Cooper Koch, Keri Russell, and the best Netflix performances of 2024

It's time to just say it: 2024 was a great year for Netflix shows and movies. Whether you'd like to admit it or not, the streaming service released some of the year's most talked about and most watched content that had far reaching impacts beyond our own personal reviews. Netflix has constantly driven pop culture forward, but this year more than ever, the streamer was the driving force.

Part of what made Netflix's shows and movies so massively popular in 2024, beyond the compelling stories and bingeable nature of the content, was the performances of the talented stars. There were revelatory performances by newcomers and dependably amazing performances by established stars we know and love. In equal measure, they made these shows the ones worth bingeing in 2024.

While we would love to spotlight every single actor and actress that left us stunned this year, there are three particular performances that stand out most from Netflix titles this year: Cooper Koch in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Keri Russell in The Diplomat season 2, and Ambika Mod in One Day. But there over 20 more performances listed below that deserve celebration!

Cooper Koch in Monsters

Prior to Ryan Murphy's second installment of the Monster anthology series premiering in September, Cooper Koch was a relative newcomer. The 28-year-old actor had only appeared in a pair of smaller horror movies before landing his breakthrough role as Erik Menendez in The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. But now, we're surely going to be seeing a lot more of him after his Emmy worth performance.

Alongside his on-screen brother Nicholas Alexander Chavez, Koch had quite the demanding role to navigate. The actors clearly took great care in portraying the Menendez Brothers, even when the series wound up the subject of controversy for some of its content. Koch carried the emotional weight of Erik's trauma, especially in the one-take acting masterclass that is episode 5.

Every year, there are multiple breakout stars who become the "internet's boyfriend" for a few months, and Koch was among the actors who charmed us all in 2024. He's a star and should easily earn an Emmy nomination and possible win for his memorable (in more ways than one) and haunting performance in Monsters. We can't wait to see what he does next!

Keri Russell in The Diplomat

After winning a Golden Globe Award for Felicity and earning three Emmy nominations for her work in The Americans, it feels like The Diplomat has proven to be Keri Russell's real time to shine. Her victory lap to let us all know, "Hey, I'm actually one of the greats." That's likely not her intention, since she's a humble goddess, but that's the resounding message of her unmissable performance.

As Kate Wyler in Netflix's political drama The Diplomat, Russell is confident and fearless and vulnerable. She has been all of these things in shows and movies in the past, but it's simply magnified here in a role that wouldn't be nearly as gripping if she were played by another actress. Russell gets Kate's rough edges and inhabits them in way that still makes her oddly likable.

The Diplomat season 2 increased its excellence, and that's in due part of Russell sinking her teeth even further into her messy character. As a diplomat engrained in political affairs, Kate must be the smartest person in the room at all times. Russell sells the dense dialogue and the chaotic choreography of Kate's day-to-day. Please, at some point, award Russell for this all-time performance!

Ambika Mod in One Day

As the year quickly passed by with more and more hit series, limited series, and movies, there was a hit Netflix miniseries that managed to get lost in the shuffle. One Day, an adaptation of the David Nicholls book of the same name, released in February 2024. Audiences adored the tragic romantic drama, but it soon became overshadowed by bigger and buzzier titles.

However, we shouldn't allow the year to end without highlighting the incredible work of Ambika Mod in the series' co-leading role. The British actress previously appeared in the BBC One miniseries This Is Going to Hurt in 2022, but One Day arrived as Mod's breakthrough role, and wow, did she deliver. As Emma Morely, she hits all of the necessary notes as a woman coming of age in a complicated relationship.

Mod's on-screen counterpart, The White Lotus breakout Leo Woodall, also delivered what's definitely one of the year's best performances. Together, Mod and Woodall are an unbeatable pairing with chemistry to spare. They both go hand in hand, but since One Day served as Mod's introduction to most global audiences, we'd be remiss to not toast her unforgettable talent.

Best performances in Netflix shows 2024:

• Allison Janney in The Diplomat
• Andrew Scott in Ripley
• Colman Domingo in The Madness
• Dakota Fanning in The Perfect Couple
• Keira Knightley in Black Doves
• Kristen Bell and Adam Brody in Nobody Wants This
• Leo Woodall in One Day
• Nicholas Alexander Chavez in Monsters
• Renée Elise Goldsberry in Girls5eva
• Richard Gadd, Jessica Gunning, Nava Mau in Baby Reindeer
• Sofia Vergara in Griselda

Best performances in Netflix movies 2024:

• Aaron Pierre in Rebel Ridge
• Angelina Jolie in Maria
• Anna Kendrick in Woman of the Hour
• Danielle Deadwyler in The Piano Lesson
• Glen Powell in Hit Man
• Jessica Alba in Trigger Warning
• John David Washington in The Piano Lesson
• Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez in Emilia Pérez
• Kerry Washington in The Six Triple Eight
• Natasha Lyonne, Carrie Coon, Elizabeth Olsen in His Three Daughters