TVLine's Performers Of The Week: Oscar Isaac And Carey Mulligan

THE PERFORMERS | Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan

THE SHOW | "BEEF"

THE EPISODE | "Those Blue Remembered Hills" (April 16, 2026)

THE PERFORMANCES | By the sixth episode of "BEEF" Season 2, the walls were closing in on Josh (Isaac) and Lindsay (Mulligan), as the soon-to-be divorcées continued squabbling over social media announcements and (what else?) finances. Once news got back to Josh that Lindsay had been seeking advice from an attorney, what once seemed like an amicable parting turned into an ice cold war.

After Josh revealed that he wouldn't sign his contract extension pre-divorce, Lindsay's calm demeanor grew explosive as she hurled insults at him and threatened to have sex with every man at the club. Mulligan's emotions spewed like a geyser, imbuing the scene with desperation, hurt, and rage, all in one short confrontation.

But the pair's best work came later when both characters finally admitted harsh (and depressing) truths about themselves. During a hang with Austin, Josh tripped on bufo and hallucinated every woman he'd ever slept with, along with his dead mom. Pure love and tears washed over Isaac, but as the ladies' faces morphed into his own, the actor's terror-stricken expression made us feel like we were watching an Ari Aster film. (Bufo is so not chill, Austin!) After the comedown, Josh monologued that he "didn't even know how to stand anymore." The actor's delivery broke our hearts as he came clean that life had chipped away at his Achilles' heel and beaten him down. Isaac's portrayal of regret and sorrow for his actions made us rethink everything we thought we knew about Josh up to this point, leaving us even more conflicted than ever before.

Next, it was Mulligan's time to shine. As Lindsay drank champagne with Ashley, Mulligan made us feel as if Lindsay didn't totally despise Ashley for blackmailing her and Josh. She then laid out how she felt immense pain from choosing the wrong person in life. The actress's face sunk as she made a brutal confession: Her marriage, the thing that had given her life so much meaning, was a sham. "Because then what? You're 40 years old without the faintest idea of who you are." The look on her blank face was beyond dejected, as she accepted all the wrong turns she'd taken throughout the years.

At their worst, Josh and Lindsay are a pair of bougie, emotionally manipulative members of high society. To say they don't deserve our pity would be a reasonable statement to make. But Isaac and Mulligan's performances were so raw, real, and grounded that it made us see the characters in a new light. While we may have enjoyed watching Josh and Lindsay's ship sink just a bit too much, these incredible actors made them feel human, and forced us to finally sympathize with their despondency. — Nick Caruso

Rodríguez, whom we've honored for each of the first three seasons of "Will Trent," delivered yet another quietly devastating performance, guiding viewers through the immediate aftermath of Amanda Wagner's shocking death. In the hour's opening moments at the crime scene, he chose to play Will's grief as internalized, almost subdued, and in doing so made every beat land harder. You could feel the weight of what Will lost in his eyes and his posture. This wasn't just his superior; this was his mentor, his guiding light, the woman who nearly adopted him... the closest thing he had to a mother beyond the one he lost at childbirth. That restraint gave way to something sharper when Will confronted the possibility that Amanda's absence was already being treated as a vacancy to fill. Rodríguez let that anger surface as Will confronted Appleyard, believing he was there not to pay his respects but to move into Amanda's office, underscoring just how personal this loss was. It was a precise, emotionally grounded performance that earned every bit of its impact. — Ryan Schwartz

Which performance(s) knocked your socks off this week? Tell us in the comments!