Collider’s ranking: 12 standout TV characters of the 2020s, from Carmy to Liz

Freelance writer Christine published a Collider piece on Jan. 29, 2026 ranking the 12 greatest TV characters of the 2020s, highlighting standout performances across streaming and broadcast series. She argues the 2020s have been a banner decade for television, with high-budget, character-driven shows that rival films and allow deeper development over multiple episodes, producing memorable characters that have become household names (or should be), according to Collider.

The list pulls examples from across genres: Pedro Pascal’s Joel from The Last of Us, Jenna Ortega’s Gen Z take on Wednesday Addams, Michael C. Hall’s return as Dexter Morgan in Dexter: Resurrection, and Jamie Campbell Bower’s Vecna from Stranger Things are cited in the intro as emblematic figures.

Among the ranked entries, Christine highlights Liz from Shrinking as a hilarious, overbearing neighbor-type (Chrisa Miller’s performance), Deborah Vance from Hacks as a veteran Las Vegas comic navigating a fourth season and an upcoming fifth and final season, Seth Rogen’s Matt Remick in The Studio as a well-meaning studio head out of his depth, and Rebecca Ferguson’s Juliette Nichols in Silo as a fearless engineer and modern sci‑fi hero.

collider ranking 2020s characters, joel the last of us, wednesday jenna ortega, dexter resurrection, vecna stranger things, liz shrinking character, deborah vance hacks, matt remick the studio, juliette nichols silo, carol sturka pluribus, homelander the boys, mark scout severance