlock
Julianne Nicholson as Samantha “Sinatra” Redmond, Paradise
Sophie Thatcher as Natalie Scatorccio, Yellowjackets
Kim: The thing that’s so great about Skye P. Marshall on Matlock is the way her performance subtly shifts depending on the way Matty is viewing her at the time. When Matty suspects Olympia, everything she does comes across as shady, and when Matty sees the good in her, we do too. It’s a very hard line to walk, and Skye does so masterfully. Knowing adult Natalie’s ultimate fate on Yellowjackets made Sophie Thatcher’s performance as teenage Natalie all the more poignant and emotionally raw in Season Three. A reluctant Antler Queen, Natalie does her damndest to be a good and fair and compassionate leader even as the rules of the Wilderness keep changing on her, and she never loses sight of the fact that she just wants to get her team home. When I was still trying to learn all the names of all the characters on The Pitt, I simply referred to Katherine LaNasa as the Head Bitch in Charge. Her steadfast and steely presence is everything a charge nurse should be – she’s authoritative in a crisis, scary when she needs to be, emotionally intelligent, and her hugs have to feel like a warm blanket. Nurse Dana, we would definitely kill for you.
Sage: She’s secretive, she’s weird, and she’s changed the way we’ll say the name “Maaark” forever. She’s Severance’s Harmony Cobel, played with steely strangeness by Patricia Arquette. Season Two gave us a disgruntled, revenge-seeking Cobel who’s been cast aside by the corporation (religion?) she’s dedicated her life to. Between Hacks’ drug-addled influencer “Dance Mom” and Paradise’s ruthless operator Sinatra, nobody’s shown a wider range this season than Julianne Nicholson. We’ve been on the Julianne train since Masters of Sex, and it’s so fun to watch her play the sort of brilliantly evil puppet master that makes you thank your lucky stars Elon Musk is as dumb as a box of rocks. Anna Camp earned her paycheck for the final season of You, not only playing a set of twins with diametrically opposed personalities, but also playing one of the twins impersonating the other, slipping into her life after (spoiler alert) Joe orchestrates her death. Trashy soap opera meets high art on this show, and Anna’s operatic performance exemplifies that irresistible combination. The Diplomat added to its stable of bad bitches by bringing National Treasure Allison Janney in as the Vice President of the United States – a phrase that would give any West Wing fan the goosies. Grace Penn came onto the scene well aware that Kate Wyler is trying to steal her job out from under her, and the resulting Janney/Russell showdown lived up to every expectation. Also, that bob!
Best Supporting Performance in a Female Role – Comedy
Natasia Demetriou as Nadja, What We Do in the Shadows
Kathryn Hahn as Maya Mason, The Studio
Janelle James as Ava Coleman, Abbott Elementary
Christa Miller as Liz, Shrinking
Jessica Williams as Gaby Evans, Shrinking
Rebecca Wisocky as Hetty Woodstone, Ghosts
Sage: Rebecca Wisocky continues to do the damn thing on Ghosts, remaining our most quotable Woodstone resident – especially when the topic is cocaine. Season Four brought new revelations, including Hetty’s hyper-specific ghost power and some deep, dark (in her mind, anyway) secrets about her heritage. Here’s to the lady of the manor. This season, we said goodbye to What We Do in the Shadows and therefore Natasia Demetriou’s Nadja, but not before she could live out her Working Girl dreams. Watching Nadja “help” Guillermo succeed in the human world by reveling in every office cliche was a riot, and we’ll miss her terribly. Why aren’t more people talking about what a revelation Jessica Williams is on Shrinking?? As now-recovering people-pleaser Gaby, she gets out of fuck-buddy purgatory with Jimmy, explores a new relationship, and deals with some heavy and very real family stuff. And she’s still the funniest person in every room.
Kim: Kathryn Hahn is nothing short of brilliant as The Studio’s foul-mouthed, fast-talking, Stanley-toting marketing executive. The performance is so unhinged yet so specific that it has to be based on someone she encountered in real life, and frankly, I hope it keeps that person awake at night. Janelle James has been delivering the goods for four seasons as Abbott Elementary’s self-involved and scheming principal Ava Coleman. Janelle always nails Ava’s one-liners and punchlines but where she really shines is in the moments where you see that Ava has a heart of gold and she actually loves and is good at her job. Christa Miller has been one of those reliably funny ensemble players for the past 25 years and it’s such a treat getting to see her shine as Liz on Shrinking. Sure, her husband Bill Lawrence perfectly tailors the character to highlight Christa’s wry humor, but when given the opportunity to do more than just polish rocks and make sarcastic comments in Season Two, she more than rose to the occasion.
