9 TV Characters Who Deserve the Spotlight in 2019
Aaron (The Walking Dead)
Since he’s basically turning into the comic’s version of Rick Grimes, shouldn’t he get some increased screentime to go with his new look? Aaron’s been around since the show’s fifth season, though his amount of lines and minutes on-screen have varied wildly since then. He’s bound to be deeply affected by the loss of Jesus, and that seems like a perfect way to explore Aaron’s character and give him a little more time to shine.
Gina Linetti (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
Gina’s inclusion is less of a suggestion and more of a hope. Chelsea Peretti has confirmed that she’ll no longer be a series regular on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which means the 99th precinct will soon be without its sarcastic, wise secretary (or at least, she won’t be around in the same capacity). In order to get our Gina fix before she departs for good, let’s hope this season’s episodes until her departure feature her front and center — right where she’d want to be.
Eric Jackson (The 100)
Season 5 saw Dr. Jackson starting to emerge from Abby’s shadow, and we hope Season 6 will give him even more time to shine. Jackson’s starting to have his own storyline outside medical and caring for his reckless-for-the-right-reasons boss, and now that there’s a whole new world to be explored, let’s hope The 100 will also explore new plotlines that let Jackson make new friends and explore his backstory.
Alicia Clark (Fear The Walking Dead)
While Alicia isn’t neglected on Fear by any means, as the last surviving member of the Clark family, one would think she’d get a little more time to shine. If Fear really isn’t bringing Madison back, Alicia and Strand — at least until Daniel and Troy return — are viewers’ only connection to the first three seasons. There’s nothing wrong with adding new characters, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of the ones the audience knows and loves, and at times, last season’s screentime and storylines felt weighted toward the newbies.
Tahani Al-Jamil (The Good Place)
Of the core four humans in The Good Place, it seems like Tahani had the least to do during the past half-season. While she did make up with her sister and almost get married to a “lesser-known Hemsworth,” she certainly hasn’t had the hefty storylines of Eleanor or Chidi, or the memorable family history that is Donkey Doug. It’d be great to see more of her in the show’s remaining episodes.
Brienne of Tarth (Game of Thrones)
While she’s not quite at the center of the Stark/Lannister/Targaryen/Night King brawl, Brienne is staunchly loyal to the Starks — now it’d be great to see her fighting for them. She didn’t have a whole lot to do during Thrones‘ seventh season, though what she did was important (i.e. talking some sense into Jaime Lannister). No, she’s not a main character on the level of Jon Snow or Daenerys Targaryen, but we can hope to see her get some expanded scenes before the show concludes.
Althea (Fear The Walking Dead)
Whether or not Fear will ever address the pressing question of how she got her badass SWAT tank, the fact remains that Althea is a walking question mark — there are tons of things about her that haven’t been explained, so it’d be interesting to get more information about her character (and a look at those tapes, which seemed to include interviews with Eugene and Abraham). With her journalistic recordings likely at the center of next season’s main storyline, it certainly seems possible she’ll get a bigger role.
Abby Griffin (The 100)
Abby had a decent amount of screentime last season, but most — if not all — of it was hard to watch. Her addiction storyline was important, but that didn’t make it pleasant viewing; often, it seemed like her story was being framed by others’ reactions to her rather than her own struggle. In Season 6, it’d be great to see her continuing to heal and getting to spend time with her daughter (and granddaughter) in a major storyline that isn’t predominantly constructed around her suffering.
Elena Felton (Killing Eve)
She may not have been the center of Killing Eve, but Elena was always fun to watch. Her sense of humor was unique and hilarious, and she often provided much-needed advice for Eve as she worked to track down Villanelle. Let’s hope Elena’s still involved in the hunt for the escaped assassin.
Sometimes too much of a good thing can ruin it, but in the case of these characters, we’re begging for more.
Whether they’re a main character who deserves a break, a side character who deserves more time to shine or a new character who deserves a backstory, we’re hoping to see each of these fictional favorites come into their own when the next episodes of their shows start up in 2019.
Click through our gallery above to see our picks for TV characters who deserve the spotlight next year!
