10 Best TV Performances Of 2017 (So Far)

4. Kyle MacLachlan - Twin Peaks: The Return

Kyle MacLachlan is doing something similar to Tatiana Maslany this year, and while he may have fewer characters to embody (three, sort of), he does also have 25 years of expectation and history on his shoulders. That his performance lives up to that, and also manages to completely subvert notions of who Dale Cooper is or what he should be, is a testament to the quality of MacLachlan and his guiding hand (or arm) David Lynch.

Even though we still don't really know where Twin Peaks: The Return is headed, and it's at times been as maddening as it is marvellous, MacLachlan's performance helps keep us glued to screens and invested in the semblance of story we've had thus far.

As BadCoop, the man who played Dale Cooper - one of TV's best good guys - has to become terrifyingly evil. He becomes a menacing agent of darkness; often brutal, occasionally frightening, and always entrancing.

Then there's GoodCoop, who isn't really Cooper at all... yet. Dougie Jones gives MacLachlan a chance to show off his comedic talents, and his Dougie baffles and delights us in equal measure, be it through a distant repeated line delivery, or the sublime physical work he's doing with the character.

Within this, too, is the real Agent Cooper, with MacLachlan gradually layering in just enough of the old Dale to convince us he does still exist somewhere deep down, and the performance should only get better once he truly emerges.