Best Supporting Performance in Male Role – Drama
Patrick Ball as Dr. Frank Langdon, The Pitt
Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk, Daredevil: Born Again
James Marsden as President Cal Bradford, Paradise
Oliver Stark as Evan “Buck” Buckley, 9-1-1
Daniel Sunjata as Adam Karadec, High Potential
Tramell Tillman as Seth Milchick, Severance
John Turturro as Irving B./Irving Baliff, Severance
Kim: Tramel Tillman is so good and so memorable as Severance’s Deputy Manager Seth Milchick that our screening of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning burst into applause when he finally showed up. From leading a marching band to eloquently telling Drummond to eat shit, he steals every single scene he’s in. High Potential’s Adam Karadec could easily be another cookie cutter strait-laced detective, but in theatre vet Daniel Sunjata’s hands, he’s a deeply honorable man who is actually a big ole softie at heart. Plus, we are living for the slow burn Mulder and Scully-esque chemistry he has with Kaitlin Olson’s Morgan. We refer to The Pitt’s Patrick Ball as “Baby Pine” both for his striking resemblance to Chris Pine and because it’s so clear he’s going to be a STAR. Patrick’s just so fucking good at playing a likable asshole, but the performance really improves on second watch where you can see all the subtle tells Patrick layers in regarding Langdon’s drug addiction. James Marsden’s portrayal of Cal Bradford is so good and so deliciously layered that you may as well call him the Bloomin’ Onion of Paradise. He’s fantastic the whole season but his shining moment comes in “The Day” when Cal ditches the pretaped platitudes to give the American people the truth about the coming apocalypse. It had me screaming “That’s MY President!!” at my television.
Sage: Last year’s Feelies winner Oliver Stark showed the hell up again this season of 9-1-1 as our sweet prince Evan Buckley went through many of The Horrors. Between pasting a smile on his face and supporting the love of his life his best friend as he moved hundreds of miles away to losing his surrogate father in the most traumatic way possible, Buck had a time of it and still remained the kind, brave, broken boy we love so much. The “most tragic character” on Severance competition is fierce, and Irving is right up there in the front of the pack. John Turturro brought it in so many standout moments, most notably Irving outing Helena as a mole on the ORTBO (“DO IT, SETH.”) and that wrenching farewell scene with Christopher Walken’s Burt. He’s our favorite perk. Just as Charlie Cox was born to play Matt Murdock, Vincent D’Onofrio was cosmically destined to be his Kingpin. He slipped right back into Wilson Fisk’s expensive suits, megalomania, and twisted sense of justice for Daredevil: Born Again.
Best Supporting Performance in a Male Role – Comedy
Ike Barinholtz as Sal Saperstein, The Studio
Harrison Ford as Paul Rhoades, Shrinking
Walton Goggins as Baby Billy Freeman, The Righteous Gemstones
Asher Grodman as Trevor, Ghosts
Marcello Hernandez as Various Characters, Saturday Night Live
Michael Urie as Brian, Shrinking
Sage: Backing Seth Rogen up on The Studio is his best friend and loyal #2, Sal Saperstein, played by our Mindy Project pal Ike Barinholtz. Sal is a throwback to another era – the kind of executive who’s probably shocked he hasn’t yet been canceled, takes his tween daughters to old school Hollywood steakhouses and orders them lobsters they don’t want, and doesn’t even try to pretend that the free drugs aren’t half the reason he got into this field. Ike’s manic energy makes him a hoot to watch, though you probably wouldn’t want Sal as your own coworker. Speaking of cocaine, we bid a fond farewell to the Southern-fried comic creation that is Uncle Baby Billy as The Righteous Gemstones jet-packed off into the sunset. A double Feelies nominee this year, Walton Goggins threw himself into Baby Billy’s last hurrah, which included creating (and ultimately starring in) a CW-esque Christian show called “Teenjus” and meeting his nemesis in his family’s severe German nanny. Meanwhile, Harrison Ford proved that he still has some of his best work in front of him in his second season as resident grump/reluctant mentor Dr. Paul Rhoades on Shrinking. If his heartbreaking monologue in the season finale didn’t move you, you might be dead.
