Vote for 2016’s Best TV Scene-Stealer
It’s time for the Yahooies, Yahoo TV’s second annual reader-voted awards honoring the best — and sometimes worst — of 2016. Each day through Dec. 16, we will announce the nominees for one category, with an accompanying poll. The winners will be crowned Monday Dec. 19.
The nominees for 2016’s Best Scene-Stealer are:
Brian Tyree Henry as Paper Boi (Atlanta)
As the cousin and close pal of Donald Glover’s Earn, Henry so fully inhabits the role of the rapping, usually high Paper Boi, he thoroughly deconstructs the usual pop culture stereotypes of what a hip-hop artist might be like. Hard when he has to be, Alfred — Paper Boi’s real name — is also a sensitive soul and a rigorous thinker. This was made most clear in the Oct. 11 episode “B.A.N.,” Glover’s showcase for Paper Boi as a guest on a Charlie Rose-style talk show, but Henry’s shrewd skills compelled you to watch him in even his smallest scenes or when this Boi seemed to be nodding off. We learned that Paper Boi — and Henry — are always on high alert. —Ken Tucker
Bella Ramsey as Lyanna Mormont (Game of Thrones)
Despite only appearing in three scenes during the course of Game of Thrones’ seventh season, the 10-year-old leader of tiny House Mormont made a big impression. Wise beyond her years with a backbone of pure Dragonglass, Lyanna capably stood up to Sansa Stark, Ramsay Bolton, and the adult heads of more populous houses. And, hey, Jon Snow now has a top secret weapon in his looming battle against the White Walkers: Lyanna’s death stare. —Ethan Alter
Liza Weil as Paris Geller (Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life)
If anyone deserves any sort of awards recognition for A Year in the Life, it is Liza Weil for Paris’s epic meltdown about Doyle, Tristan, her children, her career, her general insecurities, and Francie in the Chilton bathroom. She, even more than the titular girls, hasn’t lost a step in dishing out that signature GG rapid-fire dialogue, and her physical comedy is on point. Best overall moment of “Spring”: Paris keeping others out of the Chilton bathroom by shutting the door with her stiletto-ed foot. —Kimberly Potts
Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Jason and Negan (The Good Wife and The Walking Dead)
TV fans have long known that JDM’s smirks smolder, his stubble is sexy, and his wit and sass are simultaneously alluring and aggravating. Also that he wears the hell out of a leather jacket both on air and IRL. But in 2016, he took that charm to a whole new level, using his power for both good and evil, as two wildly different characters on two totally different shows. As Jason, Alicia’s new freelance investigator, he wasn’t big on planning, signing things, or following the rules — he was disbarred for punching a judge — but he was flirty, loyal, made us laugh, and eventually sweet-talked his way into his employer’s bed and heart.
As Negan, the bat-swinging sadistic Saviors leader, he takes innocuous things like whistling, nursery rhymes, and corny phrases such as “easy peasy lemon squeezy” and supercharges them with fear, intimidation, and viciousness. He rules with an iron fist, demands discipline and devotion, and has no problem doling out twisted punishments that never end, including scarring faces forever with hot irons, taking your wife as his own, or killing someone you love while you watch (Glenn, #neverforget!). —Carrie Bell
The Cat (The Night Of)
You don’t have to be a cat person to fall head over tail for the feline star of HBO’s acclaimed crime drama. Grumpy lawyer John Stone sure as heck isn’t. Reluctantly rescuing murder victim Andrea Cornish’s pet from certain death at the city pound, this cat loather miraculously becomes a cat lover — or at least a cat tolerator — after a few months in the kitty’s presence. Someone get him a subscription to Catster pronto. —EA
Sam Richardson as Richard (Veep)
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: In a show brimming with insults and cynicism, Richard remains a beacon of unflappable kindness and aloofness, the light that helps us tolerate the darkness of everyone else’s soul (especially Jonah’s). Sure, it looked like he could be of genuine help in Season 5 with his background in recount procedures in the West, but the beautiful thing about Richard is when we learn that he, more than anyone, has interests outside of politics. He’s a film aficionado (“Amy, what are your top 5 favorite De Niro movies? And you can’t say Meet the Parents, ’cause that’s automatically No. 1), opera is apparently his passion, and who knew he could chop wood? —Mandi Bierly
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