The Best New TV Characters of 2018 (So Far)

Image via Complex/Makana Ching

Actor: Quavo

Series: Star

In a cameo appearance on Fox’s Star, Quavo plays a rising rapper named Quavo in a world where the Migos don’t exist. After the label’s R&B bad boy Noah (played by singer Luke James) falls off the wagon again, he’s asked to headline an upcoming tour. Noah’s already bruised ego gets rubbed the wrong way when Quavo gets too close to the singer’s girl and he decides to sucker punch the ATLien. A gun is drawn and it takes Carlotta (played by Queen Latifah) to calm things down. Normally, a rapper playing a part named after himself wouldn’t count as a new “character,” but all bets are off when you see Quavo anchor a tense standoff that makes you question if he’s just playing a part or drawing from real-life experiences. —Anslem Samuel Rocque

Actor: Alligator #2 / Katt Williams

Series: Atlanta Robbin' Season

These two set the tone for Atlanta’s incredible second season by surprising everybody during the second half of the first episode. Katt Williams was brilliant in his turn as Earn and Paper’s Uncle Willie, reminding us why he’s a comedic legend. We were hoping Willie would make another appearance during the season, but he’s probably in Mexico living with another gator already. With all the highlights from Season 2, Willie and Coach’s tag-team scene at the end of that episode still manages to be one of the most memorable. They’re the Crockett and Tubbs. —Angel Diaz

Actor: Marvin "Krondon" Jones III

Series: Black Lightning

Villains based on comic book characters don’t have a good track record on the big or small screen. Add in a newcomer who’s known more for rapping than acting, and you have the makings of a skeptical audience. But to underestimate Krondon’s chops as an actor would be a huge mistake. Throughout the inaugural season of The CW’s Black Lightning he plays the series’ antagonist with a level of menace and passion that proves landing the gig was no token casting. Towing the line between sympathetic and sinister, Krondon was born to play Tobias Whale. —Anslem Samuel Rocque

Actor: Luka Sabbat

Series: grown-ish

One part Jaden Smith, one part Cree Summer, Luka Sabbat’s performance as Luca (with a C) is a perfect combination of new school and old school bohemia. Portrayed as an artsy stoner with a heart, the character is the ultimate cool kid moving to the beat of a different drum. Unlike the rest of the freshmen at Cal U, Luca is the levelheaded voice of reason who doesn’t have time for the unnecessary drama his classmates often find themselves wrapped up in. A man of mystery, Luca comes and goes as he pleases, but always leaves a lasting impression whenever he’s on screen. —Anslem Samuel Rocque

Actor: Tiffany Haddish

Series: The Last O.G

At this point, audiences expect Tiffany Haddish to appear as Tiffany Haddish in all her projects. Fortunately, she swerves in her co-starring role in The Last O.G, the TBS series that marks Tracy Morgan’s return to TV.

After 15 years in prison, Tray (Morgan) returns to Brooklyn surprised to find it gentrified, even down to his ex-girlfriend (Haddish) who goes by Shannon now, not Shay, and is married to a white man named Josh. Shannon distanced herself from Tray after he got locked up and has been raising their twins unbeknownst to him—and she’d prefer if he stayed out of their lives for good.

We see Shay alternate from round-the-way girl, via flashbacks, to loving mother trying to protect her family in the present. Executive produced by Jordan Peele, The Last O.G is certainly funny, but it also incorporates a lot of heart, with Haddish leading the way. —Dria Roland

Actor: Anthony Carrigan

Series: Barry

Barry is all about dark comedy subversion. The dark correlation between contract killing and acting. The blasé way in which hits are carried out. Hell, casting Bill Hader as a hitman to begin with. And of course, a fearsome Chechen mob that's either full of bumbling idiots or boogeyman who are so weary they'd rather kill themselves than their mark.

No character was as a delightful reminder of Barry's commitment to fucking cliches up than NoHo Hank, the most genial capo you've ever met in any crime story, or, as someone on Twitter aptly described him to me, "a sweetheart." Hank is like Powder meets Gary from Veep with a dash of Renfield and Fredo Corelone. Did he have a crush on Barry or did he just respect him in lieu of his loyalties? Both answers are intriguing, and the idea of more Hank—arguably the bigger breakout character than Barry himself—is about the only reason the prospect of a second season would be dope after a thoroughly perfect ending. —Frazier Tharpe

Actor: Donald Sutherland

Series: Trust

Who knew that Jean Paul Getty with such a piece of shit? Trust on FX was one of the more surprising shows this year, highlighting one of the world’s most wealthiest and unhealthy families. The Gettys are filthy rich, mainly due to oil, plus, back in the ‘60s and ‘70s, the head of the family was stingy with his money. Donald Sutherland pulls off J. Paul Getty perfectly, making you love him and hate him at the same time. On one hand, he’s this pill-popping sex fiend with his handful of live-in girlfriends doing whatever he says, and on the other, he’s this cheapskate billionaire that won’t pay a ransom to save his grandson who may or may not have kidnapped himself. This all makes for interesting TV. Trust was truly slept on. —Angel Diaz

Actor: Jessica Barden

Series: THE END OF THE F***ING WORLD

For a show that centered around a teen who swore up and down that he was a serial killer, it was James' cohort Alyssa who showed him what real savagery was. A rough childhood forced Alyssa to stop giving a fuck years before she should have, and through her rebellious actions and fuck-the-world attitude, she showed James a thing or two about living dangerously, and how that kind of attitude can have damaging effects on a young life. —khal

Actor: Khris Davis

Series: Atlanta Robbin' Season

What were we to make of Tracy, Alfred's ex-con friend, when he materialized out of thin air in Al's apartment like how Michelle Trachtenberg joined Buffy mid-series as if she'd been there the whole time? This being Atlanta, it was reasonable to assume Tracy’s only purpose was to displace Earn to drive the episode’s themes home, and that was the last we’d see of him. After all, if Atlanta has one convention, it's a core cast—Black Biebers, Clay Davis Dads, and Mystery Bus Men come and go. Earn, Alfred, Darius, and Van are the constants.