Kim: Asher Grodman remains the stealth MVP of the incredibly talented Ghosts ensemble thanks to his always crackling chemistry with Rebecca Wisocky’s Hetty (when will these two admit that they are it for each other???) and his capability to deliver on both the absurd and the heartwarming. Trevor-centric stories always deliver and the episode where he found out he was a girl dad ranked among the highlights of the season. Michael Urie has made a career out of playing acerbic and self-centered but lovable best friends (see also Ugly Betty) and it has been a delight seeing him at the top of his game on Shrinking. He really got to shine this season from his surprisingly touching relationship with Brett Goldstein’s Louis to his journey to fatherhood. What a year for Marcello Hernandez to break out on Saturday Night Live. He’s been quietly and consistently delivering since joining the show in 2022, but with all eyes on SNL’s 50th season, he exploded thanks to his instantly viral character of Domingo and his equally funny Weekend Update “Couple You Can’t Believe Are Together” sketch with Jane Wickline.
Best Limited or Anthology Series
Adolescence
Andor
The Penguin
Say Nothing
The White Lotus
Kim: We make up the rules here at Head Over Feels, and since Andor always had a canonical fixed ending point, we determined that it was a Limited Series. The much anticipated second season did not disappoint – it felt like a tense and slow-burning fuse that ultimately led to a devastating explosion. We all knew Cassian’s end from the beginning but that just made his journey all the more poignant, and the story feels as relevant today as it does a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. The White Lotus returned after a similarly long hiatus and boy, did Mike White’s Rich People Behaving Badly social satire have everything. Star-crossed lovers. Complicated friendships of middle-aged women. Whatever the hell Sam Rockwell was talking about in his monologue. A pitch perfect send-up of Bravo’s Southern Charm. Incest. Buddhism. Tsunami. Piper, neaux. Like I said! It had everything!
Sage: Based on the non-fiction book of the same name, Say Nothing is a must-watch for any history buff fascinated by the Troubles in Northern Ireland. With an intensely focused cast, generation-spanning storytelling, and brutal honesty, this miniseries gives a gripping account of some of the IRA’s most impactful and deadliest operations, straight from the recollection of some of its soldiers. The golden era of Netflix Originals may be long over, but never let it be said that they can’t still deliver every once in a while. The British limited series Adolescence is artistically ambitious, with each episode consisting of a single take, and unflinchingly clear-eyed about the Red Pill radicalization of boys on social media. It’s a difficult, haunting watch, but so important. Did we need a Sopranos-esque spinoff of Matt Reeves’ The Batman that’s a gritty, surprisingly poetic character study of Colin Farrell’s Oswald Cobblepot? Maybe not, but the execution of The Penguin speaks for itself. Dark, compelling, a little loony, and with some lush world-building, the HBO show is a win for both Mafia movie fans and DC acolytes.
Best Leading Performance in a Limited or Anthology Series
Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller, Adolescence
Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobb, The Penguin
Walton Goggins as Rick Hatchett, The White Lotus
Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, Andor
Aimee Lou Wood as Chelsea, The White Lotus
Sage: Cassian entered his super-spy era in the second and final season of Andor, and man do I love it when Diego Luna is put into Situations. (Costumes! Fake identities! Accents!) The Rogue One prequel works so spectacularly well because it takes Star Wars seriously, and that all starts at the top with a serious performance that reflects the high stakes of this period of galactic lore. It’s not just because of those award-winning prosthetics that I would have to remind myself frequently that I was looking at former media bad boy Colin Farrell when I was watching The Penguin. The should-be Oscar winner disappeared completely into the broken psyche of Oswald Cobblepot and somehow managed to emote under layers of rubber and makeup. From his warped relationship with his ailing mother to that devastating decision he makes at the end of the season, Colin brought gravitas and a dark humor to this version of Gotham. Any character who meets the bare minimum requirements of decency tends to stand out on The White Lotus, but I’ve never wanted to protect a vacationer more than Aimee Lou Wood’s Chelsea. Warm, open-hearted, and optimistic, Chelsea arrives at the resort with her sullen partner Rick determined to get him out of his funk. With anyone else playing her, she might come off as naive and childlike, but Aimee gives Chelsea a wisdom and worldliness that makes that finale even more crushing.
