10 Best TV Performances Of 2017 (So Far)

5. Neil Patrick Harris - A Series Of Unfortunate Events

14 years after the movie, and 11 years after the final book, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events was finally given the adaptation it deserves thanks to Netflix. It nailed the spirit and tone of the books, and laid plenty of breadcrumbs for the future, but the star of the show was undoubtedly Neil Patrick Harris.

He gives a wonderfully wicked turn as the dastardly Count Olaf, serving as the series' ace card. Harris' sense of the theatrical comes to the fore, nailing both aspects of Olaf's character: he's a megalomaniacal thespian, plus an evil villain, and NPH blends both elements perfectly. He's OTT, sarcastic, constantly mugging, and also does a superb job of being a good actor playing an atrocious one, slipping into Olaf's various disguises without losing the Count underneath.

What's more, though - and what really makes him a step above Jim Carrey's version - is the sense of danger he presents. He is on the one hand cartoonish, but Harris balances that with a believable threat that he would indeed kill these children and anyone else who gets in his way, giving him an unnerving edge expertly juxtaposed with the more flamboyant aspects of the character.