THE ARTIST | Alan Cumming
THE SHOW | peacock Traitors
THE EPISODE | “The Grand Finale” (January 12, 2023)
THE PERFORMANCE | It’s rare that we honor a reality TV host as this week’s top performer, but then again, most reality TV hosts aren’t the fabulous Cumming.
In Peacock’s new contest series, the actor took on a dazzling personality as he led players through a treacherous game of lies and deception. Cumming served his finest “murder mystery dinner host,” a character who was both carefree spectator and cheeky commentator. His laissez-faire attitude and witty one-liners were the whipped topping and icing placed on his performative sundae, as he transcended mere hosting duties. Make no mistake: he came to entertain.
In the high-stakes finale, the actor put his West End and Broadway talents to work, adding heaps of flair and tricky comedic timing to his role. Donned in the finest Scottish fashion – which included traditional kilts, berets and more – Cumming mastered the game’s final round table and ceremonies like a modern-day Willy Wonka. Every line he spoke (Julius Caesar, anyone?) and the gesture he offered was over the top, welcoming camp and theater at every turn. From tongue-in-cheek monologues to enacting fire-lit final eliminations, the actor has gone from melodramatic flourishes to seriously earnest demeanor. After all, in the end, a quarter-million-dollar giveaway didn’t make the show’s contestants laugh.
The show could have hired anyone to host this Traitor-ous case, but employing an actor of Cumming’s caliber was a bold move that paid off. Not only did he apparently have fun galvanizing around the 19th-century castle that was his stage, but his energy was both captivating and infectious. And we certainly couldn’t say that about any TV host.
HONORABLE MENTION | In just half an hour of screen time in The last of us‘ premiere, Nico Parker captured our hearts deeply…then shattered them into a thousand pieces. The young actress admitted to feeling the stress of waiting while filming her part of the HBO series, which is understandable: Sarah, Joel’s doomed daughter, is loved by those who played the video game on which the series is based. But Parker needn’t have worried. Within a few scenes, she easily established Sarah as a sunny, self-reliant teenager who deeply loved her father. And when Outbreak Day hit, her wide eyes and hesitant dialogue clearly showed the character’s growing fear and horror at everything unfolding (and exploding!) around her. The moment she clutched at co-star Pedro Pascal’s shirt, crying and screaming in pain from Sarah’s life-threatening injury, it became official: Parker is a star in the making.
HONORABLE MENTION | It seems like ages ago that Dr. Randolph Bell was the residentis arrogant and intimidating Big Bad – and yet, in the able hands of Bruce Greenwood, this now compassionate and tender version of the character remains every bit as compelling as he was during those villainous days. In Tuesday’s (series?) finale, Greenwood showed us quite a few different bells: a distraught grandfather, terrified by the return of his young granddaughter’s cancer; a no-frills surgeon furious to learn that a colleague operated on drugs; and a cautiously optimistic multiple sclerosis patient forced to contemplate the next stage of life with a chronic disease. Greenwood shifted emotional gears easily, allowing us to marvel once again at how far Bell has come and how beautifully Greenwood portrayed his redemption.
HONORABLE MENTION | Here’s the thing about Brian Dietzen and Katrina Law big stage to NCIS: All of us knew where it was going. An earlier exchange made it clear that Jimmy was quietly struggling to get Jess to share movie night with him and his daughter. And yet, Dietzen and Law – who imbued this relationship with such sweetness and sincerity – took this material by heart and raised that’s done painfully real. Jesse is So louder than when Law’s chin begins to quiver as he approaches the “last bridge” that widower Jimmy must cross, the one that will “hurt the most”, you knew the magic of the game was happening. Dietzen in turn did so much with Jimmy’s reactions, and maybe made you think he’d keep a good game face. But when Jimmy spoke, Dietzen’s voice cracked so he nodded “it’s so hard”. all bets were off. And all the tears came.
Which performance(s) made you crack up this week? Tell us in the comments!