The worlds of TV and film gave us some incredible adventures in 2024. We explored the grimy depths of Gotham, the apocalyptic wasteland of an alternate Earth, and so much more. While a well-crafted world and compelling stories are key ingredients to a series or movie that fans will gravitate towards, all of that is nothing without the right characters in place. They are our audience surrogates, the figures that strike fear, or beings that speak to who we are, either individually or collectively. Their character arcs are the binding force that hold it all together and make us want to watch that show to see what they are doing next or dive into that movie again and again. It’s nearly impossible to write about every single awesome character in 2024, but we at Nerdist chose a few of our faves to give them some needed love.
Death (Tuesday)
Writer-director Daina O. Pusić’s debut film Tuesday is a poignant, funny, mesmerizing, original movie. All of those adjectives also describe one of the film’s main characters, Death. While versions of the Grim Reaper have appeared in stories for as long as humans have told them, Tuesday’s is unlike any of his predecessors. For one, he’s a shape-shifting macaw. And despite meeting every person who has ever lived at the end of their time on Earth Death is still fascinated by the living. He’s also lonely, compassionate, and hilarious.
What truly elevates the character to one of 2024’s best is Arinzé Kene’s performance as the voice of Death. Even when both the film and its unusual bird are at their weirdest, he imbues the character with a humanity that lifts Death from being just a symbol or a job into a fully-realized character we care about even as we hate what it must ultimately do. -Mikey Walsh
Zuko (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
Zuko has been one of the best characters ever for generations. And so, taking on the role of Zuko in the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series this year was no easy feat. But it was such a beautiful thing to watch Dallas Liu breathe new life into a beloved figure. Liu nailed absolutely everything that makes Zuko so loveable in the cartoon. One of the best parts about Zuko as a character is how often you want to shake him while at the same time having a great deal of affection for him. And Dallas Liu NAILED creating this impulse in viewers in the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender.
But beyond that, Liu actually enhanced Zuko in many ways, which I might have thought an unbelievable feat before witnessing this performance. Zuko’s backstory, familial relationships, and complicated understanding of honor and patriotism have always ached. But Liu made me cry on more than one occasion, as he brought Zuko’s vulnerability, his strong desire to do right by his nation, and his ill-fated love of his family a new kind of humanity. I wouldn’t say Zuko was more fleshed out in the live-action, but he was allowed new and different moments, and they all sang. Zuko has always been one of the best characters ever, but now he gets to be one of the best characters of 2024 as well. -Ro Rusak
Tashi Duncan (Challengers)
It really was a Challengers summer as the film took the internet by storm and brought back the game and fashion of Tennis. Of course, the most iconic character in Challengers is the once-rising tennis star Tashi Duncan, who had both male protagonists, Art and Patrick, fighting for affection and attention. Tashi wasn’t the nicest, but she was definitely the smartest. She was a good player on and off the court, playing with both Art and Patrick to live the life she wanted to live through them.
Director Luca Guadagnino really showed Tashi as a master manipulator who knew how to push people’s buttons. And don’t even get me started on Zendaya’s performance, which gives Tashi emotional depth. Tashi wasn’t a hero or villain; she was layered with complex themes of broken aspirations, love, betrayal, and ambition. They loved each other and her, but she just loved the game. If she won in the end is still something to ponder. -Vishu Reddy
Jennifer Kale (Agatha All Along)
Like many Marvel fans, I thought that Agatha All Along would be a “just okay” fan service of a show that came out two years too late. And, like many Marvel fans, I was wrong. I fell in love with journey down, down, down the road, down the Witches’ Road. Every character resonated with me in some way, like Lilia’s connection to tarot and her ancestors, and they were all fantastic. But I was personally rooting for Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata), an alchemist witch from a long line of rootworkers and social media maven. Jen appeared to have it all together externally but was fighting an internal battle as she sought to regain her powers.
That desire to regain what’s been lost, to find completion, and to face her fears hit me harder than expected. Her sharp wit, sarcasm, and that powerful moment when she takes back her power and condemns Agatha is phenomenal. She is the one who truly gains what she sought from the Witches’ Road and gets to fly off towards a bolder and brighter future. Jen captured so many fans hearts and we cannot wait to see how she impacts the MCU’s future. -Tai Gooden
Adar (The Rings of Power)
To my very great dismay, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power recast my favorite character, Adar, after season one of the series. “I shall never love again,” I proclaimed very dramatically and waited for what I felt was certain disappointment to arrive in season two. But happily, I could not have been more wrong about how I’d feel about Adar’s second incarnation, whom I fondly refer to as Stepdadar. Sam Hazeldine’s Adar brought back everything I loved about Adar as a character from the first season—his softness, his deep, deep pain, and a baked-in, critical understanding that Adar is NOT a villain, as he might be misconstrued to be, but an incredibly heroic character, however dark. Hazeldine’s new iteration of the Uruk-father brought a novel kind of appealing charisma to the table, one that made his scenes shine regardless of their length or scene partner in any given episode.
