The biggest and best onscreen crushes of 2020

In a year with very little to recommend it in general, at least one thing is a constant: hot people.

Especially given how little we were able to go outside and see other people, whether they were hot or not, and also that even if the people outside were hot we probably couldn’t tell because they were wearing masks.

You know who wasn’t wearing masks? All these very hot actors and the fictional characters they played, who exist in worlds where the pandemic isn’t a thing (yet) and thus can go about their lives yearning and chatting and yelling and murdering and falling in love and saving the world with their entire, hot faces on display.

Of course, physical hotness isn’t the only criterion that get a character a spot on this list. These fictional babes have charisma to burn, a certain sweetness or a hard edge that draws you in, or a journey that makes you straight-up fall in love with them — and they would stand out even in a normal year where there was actual IRL competition for our hearts.

And yes, this is a list of movie and TV characters — so even though Steve Kornacki was very much onscreen and very much being crushed on, the election’s indefatigable king in khakis does not appear. 

Here, in no particular order, are 2020’s most crushing crushes. (Asterisks note carryovers from our mid-year list.)

Riley (Aubrey Plaza) in Happiest Season

Clea Duvall’s glossy Christmas romcom has a fatal flaw: Aubrey Plaza is simply too hot. 

In the small inner-Sydney cinema where I saw Happiest Season, the first appearance of Plaza’s Riley stirred a rustle of gasps and “uh oh” noises that rivalled Mashable reporter Nicole Gallucci’s viral Knives Out “sweater” moment. Riley’s chemistry with Kristen Stewart’s Abby (and the specific romantic trauma they share) saw the internet at large rewriting the ending in their heads so Stewart and Plaza made out in that bar booth, and then yeeted themselves out of that Get-Out-but-for-gays nightmare and into the sunset for a life of great tailoring and better sex. 

Lesbians deserve their glossy Hollywood happy endings as much as the straights do (arguably more so), but Harper (Mackenzie Davis) and her terrible wig really had no chance against her ex’s formidable dinner jackets and smoldering smirk. 

Where to watch: Happiest Season is now streaming on Hulu.

Connell Waldron (Paul Mescal) and his chain in Normal People*

No disrespect to Daisy Edgar-Jones (Marianne) and her perfect curtain bangs, but it’s hard to deny the charms of Connell and the silver necklace that’s often all we see him wearing. 

Normal People’s central couple burned up our screens as a welcome, deeply horny distraction in the early, terrified days of the pandemic’s first wave, and it wasn’t just the quiet yearning and intimately shot, lengthy sex scenes that got folks hot and bothered. Somehow looking like a marble statue of a Roman god and a regular small-town Irish teenager at the same time, and breaking our hearts with that therapy scene, Paul Mescal shot to worldwide fame within days of the limited series’ debut. Before the year had ended he was doing Rolling Stones videos and possibly dating Phoebe Bridgers. And the chain? It got its own Instagram account.

Where to watch: Normal People is now streaming on Hulu.

John Ambrose McClaren (Jordan Fisher) in To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You* 

Going into the To All the Boys sequel, it was hard to imagine how any dude could possibly compete with Ideal Boyfriend Peter Kavinsky. Then Jordan Fisher’s John Ambrose McClaren flashed his million-watt smile, and, well, suddenly the choice between them didn’t look so clear cut. Hey Lara Jean, if you don’t want this sweet, smart, sensitive, and impossibly handsome fella, we’ll gladly take him off your hands. — Angie Han, Deputy Entertainment Editor

Where to watch: To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You is now streaming on Netflix.

Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) in Ted Lasso

Look, everyone on this wholesome and surprisingly wonderful show is a delight. Jason Sudeikis makes the small town football coach moustache look good. Hannah Waddingham can step on me in Rebecca’s big boss heels. Juno Temple flirts with absolutely everyone. Nathan? We don’t know a better man!!! 

But brooding, cantankerous club veteran Roy Kent (played by Brett Goldstein, also a writer on the show) creeps up on you. From those glorious eyebrows to the hard outer shell of grumpiness that’s begging to be cracked open with determined affection by the right woman, he emerges as the star Richmond FC’s fans always knew he was.

