From network comedies to Netflix dramas, 2015 is off to a promising start for television. Many of the best shows have been aided by breakthrough performances by new or underrated actors. Some thespians just have a penchant for milking every second of their screen time and leaving viewers wanting more.

With the spring television season coming to a close (as though that means anything anymore — thanks Netflix), let’s take a look at five breakout stars of 2015.

Constance Wu

Fresh Off the Boat

Fresh Off the Boat, ABC’s new comedy about an Asian-American family, debuted this year as a solidly funny show. However, the performance of Wu (Sound of My Voice) as the Huang family matriarch elevates the series to must-watch television. 

Starring as Jessica, Wu hits punchlines like a champion boxer and manages to make her character’s faults — such as her strict parenting and no-nonsense attitude — incredibly endearing. She also masterfully avoids tiger-mother stereotypes with occasional bouts of silliness, like her memorable performance of “I Will Always Love You” or her sidesplitting “pimp walk.” Thanks to Wu’s star-making turn, Fresh Off the Boat is sailing smoothly.

Will Forte

The Last Man on Earth

It can’t be easy to be a Will on Saturday Night Live not named Ferrell. But Forte (MacGruber) always showed a knack for the absurd during his eight-year tenure on the renowned sketch series and later touted some acting chops in Alexander Payne’s Nebraska. But Fox’s The Last Man on Earth, which Forte also created and wrote, gives Forte the opportunity to really dig deep. 

As Phil Miller, one of the last people on the planet after the apocalypse, Forte initially appears as an everyman, reaping the benefits of being all alone in the world. But it’s when Phil first comes in contact with others that the depths of his depravity are revealed. Forte goes full throttle in exposing the inner malevolence of his character, and his old habit at SNL of hammering at a joke well beyond cringeworthy territory has not disappeared. Whatever you think of The Last Man on Earth’s distinct first season, you have to admire Forte’s dedication in portraying a wholly odious pathological liar of a character. 

Taraji P. Henson

Empire

You don’t have to watch Empire to know that Henson (Hustle & Flow) as Cookie Lyon, the ex-convict trying to win back her stake in a hip-hop record company, is the breakout star. Whether she’s rocking her finest furs, delivering mic-dropping one-liners or hurling her pair of Louboutins, Cookie leaves viewers breathless with every appearance. Henson is able to keep Cookie from becoming too obnoxious or forceful by bringing incredible heart to the role. But it’s Cookie’s attitude and quotability that put Empire on the pop-culture map in 2015.

Ben Mendelsohn

Bloodline

Australian film actor Mendelsohn (The Dark Knight Rises) has established a long career dating back to the ’80s. But his role as the enigmatic eldest brother Danny in Bloodline introduced him to an audience of Netflix-streaming millennials. In Bloodline, Danny stands out as the degenerate square peg of the Rayburn family, having been ostracized by his family at a young age for reasons initially unknown. 

Mendelsohn shows an astounding ability to make Danny both sympathetic and terrifying, as his motives remain in question throughout the series. But by far, the best aspect Mendelsohn brings to the role is the sheer unpredictability of Danny every time he’s onscreen. Bloodline would fall apart without the sheer creepiness of Danny, who makes his role on the series’ first season so essential.

Ari Millen

Orphan Black

The only tougher acting job on television than portraying a group of clones is taking on that task opposite Tatiana Maslany (Eastern Promises) on Orphan Black. Millen (Exit Humanity) was introduced last season as Mark, a mysterious religious extremist, but as the finale reveals, Mark was just one of a series of male clones brought into existence by the military experiment Project Castor.

 In limited action in Orphan Black’s third season, Millen has delivered as the posse of male clones, even with Maslany expertly rotating her merry band of lookalikes from scene to scene. The clone Rudy, in particular, brings a psychotic streak the show has yet to see. And with only a few of the Castor clones revealed so far, Millen likely has a lot more action in store, which should be thrilling to watch.