Kim: We have a known weakness for traumatized middle-aged men on Inigo Montoya revenge quests here at Head Over Feels (see also: Lost’s Sawyer) so it’s no wonder we went nuts for double Feelies nominee Walton Goggins on The White Lotus. Rick is the epitome of the “my love can heal him” trope and Walton brings him to life exquisitely, showing us all of Rick’s darkness, but also allowing us to see those moments of light. And let’s be real, Walton’s active listening face during Sam Rockwell’s monologue is half the reason that moment went so viral in the first place. Owen Cooper is both heartbreaking and bone-chilling as Jamie Miller, the young boy at the center of Adolescence. From his tears at the police station to the way he unleashes Jamie’s rage on the turn of a dime, it’s hard to believe this is his debut performance and we are only seeing the very beginning of what he may be capable of as an actor.
Best Supporting Performance in a Limited or Anthology Series
Carrie Coon as Laurie Duffy, The White Lotus
Erin Doherty as Briony Ariston, Adolescence
Elizabeth Dulau as Kleya, Andor
Cristin Milioti as Sofia Gigante, The Penguin
Genevieve O’Reilly as Mon Mothma, Andor
Parker Posey as Victoria Ratcliff, The White Lotus
Kim: From the moment her casting was announced, we knew that Queen Carrie Coon was going to be good on The White Lotus but even with that knowledge, we were still floored at just how good she was on The White Lotus. Laurie is for every woman who is a bit messy and for every woman who has ever said “Can I be a bitch for a second?” She’s for every woman who’s felt like she’s on the outside looking in, for every woman questioning her place in her friend group, and for every woman who has looked at her life choices and wondered how the fuck she wound up here. She is every woman, it’s all in her. Erin Doherty’s work in Adolescence proved that you only need one episode to make a big impression. Episode Three is essentially an incredibly tense one-act play that sees forensic psychologist Briony Ariston going toe to toe with Owen Cooper’s Jamie and Erin makes her pity, her compassion, her outrage, and her fear palpable. How lucky are we that we have Genevieve O’Reilly as Mon Mothma? She was great in Rogue One, paying perfect homage to Caroline Blakiston while making the character completely her own, but she really comes to life in Andor. Season Two saw Mon no longer able to support the coming rebellion from the shadows and Genevieve imbues the moment Mon finally takes a public stand with more grace and dignity than most actual politicians could dream of.
Sage: It’s always vindicating when the masses discover an actor you’ve been cheering on for years. Mass murderer and self-made mob boss Sofia Falcone is a departure for Cristin Milioti, who tends to be cast as the girl next door. (She was The Mother, for Christ’s sake.) But she’s such an unhinged powerhouse in the role, you’d be inclined to assume that she’s been playing Batman villains forever. Every White Lotus season needs a character who doesn’t have a blessed clue that anything strange is going on, and this time around, we were graced with Parker Posey as the Lorazepam-popping Victoria Ratliff. Doing an uncanny posh North Carolinian accent, the ‘90s It Girl stole every scene she was in and minted some cunty catchphrases to boot. Patreon sponsor KatyBeth nominates Andor’s Elizabeth Dulau, whose role as Luthen’s trusty lieutenant and former ward Kleya is her FIRST major credit. What a debut. Season Two expands her role considerably, forcing Kleya to make a terrible sacrifice to ensure the future of the resistance she and her mentor dedicated their lives to.
Best Shipper Moment
Bobby clears a freeway, 9-1-1
Frank shaves for Karen, Daredevil: Born Again
Rogue’s message from Hell, Doctor Who
Dina tells Ellie she’s pregnant, The Last of Us
Mark S. chooses Helly R., Severance
Rick and Chelsea plan their future, The White Lotus
Sage: In Conrad’s heteronormative dream world on Doctor Who, the Doctor has been stripped of all his visible queerness and is married to Belinda. Who better to remind him something ain’t right than his lost love from last season, Jonathan Groff’s Rogue? Groffsauce’s surprise cameo is a highlight of “Wish World,” reminding the audience of their swoony Regency romance and Fifteen that he is very, very gay.
When we first see Frank Castle in Daredevil: Born Again, he’s sporting his mountain man look. When he resurfaces to check on Matt, as requested by a third party, he’s got a shave and a haircut. Matt jokingly asks if Frank cleaned up for him, and it’s about as subtle as a heart attack that the Punisher GROOMED himself because Karen Page was coming to town. Kastle LIVES in 2025! LFGGGGG.
