We here at TVLine celebrated TV’s Best Performances of the Year last week with a look at the 22 finalists for our annual Performer of the Year award. Now is the time to announce our winner — and rest assured, it wasn’t an easy decision, with so many fantastic actors to choose from. But in the end, we realized that no performance moves us, surprises us, or grabs our attention more than Rhea Seehorn’s final turn as Kim Wexler in You better call Saul.
Seehorn was AMC’s secret weapon breaking Bad prequel for six seasons now, infusing Kim with formidable intelligence and clockwork precision, along with a dash of playful mischief. She absolutely outdid herself SaulKim’s final season, however, as Kim and Jimmy’s plans came to fruition…and then blew up in their faces. The first half of Season 6 was just a warm-up for Seehorn, with Kim going completely to the dark side in her plan to take down Howard (and meet Mike!), and the actress finally landed an expected Emmy nod. since a long time. But the second half was where Seehorn really shone, as an anguished Kim struggled with the guilt she felt for Howard’s murder. Episode 9 featured Seehorn’s best work of the show as Kim abruptly left the bar and parted ways with Jimmy, with Seehorn delivering a masterful speech about how Kim and Jimmy bring out the worst in each other. (She telling Jimmy, “I love you too…but so what?” hit us like a knife to the heart.)
We hoped that wasn’t the last time we’d see Seehorn as Kim Wexler, and we got our wish when she appeared in the black-and-white flash of Jimmy’s post.breaking Bad life. Kim was stuck in brooding suburban purgatory, however, and Seehorn delivered another highlight with a devastating scene where Kim burst into tears on an airport bus after revealing her role in Howard’s death. Luckily, she and Jimmy eventually reunited, sharing a cigarette in jail at SaulThe hugely satisfying series finale, which served as the perfectly bittersweet coda to their complicated love story.
You better call Saul came out on a high note with a brilliantly crafted final season, but perhaps its greatest achievement was letting Seehorn step into the spotlight and earning the accolades it so richly deserves. His finely observed and quietly powerful portrayal of Kim Wexler is an essential part of what made Saul one of the best TV shows of the last decade, and for that, it’s our honor and privilege to have her named Performer of the Year by TVLine. We rest our case.