20 Standout Characters from TV Dramas in 2018

Our Best of 2018 lists continue with some of our favorite TV characters from TV dramas. From characters who faced impossible struggles and dealt with tragedy to those who showed continued growth, these characters were especially memorable this year. 

As you might expect, you can expect some spoilers on this list!

Note: we have an entirely separate list dedicated to characters from sci-fi, fantasy, and horror series, so you won’t see characters from those shows listed here.

In no particular order, here are 20 standout characters from TV dramas in 2018:

1. Meredith Grey (Grey’s Anatomy)

Fans of Grey’s Anatomy have watched Meredith Grey grow up before their eyes, from an intern to now the chief of general surgery, and winner of the award formerly known as the Harper Avery. But even more significant is how we’ve seen her grow as a person. She’s been through more tragedy than any one person should have to, but those experiences have made her wise and allowed her to develop new kinds of relationships.

This year, the focus has been on just that, with the newest season giving us an entirely new look at her character — and her vulnerabilities — as she agrees to try dating again.

Doing so means reflecting on who she’s become, what kind of person she’s not willing to be with (I’m looking at you, guy who made a comment about single mothers), and how the losses she’s experienced have shaped her. Meredith is one of the most complex and inspiring characters on television.

2. Bobby Nash (9-1-1)

Peter Krause plays the role of Bobby Nash on the Fox drama 9-1-1, and it’s a role that really allows him to show off his talents. Bobby is seen as a leader who prefers to keep his personal life private at first, but we learn early on that he has serious demons buried inside.

Not only have his wife and children died, but he’s the reason for it. Every day for him is about atoning for the lives he’s responsible for, making him a focused and skilled firefighter — and the kind of leader who isn’t afraid to break the rules if it means saving one of his own.

3. Serena Joy (The Handmaid’s Tale)

While The Handmaid’s Tale is centered on Offred, perhaps the most compelling character of Season 2 — and one of the most compelling characters on TV this year overall — is Serena Joy Waterford, played by Yvonne Strahovski.

Seen largely as a villain in the story, and who manages to take part in the most despicable of acts in the most reason season, she also gave us reason to feel some semblance of compassion for her and to wonder just how she feels about the society that she had such a significant part in creating. 

4. Jimmy McGill (Better Call Saul)

This was the year Jimmy McGill truly started to transform into the man we know from Breaking Bad, Saul Goodman. It’s somehow both satisfying and heartbreaking to see that transformation take place.

We want Jimmy to succeed because, from the start of Better Call Saul, he’s been an underdog who was given very little respect. But to be able to be a lawyer again and to move forward, he has to become a different person, and glimpses of that new person came to the surface during Better Call Saul Season 4.

5. Mina Okafor (The Resident)

Arguably one of the best characters on Fox medical drama, The Resident, which premiered this year, Shaunette Renée Wilson’s Mina Okafor is stunning to watch. She’s ambitious, talented, and confident in her skills as a surgeon, but she’s also aware of her own limitations.

On top of that, she’s the kind of person who’s willing to risk everything to help others get the medical treatment they need, and a badass who can defend herself against a mugger and then bring him to the hospital to be treated for his injuries. 

6. Elizabeth Jennings (The Americans)

Elizabeth and Philip Jennings operate as Soviet spies in the United States Capitol, but things reached a boiling point during The Americans Season 6.

With Philip out of the game, that left Elizabeth handling the missions from Moscow, and all the assassinations and schemes that went along with it. That put a strain on her and Philip’s marriage, but it’s also provided interesting drama for a character who was extremely loyal to Russia at the start of the series.

So much of Keri Russell’s performance in The Americans is in the quiet subtlety of her stare, where her eyes could tell you everything you need to know about Elizabeth’s thoughts and actions and that same intensity comes through the final season until the very last frame.

7. Andrew Cunanan (American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace)

Darren Criss gave an incredible performance this year as Andrew Cunanan on American Crime Story: The Assassination for Gianni Versace. The character is based on the real Andrew Cunanan, the serial killer who murdered Gianni Versace and eventually took his own life.

Darren Criss’s portrayal shows Cunanan as a true chameleon, a narcissist, and a twisted murderer — but a murderer who was entirely compelling to watch.

8. Eve Polastri (Killing Eve)

Eve Polastri’s life in M15 isn’t exactly the spy life she envisioned for herself, but when she gets pulled into the web of a talented and mercurial assassin she can’t help but be intrigued. Eve’s analytical mind just one part of her character. She also has a flippant sense of humor and a curiosity that rivals a cat.

Whether it’s calling a superior a really vulgar name or joking about her luggage getting stolen by a psychopath, there isn’t a moment that is wasted in Eve’s storyline, and it’s that kind of tight storytelling that many shows can benefit from.

9. Coop (All American)

Tamia ‘Coop’ Cooper on the freshman CW series All American earns her place on the best characters in a drama list simply by virtue of being a masculine-expressing queer black woman. That kind of representation, elegantly and almost nonchalantly provided on the show, is deeply meaningful for audiences aching to see themselves on screen.

The representation Coop, portrayed by the stunning talent Bre-Z, provides is just the beginning of her power. She throws truths to Spencer in perfect spirals. He receives them and is able to offer Coop the acceptance and family she has lost from her mother. Spencer and Coop’s friendship is the surprising backbone relationship of the sleek and shippy series.

Everything that Coop does on the show is magic. Her scenes with Patience are sensual heart-stoppers. Her grief is as vibrant as her diplomacy. The acting, the writing, the costuming, the music is all pure excellence for this All American character.

