Performer of the Year: Sarah Snook
It’s been another banner year for great TV performances in 2023, and we had a tough time narrowing them down just to get to a list of 20 finalists for our annual Performer of the Year award, let alone picking a winner. When the dust settled, though, we were left with one singular performance that stood above the rest, leaving us exhilarated, teary-eyed and never less than fascinated. Therefore, it’s our distinct pleasure to announce that TVLine’s Performer of the Year is… Succession star Sarah Snook.
Now Succession fans know that Snook is joined by a deep ensemble of quality actors on HBO’s corporate drama, and we just as easily could be honoring co-stars like Jeremy Strong and Kieran Culkin in this space. But Snook went above and beyond, deepening our understanding of her character Shiv Roy in a myriad of ways and commanding our attention in every frame. As the fourth and final season opened, Shiv was in cutthroat revenge mode, aiming to one-up her imperious dad Logan and firing off plenty of quotable insults along the way. That all changed, though, in Episode 3, when Logan abruptly died, and Shiv was left to reconcile her intensely mixed feelings for her father all at once. Snook was masterful at conveying Shiv’s pain, anger, confusion and love in a whirlwind of an hour, and Shiv offering soothing words of encouragement to her dying father in between sobs might just be Snook’s best work on the series.
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The Roys had to soldier on after Logan’s death, and Snook did, too, with Shiv jockeying for control of the Waystar family empire once the grief wore off. Snook found time to wow us again, though, with a vicious argument between Shiv and her husband Tom in Episode 7. The gloves came off, and Snook and Matthew Macfadyen were both superb as the spouses tore into each other, exchanging cruel put-downs in an explosive war of words. Snook wasn’t done yet, either: She once again reckoned with Shiv’s deeply complex feelings about her father during an emotional eulogy at Logan’s funeral in Episode 9, and then topped it all off with one last standout performance in the series finale, showing us genuine joy when Shiv was clowning around with her brothers and then genuine heartbreak when her dreams of running Waystar came up short and she was forced to play second fiddle to Tom, of all people. (The ultimate indignity.)
We’re still sorry that we had to say goodbye to Succession this year, because the Roy family was so much fun to watch across four seasons. But at least we get to give some final kudos to Snook on the way out — because with the immense heart and brains and savvy she brought to Shiv’s swan song, she richly deserves them.
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