Rick and Chelsea seem like an epic mismatch at first glance. But the tragedy of The White Lotus Season Three is that they’re actually perfect for each other – a yin and yang, as the actors have said. When Rick returns from Bangkok in the season finale having (he thinks) put his demons to bed, he is fully present with a luminous Chelsea as they plan their future over a meal. Alas, nothing gold can stay.
Kim: There are few things on TV we love more than two characters having “Thank God you’re alive” sex. Season Two of The Last of Us delivered on that trope and then some when Ellie and Dina finally consummated their relationship on the floor of an abandoned movie theatre in Seattle. The scene was full of revelations with Ellie confessing her Cordyceps immunity after surviving a clicker bite and Dina telling Ellie she’s pregnant with Jesse’s baby. These two crazy kids are going to be parents!
Much to our delight, 9-1-1’s much vaunted “Beenado” was a Trojan Horse for the real disaster of the three-episode season premiere: Athena Grant and a hyper-fixated neurodivergent child being forced to land a commercial flight full of civilians after one pilot gets sucked out of the plane and the other has a heart attack. (Just go with it!) When the plane’s turning mechanism fails, Bobby Nash does the hottest thing he’s done over the course of the series (and that’s saying something because Bobby is always hot and has done a lot of hot things): he shuts down the 110 Freeway, barricading it with a fire truck and creating a runway for his wife to land that fucking plane. “I love you,” Athena says tearfully. “Tell me in person,” Bobby replies confidently, standing on top of his rig, sirens blazing all around him. THIS IS TELEVISION.
Honestly, we should have seen the ending of Severance’s second season coming the moment Outies started debating whether or not an Innie’s personal life has value and if any close connections they make inside Lumon are real. Of course Mark S. would choose Helly R. over Gemma, the woman he knows is his Outie’s wife, but not the woman HE loves. It’s all such a terrific mindfuck and the scene is beautifully played by Adam Scott as you literally see the moment Mark S. remembers how dismissive Mark was of his feelings for Helly and you see the moment he CHOOSES to stay with her. The scene is spectacularly directed by Ben Stiller, with Adam Scott looking like Nicole Scherzinger at the end of Sunset Blvd., strolling down the hall to a stunned and overjoyed Helly as Mel Tormé’s “The Windmills of Your Mind” swells in the background. Romance is not dead, people!
Best Right in the Feels Moment
Bobby sacrifices himself, 9-1-1
Bix secretly has a baby, Andor
Foggy is murdered, Daredevil: Born Again
Joel’s death, The Last of Us
Robby’s breakdown, The Pitt
Laurie’s “Time” monologue, The White Lotus
Kim: As Season One of The Pitt progressed, it became a question of when and not if Dr. Robby was going to have a nervous breakdown. The moment finally came at the end of the harrowing mass shooting two-parter, where Robby has to inform his almost-son Jake that his girlfriend Leah has succumbed to her injuries. After Robby takes Jake to see her body in the makeshift morgue (the children’s trauma room that’s haunted him all day), Jake lashes out, accusing Robby of not doing enough to save her. It’s the straw that breaks the proverbial camel’s back and Robby loses it, naming off all the patients he’s lost over the day and telling Jake that he’ll remember Leah far longer than Jake ever will. After quickly ushering Jake out of the room, Robby unravels, sinking to the floor as the grief of the day overwhelms him. It’s a devastatingly brilliant performance by Noah Wyle that hopefully will bring him a long overdue Emmy come September.
The real gut punch of Andor is not the realization that it takes us right up to the start of Rogue One and that Cassian will never come home from his mission, but the revelation that Bix was pregnant when she left Cassian and that he has a child that he never knew about, much less had the chance to meet. Alexa, play “Dear Theodosia” from Hamilton.
Carrie Coon gives a masterclass called “How to Win an Emmy in Two Minutes” in the season finale of The White Lotus. Her delivery of Laurie’s monologue about feeling the pressure to justify her life choices now that she’s reached middle age is exquisite, from the way her voice breaks as she recounts her mistakes to the passion and certainty she has when she says time is what gives her life meaning to her little giggle as she wipes away her tears at the end. It’s a monologue that makes me as a middle-aged woman feel so seen and so validated and I’m actually fucking furious that it was written by a man.