I’m completely un-objective, but I feel I can say with total certainty that Adar was THE standout character in season two of The Rings of Power. As I always like to say, Adar’s journey is a noble one, corrupted, and, as such, no aspect of the character is simple. Adar draws us in with his complicated assertions about his children, his tangled-up feelings for Sauron, and his tense dance with Galadriel. He keeps us in with flashes of heart that are undeniable. Many characters are motivated by power, legacy, and reputation in The Rings of Power, but Adar was only ever been motivated by love. For 3,000 more words about why Adar is the best, you can check out my ode to the character here. Otherwise, I’ll say it is my great honor to call Adar one of the best characters of 2024 and probably the favorite character of my life. – Ro Rusak
Sofia Falcone (The Penguin)
Cristin Milioti fans already knew how talented she was before The Penguin, but now everyone knows she’s one of the best actresses in the world. On a show full of big characters with big personalities, the fiery, vengeful Sofia Falcone crackled with an infectious energy in every scene, in a massively challenging role that involved a major character transformation.
Milioti’s stunning, compelling, nuanced performance turned the overlooked and mistreated Sofia into one of Gotham’s most interesting and powerful figures ever. She brought an unnerving and captivating tension to the show by successfully walking the finest of lines between sanity and madness. In a world full of flashy superheroes and showy supervillains, she stole The Penguin’s spotlight by creating a character that felt grounded and real even while she also felt larger than life. -Mikey Walsh
Sister Sage (The Boys)
In The Boys‘ world full of dangerous supes and diabolical deeds, you wouldn’t think someone like Sister Sage could have a major impact. But oh does she completely change the game as Homelander’s confidante and an absolute agent of chaos who just happens to be the smartest person in the universe. Sister Sage, played to perfection by Susan Heyward, turned Vought and the America’s government system into her own game of chess, fanning the flames of an ongoing supe war and manipulating everyone like pawns on a board. Her ability to stand fearlessly in front of powerful figures and scarily powerful supes and to quickly send anyone who rose against her into a mental spiral was endlessly entertaining.
The best part is she does this purely for the satisfaction of wielding quiet power and, well, because she simply can. The world is now in the palm of her hands as she weaves a web of anarchy and disorder that threatens to dismantle everything this version of America has built so far. Sage doesn’t care about humans nor being liked and it is quite the pleasure to watch a Black woman in this pivotal role. A calculating and Machiavellian antagonist, she is THE best new character across TV and film, period. -Tai Gooden
Lestat (Interview with the Vampire)
As fans of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire know, the character of Lestat is disposed of by his fledglings Louis and Claudia at the end of the first half of the book/movie. He then all but disappears for the second act. But the creators of AMC’s Interview with the Vampire couldn’t sideline scene-stealer Sam Reid for the majority of season two. So the team got creative and had Reid play a Lestat who is a manifestation of Louis’ guilty conscience.
In season two, this “Jiminy Cricket” Lestat is sassier, funnier, and more insightful than his flesh-and-blood counterpart. Once again, he steals every scene he’s in. And then Sam Reid shows up for the final two episodes as the real Lestat, and delivers a top-notch performance there too. In a season that was mostly dark and depressing, Sam Reid brought the fun. – Eric Diaz
The Ghoul (Fallout)
I knew I would like The Ghoul from the moment I saw him in the trailers for Prime Video’s Fallout; he’s just my kind of guy. But the actuality of this character was even better than the perception. Walton Goggins slipped into the noseless, remorseless figure and became something absolutely wonderful. The Ghoul has been carved into the being that he is through the harsh, terrible circumstances that he’s survived. He’s one of the few characters to have lived so long in Fallout’s world, and in his heart, he carries distant memories of love and a time before disaster.
And yet, those parts of him, though very salient to the viewer, who gets to see him exist in flashbacks, are locked away deep inside The Ghoul. And still, despite the harshness with which he now carries himself to survive, there’s a softness somewhere in there that glimmers out in subtle moments. And at the end of the day, The Ghoul isn’t a bad guy, not really, and he’s definitely won the hearts of viewers. A big thumbs up to one of our best characters of the year, The Ghoul. -Ro Rusak
Anxiety (Inside Out 2)
Inside Out 2 brought a slew of new emotions to the well-known crew in Riley’s mind, but by far, the most relatable had to be Anxiety. Okay, they did kind of make a mess of things throughout the film, but they just wanted to be prepared for anything!! Anxiety was a real portrayal of how emotions can get the best of us sometimes and how that’s okay. Anxiety wasn’t villainized in the film like we often do in real life. In moderation, she helps Riley just like the other emotions. Anxiety reminded kids and adults alike that we all need to give ourselves a little grace sometimes because even the emotions we fear the most have an important place in us. -Vishu Reddy
