Claire Danes - "Carrie Mathison", Homeland
Michelle Dockery - "Lady Mary Crawley", Downton Abbey
Julianna Margulies - "Alicia Florrick", The Good Wife
Elisabeth Moss - "Peggy Olson", Mad Men
Madeleine Stowe - "Victoria Grayson", Revenge
Kerry Washington - "Olivia Pope", Scandal
I've liked Danes for a long time*, but I don't think I realized that she had a character like Carrie in her. Her nervy energy made Carrie immediately distinctive and showed very early on in the season that the terrorist mystery wasn't Homeland's only draw. Mary Crawley might be my current favorite television character - I'm fascinated by her continual inability to act in favor of her own self interest, and I like how Dockery lets Mary's frustration with herself simmer just under her restrained surface. Margulies helped give more shape to the world of The Good Wife as Alicia took a step back to evaluate her relationships with her friends, family and coworkers. Moss' performance in the fifth season of Mad Men was a great slow burn, showing not only Peggy's growing discontent but her attempts to sweep it under the rug to keep up appearances and to try to save her relationship with Don. I keep using the phrase "classic soap" when I talk about Revenge, but that's just because it felt somehow refreshing to see that actors like Stowe could still embody that mode of melodramatic serial storytelling and produce a real diva turn. Washington made Scandal's claims of Olivia's power and capability feel like they weren't hyperbolic, and the show's puzzle pieces of people and relationships fell into place around her strong center.
*This is a digression, but as I first observed some time ago, repeat viewings of the 1994 version of Little Women at a young, impressionable age undoubtedly have an impact here. I sort of alluded to it in the unsubmitted post, but recent viewings have really made me appreciate Danes' work as Beth March and how much it avoids stereotypical sentimentality.
Honorable Mentions: Glenn Close, Damages; Emily Deschanel, Bones; Mireille Enos, The Killing; Katie LeClerc, Switched at Birth; Vanessa Marano, Switched at Birth; Jessica Pare, Mad Men; Ellen Pompeo, Grey's Anatomy; Katey Sagal, Sons of Anarchy; Anna Torv, Fringe; Emily VanCamp, Revenge
I wouldn't be surprised to see: Kathy Bates, Harry's Law; Mariska Hargitay, Law and Order: SVU; Marg Helgenberger, CSI; Taraji P. Henson, Person of Interest; Elizabeth McGovern, Downton Abbey; Debra Messing, Smash
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