2023 in Review: 25 of Our Favorite Scene Stealers From Loki, Ted Lasso, Ahsoka, Mrs. Maisel, BEEF and More
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It’s the most wonderful time of the year: the time when we get to shine a spotlight on some of our favorite TV characters who don’t spend much time in the spotlight.
Today, in the latest installment of TVLine’s Year in Review series, we’re honoring the year’s best scene stealers: the supporting characters who pop into a scene and instantly make whatever we’re watching better. 2023 gave us plenty to choose from, too, with intriguing turns from Marvel and Star Wars shows, memorable moments of comic relief on Ted Lasso and Frasier… and we couldn’t resist honoring a certain pop superstar who made watching NFL games this season even more entertaining.
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Read on as we celebrate our favorite sidekicks, best friends and minor characters from Loki, BEEF, The Gilded Age, Never Have I Ever, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies and many more. But we’re betting you have your own list of standout scene stealers, and we want to hear all about them: Be sure to hit the comments below to give your favorites a shout-out.
And still to come in TVLine’s Year in Review: Dumb Things TV Did This Year, Which Streamer Won 2023?, Shows We’re Excited For in 2024 and lots more!
Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati, Ahsoka
One of the TV year’s most dynamic duos, Baylan and his apprentice drew our focus every time they stepped into frame. Ray Stevenson filled the screen with his 6-foot-3 frame and textured voice, while Ivanna Sakhno imbued Shin with a quiet, but explosive, intensity. —Matt Webb Mitovich
Isabel, The Afterparty
Isabel may be judgmental, rude and, well, downright horrible, but every time Elizabeth Perkins entered a scene, we knew we were in for a treat. The actress delivered her acid-tongued lines with the sharpness of a razor, making her character the ultimate Queen B of Edgar and Grace’s wedding. Another bottle of gin for Isabel, please! —Nick Caruso
Paul, BEEF
Danny and Amy’s ever-escalating feud was no joke on Netflix’s riveting limited series, but not to worry: Danny’s baby brother Paul brought the laughs and then some. Paul was a beautifully thick slacker with big dreams and not much motivation to achieve them, and actor Young Mazino broke out in a big way, fashioning Paul into a thoroughly charming lunkhead. He won us over even more when Paul unexpectedly fell for Amy, proving that Paul’s very still intellectual waters ran deeper than we thought. —Dave Nemetz
Mike Gerard, Fatal Attraction
We should all be so lucky as to have a friend like Mike. In Paramount+’s reimagining of the 1987 thriller, Toby Huss’ investigator was so true-blue to pal Dan, even after the extramarital affair that tarnished his halo, that he gave the ex-con a place to crash — complete with gourmet meals along the lines of “rotisserie chicken tetrazzini.” —Charlie Mason
Alan, Frasier
Frasier’s original supporting cast is a very tough act to follow, but British sitcom vet Nicholas Lyndhurst rose to the challenge as Frasier’s perpetually soused professor pal Alan on the Paramount+ revival. Always ready with a quip and looking for his next drink, Alan was every bit Frasier’s intellectual equal, but with an impish eye for mischief that gets Frasier into trouble — and out of his shell, too. We’d gladly share a drink (or a dozen) with him. —D.N.
Mrs. Fish, The Gilded Age
Ashlie Atkinson commanded our attention in a number of supporting roles this year, but no one captivated us more than delicious drama devourer Mrs. Fish, the character with whom we’d probably have the most fun — if only we could afford her. Getting two boxes at competing opera houses just because she can? That’s icon behavior right there. —Andy Swift
Gabriel, Good Omens
We’ll say it straight out: The fact that Jon Hamm’s character made his Season 2 debut wearing only a cardboard box and a confused look is the kind of thing that tends to pull focus. And when you add in the character’s sea change from Season 1 — having memories removed apparently makes previously stern holy beings really goofy — we were pleasantly transfixed every time Gabriel (er, “Jim”) appeared on screen. —Kimberly Roots
Duela, Gotham Knights
Like, how can “the Joker’s daughter” not be a scene stealer? A tough bill to fill, yet Olivia Rose Keegan, working off snappy scripts, rose to the occasion and had us transfixed by Due’s lethal flinging of zingers and supervillainous swagger. —M.W.M.
Frenchy Facciano, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies
They say that there are no small parts, and Madison Elizabeth Lagares proves it. A supporting player in Paramount+’s short-lived (and already missed!) Grease prequel, the actress made a big impression as the future beauty-school dropout. Not only did she nail Didi Conn’s unmistakable voice, she imbued Rizzo’s bestie with an exuberance that never failed to leave us tickled, er, pink. —C.M.
Aunt Elizabeth, The Great
Being a member of the royal family can be a lot of fun, it turns out, and no one had more fun than Peter’s loopy Aunt Elizabeth, brought to life by a perfectly calibrated comedic turn from Belinda Bromilow. Elizabeth’s cheerfully selfish antics and bold sexuality — she had Dr. Vinodel firmly wrapped around her finger, didn’t she? — made her a bubbly joy to behold, and she even got to flash some genuine human emotion while processing the sudden death of her nephew Peter. To Elizabeth’s reign as The Great’s kooky chaos agent, we can only say: Huzzah! —D.N.
Quinn, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series
If you’re going to make it in Hollywood, you have to be a little delusional, and Caitlin Reilly’s credit-hogging director is about as delulu as they come. As far as we’re concerned, the real action started anytime Quinn yelled cut. —A.S.