What a delight then, that the following episode found Tracy not just sticking around, but getting his own spotlight episode. What an even bigger delight that he wasn't some cliche, duplicitious ex-con looking for a lick, but better yet, this show's answer to Leon Black. As played by Khris Davis, Tracy is a burst of levity even in the dramedy's darkest moments. He offers respite in "Teddy Perkins;" he anchors arguably the season's best joke with "No Chase Policy;" he lifts the burden on the rather heavy denouement of the season's closing moments as a willing punchline. More interestingly, his effortless affability grows to become a one-sided source of pressure on the chip on Earn's shoulder until he's forced to literally knock that chip off.

Will Tracy be back? Shit, will Atlanta even be back? Ain't no telling, but if Donald, Stephen and co. do sit down to start breaking a season three, I hope they realize it's not often a new player can come in and fit so seamlessly we forgot he wasn't in the pilot. —Frazier Tharpe

Actor: Sharon Stone

Series: Mosaic

Sharon Stone acting her ass off in an HBO mini-series? You had me at "acting." Steven Soderbergh, and some of the best bits of the linear version of Soderbergh's murder mystery were Sharon Stone laying down the law as Olivia Lake. Her facade was the philanthropist who used her celebrity as a best-selling author to help children find their way through the arts, but underneath it, Olivia was a lot. Stone delivered Olivia's scathing, sarcastic, paranoid soliloquies with the touch of a veteran, and even if you didn't agree with everything that came out of Olivia's mouth, you were dead set on figuring out who was behind her demise. —khal

Actor: Bill Hader

Series: Barry

Bill Hader plays an assassin that just wants to have a normal life. He stumbles on this acting class while researching a hit and falls in love with these normal people. Only thing is he’s numb to emotion since he kills people for a living, so acting is kinda hard for him. He comes across as a coward in class until he’s forced to kill someone close to him. Well, that changed everything and next you know, he’s crying on demand and is finally figuring out the art of drama. Barry isn’t even the funniest character in the show, he’s just the most fucked up in the head, and rightfully so. He can’t seem to get out of the life and finds himself digging his feet deeper as he tries to get out. All Barry wants to be is a struggling actor, not a killer. But don’t push him. —Angel Diaz

Actor: Jodie Comer

Series: Killing Eve

While we've seen women as murderous beings before, Killing Eve's Villanelle was a different animal entirely. Underneath the beautiful contract killer's tough skin is a character that spent most of her life hurt instead of being helped. And as the eight-episode first season of the BBC America series went on, we saw her lose so many of her closest associates that she becomes infatuated with the one woman who's smart enough to track her down. With equal doses of fury and funny, Jodie Comer rewrote the book on sympathizing with a killer, and will be a hard murderer to top, for body count and jokes-per-stab alone. —khal

Actor: Robert Powell

Series: Atlanta Robbin' Season

The great thing about Atlanta is that it’s a show where anyone can be the star at any given time. That goes for primary cast members the same as it does for guest stars. When Robert Powell appeared in “Barbershop” as Bibby, most probably assumed he was going to be merely a background player. But as the episode progressed and Bibby’s penchant for ADD and BS continued to expand, it quickly became apparent that Bibby was in charge, and, much like Paper Boi, we were just along for the ride. Powell’s nonchalant performance as Bibby is the perfect mix of frustrating and funny as he transforms the mundane task of getting a haircut into a citywide scavenger hunt. Bibby might be a scammer but he’s also the best barber in town and well worth the wait. —Anslem Samuel Rocque

Actor: Shamon Brown, Jr.

Series: The Chi

Season 1 of any show is tricky: You have to bring audiences into a new world, sell them on the story and get them invested in the characters. But The Chi, executive produced by Lena Waithe, gave us a character we could unanimously get behind: Papa. One of three friends navigating middle school and the dangers of their neighborhood, Papa was charming and wise beyond his years. While his boys were getting introduced to the street life, young Papa liked to whittle and was quite fond of his “me time.” (Same Papa, same.) If you need more convincing, just watch the hilarious scene where Papa schools his boys on buying feminine hygiene products.

It’s not hard for a show about growing up in Southside Chicago to be dreary. The Chi had its moments, but Shamon Brown, Jr. as Papa had us looking forward to his every scene. —Dria Roland

Actor: Donald Glover

Series: Atlanta Robbin' Season

Has any single character of a television show had more of an impact than Teddy Perkins? It's doubtful. For a show like Atlanta, which is already some of the quirkiest shit to ever hit television, it's still insane to think that Donald Glover and company devoted ~34 uninterrupted minutes to a standalone Darius episode centering around a man that may have been a muse for Glover to dissect what fame did to artists like Michael Jackson. Glover totally immersed himself in the off-beat character, staying in the wig, lighter skin, smoking jacket, and more while directing the episode, speaking in the weird voice and employing the awkward mannerisms.

That the episode, which ended with Teddy and his brother (father?) meeting their demise in horrific detail further kept the mystery behind the episode, and who/what Teddy was (and represented) that much deeper. An intoxicating character to help explain the frighteningly terrible ways some stars (and people in general) view themselves, and how these views can twist and turn into the macabre. —khal