10. Mellie Grant (Scandal)

Mellie Grant became one of the most interesting characters on Scandal early in the series, and as the show came to its conclusion this year, we saw her settling into her new role as President of the United States.

Getting her there was complicated, and it provided new challenges for her character to say the least. But once in the role? The challenges become even more complex.

What was perhaps the most striking, though, was her focus on serving the nation and doing good in her role in its leader, even when it would be much easier not to. 

11. Kelly Severide (Chicago Fire)

A skilled firefighter and leader, Chicago Fire’s Kelly Severide, played by Taylor Kinney, isn’t afraid to bend the rules if it means saving a life. He’s shown that more than a few times, but what makes him more interesting is his ability to bounce back after the worst of circumstances.

He’s experienced his share of tragedy, most recently with the loss of his father, but those experiences only serve to shape his character and make him stronger. 

12. Camille Preaker (Sharp Objects)

Sharp Objects was one of the most entrancing shows of the summer, keeping us on the edge of our seat week to week with a big mystery and compelling cast of characters. But amid the solid performances from all involved, it was Camille Preaker that stood out as best character.

Learning more about Camille’s fight with her own demons while trying to essentially bring the demons of her hometown to light was fascinating to watch unfold throughout the summer and made that final moment of the series all the more shocking and feel like an emotional gut-punch for Camille.

13. Jack Pearson (This Is Us)

This was the year. This was the year that we saw exactly how Jack Pearson died on This Is Us, and it was one of the most emotional TV moments of 2018. (Audience members were swearing off their Crock Pots!) What made it so emotional was the kind of man, and the kind of father, Jack Pearson proved to be.

That alone would land him on this list easily, but the most recent season of the show has given more background and more emotional layers to a character we already loved.

14.  Alice Cooper (Riverdale)

The OG Serpent Queen has had quite a year. Alice Cooper went from being one of the worst mothers in Riverdale to being the most beloved. She found out her husband of 20 years is a serial killer, fell back in love with her real high school sweetheart, she found out their love-child might be dead, oh and then she joined a cult.

From her sassy one-liners to her deep capacity for emotion Alice Cooper is easily one of the best characters on Riverdale. She loves her children more than anything and she’ll do whatever it takes to keep them safe. Even if that means throwing bricks through glass windows, joining the school musical, covering up a murder, or facing off with a cold-blooded killer.

Alice has evolved and revealed more and more of herself with every season of Riverdale, and though her current iteration seems a little lost she always finds her way back in the end. After all, snakes don’t shed their skin so easily.

15. Jason Hayes (SEAL Team)

David Boreanaz’s role as Jason Hayes on SEAL Team is already his best, though the series is still just in its second season. Jason Hayes leads a team of Navy SEAL’s, and he’s a skilled leader and soldier.

But he also has to balance that with what is now an even more complicated home life since the mother of his children has died. It’s an emotional thing for his character to process, and he has to find a way to navigate his job — his duty — with being a single parent and dealing with that loss.

Coping with all of that while bearing the weight of his duties as a SEAL makes him a complex character we can’t help but be invested in — and one we can still look forward to learning more about.

16. Plum Kettle (Dietland)

There’s no doubt that the AMC series Dietland was canceled too soon.

The series premiered this year, giving us one amazing season to watch Plum Kettle, played by Joy Nash, as she moves from being a ghostwriter with hopes of losing weight to becoming involved with Jennifer, a group that’s been responsible for murdering men who hurt women. Plum’s journey is a powerful one worth remembering from 2018. 

17. Taystee (Orange is the New Black)

One of the most significant arcs from Orange is the New Black Season 6 centered on Taystee, played by the remarkable Danielle Brooks, who was wrongfully accused Piscatella’s murder.

With support from Caputo, she works hard and makes a strong case for herself, making it that much more heartbreaking when she’s found guilty. Brooks’ performance as Taystee really is one of the most memorable performances of the year. 

18. John Nolan (The Rookie)

Nathan Fillion returned to TV in a leading role this year with ABC’s The Rookie. He plays John Nolan, a man who makes the life-changing decision to become a cop. That decision comes with all kinds of new challenges, especially considering his age.

The training is one thing, but he’s faced with having his life put in danger and seeing horrific things on a regular basis. He’s a complex character, and Nathan Fillion’s performance in the role is a powerful one. 

19. Rachel Goldberg (UnREAL)

2018 saw two seasons of UnREAL, with its final season dropping on Hulu as a surprise over the summer. Through both seasons, we watched Rachel Goldberg’s continued struggle with her mental health take some interesting turns.

She broke away temporarily from Everlasting and from Quinn, faced some of the demons from her past, and upon returning to her reality series, took control and gave it some changes that wound up being pretty dark. Her most difficult moments and her inner struggles continued to make her a complex anti-hero that we loved watching on the television screen.

20. Joe Goldberg (YOU)

Joe Goldberg from YOU is one of the most unnerving villains we’ve ever seen on the small screen. He’s an utterly despicable obsessive psycho stalker (and later, a murderer), yet he manages to have layers that make him one of the most complicated and intriguing characters of the 2018 TV season.

This, of course, is all down to Penn Badgley’s phenomenal, nuanced portrayal, and his pitch-perfect delivery of Joe’s many voiceover monologues. It’s nearly impossible not to be engrossed in Joe’s story, even as he continues to do horrible things.

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Who were your favorite characters from TV dramas this year? Let us know in the comments below!

*Additional contributions by Lauren Busser, Brianna Martinez, Samantha Coley, Janelle McCammack, and Caralynn Lippo.

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