Maria Bello - "Vivian Arliss", Law and Order: Special Victims Unit
Cara Buono - "Dr. Faye Miller", Mad MenKaitlyn Dever - "Loretta McReady", Justified
Karina Logue - "Stephanie Dolworth", Terriers
Gretchen Mol - "Gillian Darmody", Boardwalk Empire
Alfre Woodard - "Ruby Jean Reynolds", True Blood
SVU's various guest appearances can often feel showy and awards-baity, but Bello's performance as an abrasive sort of alternate-reality Olivia was a subtle standout. Some shows with predominantly male ensembles can fumble introducing new female characters (it's something I've always felt Friday Night Lights hasn't done well), but Buono's dynamic performance asserted Dr. Faye as a force to be reckoned with, both as a professional woman in Mad Men's evolving world and as a woman who loves Don but is firmly uninterested in letting him off the hook for his crap. Time will tell whether she will ultimately become an established adult actress, but Kaitlyn Dever's work on Justified this season reminded me a lot of Mia Wasikowska on In Treatment a few years ago. I kept thinking during her appearances that the people casting The Hunger Games might've missed out on an ideal candidate for their leading lady. It's difficult to encapsulate what was so great about Logue's performance as Steph - the delightful rapport with her brother, the hyper-literal interactions with other characters - but I'll say this: she was introduced hiding in her brother's ceiling, stealing food and disappearing like a cat burglar, and that never once felt contrived. Mol handled Gillian with a combination of savvy and world-weariness that made her Boardwalk Empire's most self-assured woman by a mile. Woodard's character was sort of a funhouse-mirror version of what Frances Conroy did in United States of Tara, the mentally ill parent who grants previously unrealized depths to established characters in just minutes of screentime.
Honorable Mention: Kristina Apgar, Detroit 1-8-7; Elizabeth Ashley, Treme; Patricia Bethune, Mad Men; Ellen Burstyn, Big Love; Loretta Devine, Grey's Anatomy; Louise Fletcher, Private Practice; Ana Gasteyer, The Good Wife; Linda Gehringer, Justified; Marcia Gay Harden, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit; Randee Heller, Mad Men; Julia Ormond, Law and Order: Criminal Intent; Adrianne Palicki, Friday Night Lights; Jessica Pare, Mad Men; Melissa Rauch, True Blood; Anika Noni Rose, The Good Wife; Laura San Giacomo, In Plain Sight; Rachael Taylor, Grey's Anatomy; Ally Walker, Sons of Anarchy; Jo Beth Williams, Private Practice; Evan Rachel Wood, True Blood
I wouldn't be surprised to see: Shohreh Aghdashloo, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit; Jane Badler, V; Candice Bergen, House; Joan Cusack, Shameless; Christine Lahti, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit; Marlee Matlin, CSI; Mary McDonnell, The Closer; Sarah Silverman, The Good Wife; Jean Smart, Hawaii 5-O; Julia Stiles, Dexter
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