Sage: Despite the leaks from set, we were still in denial. But 9-1-1 really did kill off Peter Krause’s Captain Bobby Nash in a two-parter that saw half of the 118 trapped in a lab harboring rare, infectious diseases. Of course their fearless leader would take one for the team, hiding the fact that his suit has been compromised so that expectant father Chimney would get the single dose of antidote that Buck and Athena tracked down and smuggled into the locked down lab. He tells Buck he loves him, makes sure his wife knows that he didn’t want to go, and then kneels down to pray. Despite the fan backlash, Bobby goes out the hero that he always feared he couldn’t be, and we can’t be mad at that.
I knew what was coming for Joel in Season Two of The Last of Us, but nothing could have prepared me for that death sequence, or the lead up establishing that he and Ellie were barely speaking by the time Abby and her crew catch up to him to get their revenge. Ellie’s tears, the way Joel tries to get up and go to her despite his entire body being broken…it’s a haunting, awful scene that sets the stage for the rest of Ellie’s journey.
Similarly, as Daredevil: Born Again drew near, it seemed more and more likely that Franklin “Foggy” Nelson was not long for this world. His execution is the inciting incident in the premiere, when he’s taken out by Bullseye right in front of Josie’s (which is SUPPOSED TO BE OUR SAFE SPACE). An enraged Matt goes after his best friend’s assailant, but he’s still close enough to hear the last beat of Foggy’s heart. Avocados at Law forever.
Best YASSS!!!!!! moment
“Competition is out of the way.”, 9-1-1
Mon dances it out, Andor
The Cell Block Tango, Elsbeth
“They’re lying to you.”, Paradise
Whitaker kills the rat, The Pitt
Natalie calls for rescue, Yellowjackets
Sage: 9-1-1 was already crossing over into fanfic territory having Buck unable to sleep in Eddie’s house because he misses him so much. But the conversation he has with his ex in the Diaz kitchen the night after a backslide into Buck 1.0 territory goes even further, establishing Buddie Canon as a spoken possibility for the first time in the show’s run. Tommy says that he might be game to try their relationship again “now that the competition’s out of the way,” acting like Buck and Eddie having an insurmountable thing is something they both BEEN knew and have never talked about. As part of his (lame) defense, Buck argues that Eddie’s “straight” – a claim that makes Tommy scoff a sarcastic “okay.” OKAY, HE SAYS. LAUGHING. Even Bobby dying couldn’t spoil the afterglow – I’m still giggling and kicking my feet over this one.
The strain of living a double life finally gets to Mon Mothma in Andor Season Two. The character we’ve always known as regal and composed finds control slipping away, especially as it pertains to her family, who are completely unaware of her alignment with the growing rebellion. Her machinations with Luthen lead to her daughter being married off to the corrupt Davo Sculdun’s son. After trying and failing to convince her daughter to run before the binding part of the Chandrilan ceremony, Mon takes to the dance floor and lets loose, finding an angry, defiant freedom in her body that’s inaccessible to her otherwise. It’s the kind of moment you’d more likely find in an indie coming-of-age movie than a Star Wars property, and that’s precisely why it works.
Elsbeth and its creators love musical theater, so the prison-set Season Two finale was bound to include some Chicago references. But why stop at a reference when you can produce a full-fledged musical number? After the investigator finds herself locked up with many of the very same killers she’s helped put away, she’s called upon to solve another murder. Returning guest stars Elizabeth Lail, Alyssa Milano, Gina Gershon, Retta, and Mary Louise Parker serve as the merry murderesses of Elsbeth’s dream “Cell Block Tango,” singing and dancing about their respective motives to kill Stephen Moyer’s Alex Modarian in bedazzled jumpsuits. Finally: a murder show for the theater kids.
Kim: My favorite thing about the Season Three finale of Yellowjackets is the way they turned the whole opening scene from the pilot upside down, revealing that Misty’s satisfied smirk is not because of PIt Girl Mari’s ritual sacrifice but because Natalie used the hunt as a way to sneak out from under the Antler Queen Shauna’s watchful eye. Cut to Natalie lugging the repaired satellite phone to the highest point she can reach where she desperately starts calling out for rescue as Aerosmith’s “Livin’ on the Edge” swells in the background. The line crackles. “I can hear you,” a male voice replies. YAS.
For most of The Pitt’s first season Dennis Whitaker is a disaster person, perpetually exchanging his scrubs because he’s gotten covered in various bodily fluids and losing patients left and right. But everything changes in episode 9, when a patient’s dog catches one of the rats that had been let loose in the ER earlier that day. Whitaker’s farm boy instincts take over. He throws a blanket over Crosby (the goodest boy!), snatching the rat from his mouth and breaking its neck in one swift action, earning a round of applause from his shocked colleagues. YASSS, you TAKE that bow, Huckleberry.