Tinsley, iCarly
Making her second straight appearance in a TVLine roundup of scene stealers (we included her last year for her work as She-Hulk’s Madisynn), Patty Guggenheim was an invaluable addition to iCarly’s third and final season, serving out-of-touch realness as Harper’s new girlfriend. —A.S.
O.B., Loki
Ke Huy Quan was given the unenviable task of translating Loki’s substantial time-and-space jargon in Season 2, and he became one of the sophomore run’s biggest highlights along the way. The head of Repairs and Advancement at the Time Variance Authority, O.B. was a quirky, earnest delight, whose vast knowledge of quantum physics gave him a compelling authority amid his well-landed punchlines. —Rebecca Iannucci
Shirley, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
All we have to hear is that fantastic foghorn of a voice, and we’re already laughing whenever this meddling mom played by the great Caroline Aaron comes on screen. But Shirley found new ways to surprise us in Season 5, whether deciding to divorce her longtime husband Moishe (!) or showing a tender side while grieving the grandchild she never got from Joel and Mei. She still found time to criticize Midge’s wardrobe during her breakout TV act, though, so we’re happy to say she hasn’t changed much at all. —D.N.
Taylor Swift, NFL game coverage
Taylor Swift graced the NFL with her presence this year, practically breaking TV — and football — by simply showing up. From watching her eat “seemingly ranch” to trying to decipher her conversations with Brittany Mahomes, the pop icon became more interesting to watch than the regular, shmegular pastime unfolding on the field. She not only stole the scene, she also completely transformed what used to be a brute sport into chic performance art! —Claire Franken
Trent Harrison, Never Have I Ever
Look at that face. That hurt, puppy-dog expression. That’s but one of the reasons we so adore Benjamin Norris’ stoner with a heart of gold on the Netflix comedy. Dumped by girlfriend Eleanor and then seemingly by bestie Paxton, too, the “super senior” went through it in the series’ final season. Thankfully, by the time all was said and done, Trent had patched things up with Pax, and Eleanor had declared that she wanted to be with him. Yes, romantically, not like as a team for The Amazing Race; our boy checked. —C.M.
Hagerty, Obliterated
From his quickie wedding to his myriad other shenanigans, C. Thomas Howell’s character kept plenty busy while the rest of his team ran around Las Vegas trying to stop a bomb from leveling the city. We could watch an entire spinoff about his side adventures. —A.S.
Roman, Party Down
Whether trading jabs with Kyle or tripping on mushrooms while on the job, Martin Starr’s Roman reliably elevated every scene he was in. Considering this Party’s exceptional cast, it takes a lot to stand out, but Roman will forever hold a special place in our hearts thanks to his monotone deliveries, outlandish antics and cutting insults. —N.C.
Pepsi, Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip
Oh, Pepsi. We didn’t deserve you! Perhaps the most wholesome man to ever appear on a Real Housewives series, Pepsi brought fun vibes, compassion and real vulnerability to a trip fueled by fabricated friendships and a melodramatic search for a missing tequila bottle. Just when a scene began to drag on during an argument between Gizelle and Heather, or Leah and Heather, or really anyone and Heather, the smallest appearance from Pepsi made it all palatable. —C.F.
Bobby Flanagan, Schmigadoon!
We find Jane Krakowski guilty… of scene-stealing. In the Apple TV+ musical comedy’s second season, her fantabulously vampy take on Chicago’s Billy Flynn left us more than willing to fork over the sawbuck that it cost to retain the lawyer who “stays in the present tense, third person.” She was so over the top, she didn’t even need the bells and whistles — although, of course, she couldn’t resist giving us those, too. —C.M.
Kennedy, Silo
Arguably the deepest cut on our list, this smuggler of relics at first looked to be just a rando caught up in Marnes’ investigation of the mayor’s poisoning. But as Juliet emerged as the main character, Kennedy got more and more involved, and Justified/What About Brian alum Rick Gomez made a meal of every exasperated, paranoid moment. —M.W.M.
Pam, Sistas
Her place of employment may have burned to the ground this season, but Pam (Angela Beyince) still put in plenty of work in her too-few scenes as Karen’s sassy assistant — or as we like to think of her, the sixth Sista. —A.S.
Kitty Dixon, Station 19
Here’s to the lady who (liquid) lunches. The Widow Dixon’s every appearance on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy spinoff was as welcome as the sight of a waiter bringing a wine refill. Boozy, bitchy and altogether bubbleheaded, Tricia O’Kelley’s character was our favorite thing about her asshat husband (may he rest in peace). Fingers crossed that his demise didn’t kill our chances of seeing more of Kitty in the show’s final season. —C.M.
Barbara, Ted Lasso
We had so little time to say goodbye to the beloved Apple TV+ comedy in its third and likely final season that we’d have sworn the last thing it needed was new characters. Until, that is, we met KJPR’s all-business CFO. An alum of the British Ghosts, Katy Wix made such an impression as Keeley’s snow-globe-obsessed foil-turned-friend that we wanted to name her Employee of the Month Episode every episode! —C.M.
Ozzie, That ’90s Show
We’re still not sure if we believe that a gay Asian teen in 1995 suburban Wisconsin would be thinking about coming out to anyone — least of all his new friend’s grandmother! Yet there’s no denying that Reyn Doi was the breakout among Leia Forman’s friend group, giving off BFE (Big Fez Energy) throughout the sequel series’ freshman run. —Ryan Schwartz
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