This year brought us a lot of great television—and with it, some of the most compelling characters in recent memory. There were silent-but-sweet teenage crushes; sharp-tongued Southern charmers; and sassy heroes with hearts of gold. In truth, there were so many intriguing fictional personalities played by big-name stars and newcomers alike that choosing the best TV characters of 2025 was almost impossible.
Almost, but not totally. Because despite the abundance of standout TV characters this year, a few were nothing short of unforgettable—characters whose scenes didn’t just make their shows addictively watchable, but also created moments that reverberated culturally. Here, a roundup of our favorites.
Carol Sturka, Pluribus
The near-future thriller Pluribus has all the makings of an addictive watch: alien invasion, zombie apocalypse, and a viral outbreak that makes everyone way more helpful and united. It also has one of the best new characters on television in Rhea Seehorn’s snarky romance author Carol Sturka. She’s one of only 13 people in the world who hasn’t been infected by the weird virus—and maybe one of the only ones who really doesn’t want to be. She’s the embodiment of a moral paradox: channeling outward strength while inwardly eroding.
Deborah Vance, Hacks
Four seasons in, Hacks proves that Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) is still one of television’s most intriguing creations: an aging comedian who wields wit the way others wield weaponry and refuses to be eclipsed. But Deborah’s brilliance isn’t so much in her jokes or even her delivery; it’s in the unflinching way she transmutes humiliation into reinvention, time and time again.
Esther Roklov, Nobody Wants This
Hot Rabbi Noah (Adam Brody) and Joanne (Kristen Bell) usually get all the attention, but in Season 2, Nobody Wants This’s supporting cast may just have gotten the biggest laughs—shout out to Morgan (Justine Lupe), Sasha (Timothy Simons), and “my girl Bina” (Tovah Feldshuh). However, it was seeing the softer side of Esther (Jackie Tohn) that stole our hearts. We couldn’t help but root for her as she vulnerably questioned her marriage, her dreams, and her bangs—without losing her trademark toughness along the way.
Sophie O’Neil, The Hunting Wives
Choosing a favorite character from The Hunting Wives is really a matter of personal preference: do you lean toward Malin Akerman’s small-town Texas bad girl, Margo, or Brittany Snow’s troubled, East Coast liberal, Sophie? Though Margo may stand out for her dark complexity, our money’s on Sophie, who can’t help but fascinate: She’s self-aware enough to sense the danger in her new town’s privilege and glamour, but human enough to be seduced by it anyway. Plus, it’s delightful to watch her outfits progress from basic Bostonian to Southern sweetheart over the course of eight fast episodes.
Victoria Ratliff, The White Lotus
Season 3 of The White Lotus gave us plenty of excellent characters: Aimee Lou Wood’s Chelsea, Patrick Schwarzenegger’s Saxon, Walton Goggins’s Rick. But as the overly entitled matriarch of her North Carolinian clan, Parker Posey’s Victoria Ratliff was the one nobody could stop talking about. She was the kind of ridiculously wealthy woman you kind of want to hate—but she was just too darn funny not to be utterly obsessed with. With her sing-song Southern accent (say it with me: Tsu-naah-mi) and her perfect caftans, she managed to be indelibly outrageous without ever veering wholly into caricature, even as she was turning her nose up at the rest of the White Lotus guests and popping lorazepams like they were Tic Tacs. “I just don’t think at this age I’m meant to live an uncomfortable life,” she says at the end of the series, even though her husband is literally about to blow his brains out—and somehow the sentiment feels weirdly relatable.
Tommy Norris, Landman
Set amid the scorching oil fields of West Texas, Landman is filled with misogyny and misaligned masculinity. But somehow, Billy Bob Thornton’s grizzled portrayal of middleman Tommy Norris (along with Demi Moore’s Cami and Ali Larter’s Angela, of course) in Season 2 makes it irresistible. As everything around him blows up—oil rigs, romances, and roughnecks—he maintains an aspirational level of good-hearted cool.
Matt Remick, The Studio
Anyone who loves satire and cringe will love Seth Rogen’s Matt Remick, a sharp but insecure producer doing his darnedest to make iconic Hollywood movies—only to find out that sometimes, the work is better without him. The performance is pure Rogen: perpetually stunned, hilariously frustrating, and yet totally lovable.
Conrad Fisher, The Summer I Turned Pretty
Even if you’re not Team Conrad (…), you have to admit that Season 3 belongs to Christopher Briney. It brings his whole character into sharper focus: His fear of being unlovable, his quiet heartbreak, his newfound ability to communicate his inner world. Olivia Petter’s description of him sums it up: “Sweet, gentle, and emotionally engaged Conrad. A man so artfully crafted through the female lens that part of the addictive agony of watching TSITP is knowing that he does not exist, while hoping that he might.” He’s just impossible not to crush on.