I’ll never forget watching episode 5 of Paradise with Sage in a hotel room in the Marriott LAX the night before Gallifrey One 2025 began. We were both buzzing with anticipation as Xavier’s suspicions of Sinatra’s crimes and true motivations mounted over the course of the episode. We held our breath as it became clear that Xavier was going to do SOMETHING drastic, recruiting his neighbor Carl (owner of the contraband dog!) who works at the heart of Paradise’s control center to help carry out his plan. We literally screamed YASSSSSSSS! as the words “THEY’RE LYING TO YOU” flashed across the sky in blood red. (Sorry to our hotel neighbors!) It’s the kind of popcorn moment that Paradise excelled at all season.
Best Warm Fuzzy
Eddie brings Christopher home, 9-1-1
Barbara teaches Charlie to read, Abbott Elementary
Thirteen meets Fifteen, Doctor Who
Deborah chooses Ava over Late Night, Hacks
Mabel and Charles walk Oliver down the aisle, Only Murders in the Building
Kelvin comes out, The Righteous Gemstones
Kim: Not much about “The Reality War” makes sense, but the beauty of Doctor Who is that it can still deliver powerful moments amongst all the nonsense. I’m so glad I keep out of fandom spaces because Jodie Whittaker’s surprise return to the TARDIS warmed my cold dead heart more than a few degrees. It was incredibly touching to see her Doctor share the screen with Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor, just two groundbreaking incarnations of the same character loving on each other. Jodie slipped back into the Doctor’s shoes as if she’d never left, reminding us that no one ever truly leaves this universe permanently.
The core of Hacks has always been the push and pull dynamic between Deborah’s personal relationship with Ava and her career, and most of the time, she’s ended up choosing her career over Ava. It looked like it was going to go that way again when Bob demanded that Ava be fired from Late Night after she leaked a story. Deborah bans Ava from the lot – but not because she supports Ava being fired but because she is choosing to make a stand she knows Ava would talk her out of. Deborah gets up and delivers a searing monologue calling out the network. She declares her loyalty to Ava and quits on the spot, giving up everything she’s ever wanted for her creative partner and her friend. Her heart definitely grew three sizes that day.
The whole Christopher moving to Texas storyline on 9-1-1 was not only painful for Eddie and Buck, it was painful for US losing our favorite little family unit. Say what you want about the homoerotic subtext of Buddie, but never forget that Eddie named Buck Chris’ legal guardian should anything happen to him. Christopher is his goddamn son too, okay? After a sexually charged argument about the night Bobby died, a rather curt note on the couch made it look like Eddie had fucked back off to Texas without saying goodbye. Instead, much to Buck’s delight and ours, Buck comes home to a very smug Eddie leaning against the living room door frame (GAY!) and a very happy Christopher sitting at the dining room table as if he’d never left. We ALL healed a little bit when Buck sank to his knees, ducking under Christopher’s arm to hug him. OUR BOY IS HOME AT LAST.
Sage: Thank GOD Kelvin and Keefe are going strong when The Righteous Gemstones picks back up for its final season. But for as wholeheartedly as they jump into their relationship, Kelvin still holds back when it comes to his public persona. Vance Simpkins, his main rival for “Christ-Following Man of the Year” (basically a pageant for Jesus-y boys), taunts our youngest Gemstone sibling about it, intimating that his sexual identity is unbecoming of a preacher with that honor. Just when it seems like Kelvin may demure from the whole thing, his brother and sister (lovingly) bully him into showing up and standing proud. Kelvin declares in his final campaign speech that he is a “gay Christ-following man,” which made both Keefe and I cry. And of course, he wins in a landslide.
Among the longest of long-running sitcom jokes is the fact that Charlie Kelly of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia cannot read. It was a given that this was going to come up during the gang’s unlikely crossover with Abbott Elementary, because a seasoned educator like Barbara Howard was never going to let a grown man’s illiteracy go unaddressed. She, Melissa, and Jacob get Charlie interested in reading like they would any kid – by asking him his interests. (Bird Law, obviously.) And you better believe I shed a tear when he haltingly read his bird book in front of a classroom of Abbott kids. Head canon that Charlie and Barbara stay in touch, despite the whole copper theft thing.
