8 Reasons You Must Watch HBO's The Leftovers

Despite just going into depth about the cast, Carrie Coon absolutely deserves her own entry on this list. Without a doubt, the greatest leading performance in a television show of all time, Coon is an absolute powerhouse performer that is at the heart of all of The Leftovers' best and most powerful performances.

Coon plays Nora Durst who lost not only her husband in the Sudden Departure but her two young children as well. This kind of backstory sets her up with the most tragic foundations of any character on the show and a great deal of time is dedicated to Nora struggling with allowing herself to live now that her family is gone.

Coon only has one scene in the pilot episode and is very much a supporting character throughout most of the first season. That changes once episode six focuses solely on Nora showcasing the kind of talent Coon has. After that, she makes an incredibly natural shift into leading lady status and dominates the rest of the show.

A committed and unfiltered performance, Coon will break your heart in one scene and make you cheer in the next. Her unrivalled sass and aggression makes her fearsome but her vulnerable streak makes her sympathetic. Nora is a perfectly written character but, it is Carrie Coon who gives the performance of a lifetime.