29 December 2020, 14:00 by Karzal

Series of the year 2020 - Best actress

This column supports the Series of the Year election 2020 and discusses the actress category. You can vote for your favourite series in this genre and others, between Monday, January 4th and Monday, February 1st.

Every year, there are always some scenes you can't forget. Sometimes these scenes involve men or women, could be part of a comedy or a drama, and maybe they are or aren't nominated for all kinds of awards. The cast is usually the part of a series we enjoy the most. Maybe the cast is the only reason we actually keep watching a series, sometimes.

This category tries to nominate the best actresses we've seen in 2020. Unfortunately, there is no wildcard here, so the choice is limited. With only six possible people to vote for, this category and the 'best actor' category are the most difficult categories to select nominees for. We've done our best! Thanks to the writers and readers, I think that we've come up with a solid top five + writer's choice! However, we can't nominate everyone, so we have probably missed out on some solid acting.

Down below, you'll find the top five nominated actresses for this category in alphabetical order:

Gillian Anderson (The Crown, Netflix)

The arrival of Margaret Thatcher in The Crown was a certainty, and we couldn't have imagined a better person to portray her than Gillian Anderson. Despite the fact that Thatcher is a well-known role, Anderson has managed to make the character her own. For the entire season, we were able to enjoy how she perfectly portrayed Thatcher, from the way she speaks to the way she acts. Without a doubt, she deserves a spot on this list.

Christina Applegate (Dead to Me, Netflix)

With constant shifts between drama and comedy, you need a strong actress to portray the lead role in Dead to Me. Christina Applegate has proven to be the ultimate choice, seeing as she manages to do quite well in either genre. For good reason, she was won multiple Emmy's for this role. As the star of the series, it was an easy feat for her to become part of this list.

Claire Danes (Homeland, Showtime)

You would think that after eight seasons an actress has already reached her peak. Luckily, this didn't apply for Claire Danes. She put down a fantastic performance in the final season of Homeland. She has already been recognized for this role, but this will be the last chance for her to be part of this list with that particular role in mind. She definitely earns a spot on this list, but we'll have to wait and see if she actually wins.

Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Saul, AMC)

For five seasons, Rhea Seehorn has done great on Better Call Saul. Nonetheless, she manages to do even better every next season. This season was not an exception. It is difficult to steal the spotlight next to a beloved actor such as Bob Odenkirk. She manages to do this, easily. Because of that, she has definitely earned a spot in this top six.

Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen's Gambit, Netflix)

Anya Taylor-Joy is the lead actress of possibly the biggest surprise of 2020, The Queen's Gambit. Quickly, she managed to conquer the hearts of a lot of series lovers with her portrayal of chess prodigy Beth Harmon. She managed to show all moments of Beth's live, which is quite a feat, seeing as the role requires a rather calm demeanour. As breakout character of the year, it was unthinkable to leave her out of this list.

Writer's choice

As this category does not feature a wild card, I have nominated the following actress as the writer's choice.

Natasia Demetriou (What We Do in the Shadows, FX)

My personal choice for best actress of the year 2020 is without a doubt Natasia Demetriou from What We Do in the Shadows. This list is packed with amazing drama performances, but Demetriou deserves to be the splash of comedy in here. In an ensemble with a lot of wonderful actors, she manages to be the best of them all. The way she uses the dry humour of her character perfectly is quite impressive.