Naturally, the most recent season of Only Murders in the Building ended in a death. But before that death, we got our Jane Austen finale: a wedding! Oliver and Loretta tie the knot in the courtyard of the Arconia with their friends and neighbors looking on. And if I wasn’t already verklempt over the way these real-life lovebirds look at each other, Mabel and Charles giving Oliver away fully broke me. That’s his family!
Best WTF?!?! Moment
Oliver’s father is alive, Brilliant Minds
The Finale cliffhanger, The Diplomat
Jay is bound to Hell, Ghosts
“I have a message for you from the President.”, Paradise
Frank’s monologue, The White Lotus
The hikers’ arrival, Yellowjackets
Sage: We had a plethora of possible nominees for the most WTF moment on freshman thriller Paradise, so we went with the first one that made us both scream. In Episode 3, Sterling K. Brown’s secret service agent Xavier is hooking up with Sarah Shahi’s therapist, Gabriela. Going for it in the shower seems at first just to be a sexy TV choice for sexy TV people, but Gabriela has a plan. With both of their citizen-monitoring wristbands out of the way and the spray drowning out their words for the benefit of anyone listening in, she leans in and whispers in his ear, “I have a message from the president.” The president who is dead!!! Television!
Speaking of dead presidents, The Diplomat Season Two ends with an epic cliffhanger that had me sitting staring at my TV slack-jawed for quite some time after the credits rolled. For much of the series, Kate has suspected the prime minister of ordering the Russian mercenary attack on a British warship for political purposes. But the climax of this season reveals that it was in fact Grace Penn, the vice president who may have already been in the process of losing her job to Kate, who was behind it all. As usual, Kate wants to play it cool, even though sharing Grace’s involvement with the administration basically guarantees her the job. But her husband Hal has never been one for caution. Instead of calling the Secretary of State as he originally intends to, he speaks directly to the president. The result? Secret service agents swarming the grounds where Kate and Grace are walking, discussing their complicated situation. Turns out the president did not take the news well! He dies on the video call, presumably of a heart attack, and Grace Penn (the war criminal!) is now president.
I’m always happy when Sam Rockwell pops up in something, and he certainly popped up unexpectedly in The White Lotus Season Three. Leslie Bibb’s longtime partner shows up midway through the action as Rick’s old friend with whom he meets up in Bangkok. We learn that Frank is (or at least used to be) a solid hookup for drugs, guns, girls, etc. etc. But he’s reformed, he insists to Rick – at least in the realm of partying. Over the course of a lengthy monologue that, I’m sure, is the sort of material actors dream of, Frank explains to Rick that he realized as he slept with many a Thai female sex worker that he might actually want to be one of those Thai female sex workers. Rockwell delivers a series of words and sentences that no one has ever heard in this order before, let alone on TV, with complete conviction and humor. Walton Goggins’ stunned (but supportive!) expression as he listens to the tale of Frank’s religious and gender-queer awakening is the icing on the cake.
Kim: The minute Mandy Patinkin showed up on Brilliant Minds, I KNEW that he had to be Oliver’s supposedly dead father because you don’t just cast a legend like Mandy Patinkin in a one-off episode. (I have receipts of me calling it too!) Obviously, the revelation that his dad has been alive this whole time set off shockwaves in Oliver’s life, from having him balk in his relationship with Josh (MY GAY BRAIN DOCTORS) to forcing him to see his mother in a completely different light. It perfectly tees up season two and I can’t wait.
Yellowjackets has always been that bitch when it comes to WTF moments, and Season Three is no exception. In fact, it probably delivered the mother of all WTF moments when the girls’ sacrificial bonfire is interrupted by the arrival of three strangers – when we KNOW they still have months left before they are actually rescued. I mean, the scene literally ends with Edwin exclaiming “What the fuck?” at the sight of Coach Ben’s head on a spike. What the FUCK indeed.
The season-ending cliffhanger has become a signature element of Ghosts and this season’s proved to be a doozy. Earlier in the season, we were teased with a scene of an incarnate Elias trying to convince Jay to hire him as his publicist and Jay joking that he felt like he was signing his soul away before asking for some time to think about the offer. Well, Jay DID hire him and DID end up accidentally signing his soul away to Hell and according to Elias, he has VERY little time left on Earth. I don’t know HOW the ghosts are gonna get Jay out of this one, but I’m excited to see what they come up with.
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