Where to watch: Ted Lasso Season 1 is now streaming on AppleTV+.

Atticus (Jonathan Majors) and Leti (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and their wardrobes in Lovecraft Country

Image: lovecraft country / HBO

It’s hard to say which of Lovecraft Country‘s two leads set more hearts aflutter in their impeccably styled 1950s costumes: Tic (2020 breakout Majors) in his fitted tees, or Leti (Smollett-Bell) and her collection of wasp-waisted tops, road-trip capri pants and that holiday party off-shoulder gown. The show’s many twisting plots may have gotten a little out of hand, but costume designer Dayna Pink nailed every look, and helped these two impossibly attractive stars shine brighter, even when they were covered in blood.

Where to watch: Lovecraft Country is now streaming on HBO.

Nyles (Andy Samberg) in Palm Springs

Image: Christopher Willard / Hulu

Samberg’s goofy manchild schtick might be wearing thin for some, but it got a welcome update in this time-loop romcom that hit extra hard during quarantine. Sure, he’s got flaws, and unpleasant secrets, and a guy (J.K. Simmons) who’s hunting him with a crossbow. But Nyles’ loop-practiced smoothness and lol-nothing-matters vibe — over a devastating core of existential despair, of course — makes him a delightful and unexpectedly complex figure to be stuck with in the endless party of Palm Springs. And boy, can he dance. 

Where to watch: Palm Springs is now streaming on Hulu.

Mohan (Sendhil Ramamurthy) in Never Have I Ever*

Image: LARA SOLANKI / NETFLIX

Among its many strengths, Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher’s Never Have I Ever offers a wealth of crushes for viewers to choose from — but the most irresistible by far is Mohan (Sendhil Ramamurthy), the father whose untimely passing sets the show in motion. Mohan appears in flashbacks and visions to daughter Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), making two things immediately clear from the first episode: (1) He was a loving husband and father who relished life and exuded joy, (2) He was insanely fine. No disrespect to Devi’s loss but my condolences to the Vishwakumars extend to any friends who may have quietly spent years thirsting from Mohan from afar. Part of his perfect portrayal is that we inevitably sanctify the dead, but Devi’s memories of her father show just how devastating his loss really is — and again, that he was a bona fide snack I’d like with my afternoon chai. — Proma Khosla, Entertainment Reporter

Where to watch: Never Have I Ever is now streaming on Netflix.

Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) in Birds of Prey* 

When it comes to crush material, Helena Bertinelli, aka Huntress, is the whole package. On one hand, she’s a Batman-level badass, with a snarl that says she can kill you, and the crossbow and fight moves to back it up. On the other, she’s also tragically awkward, in the most endearing way possible. Just watch this cutie rehearse her introduction in the mirror and tell me you don’t want to take her out for margaritas and try to make her laugh. — A.H.

Where to watch: Birds of Prey is available for rent and purchase on Prime Video, iTunes, Google Play, and YouTube.

Everyone on Hollywood*

Sometimes a show comes out and there’s one standout crushable character. Many shows have more than one, anticipating that people with different tastes might find another archetypal character more attractive. Then there are shows like Hollywood, or no, maybe just Hollywood, that overwhelms the crush-o-meter with such an intense concentration of gorgeous people each episode begins to feel like a personal attack. Everyone in Hollywood is hot. Patti LuPone is hot, Darren Criss is hot, Jeremy Pope, Samara Weaving, Laura Harrier, Dylan McDermott with a mustache is hot, Holland Taylor is hot, the background extras are hot — the entire cast looks like they were wished to life by a horny sculptor who spent his or her entire life perfecting the human form and also had an unlimited costume budget for top tier 1950s lingerie. What I’m trying to say here is, send help. I’m crushed by the level of crush in this show. — Alexis Nedd, Senior Entertainment Reporter

Where to watch: Hollywood is now streaming on Netflix. 

Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong) in The Trial of the Chicago 7 

Image: NICO TAVERNISE / NETFLIX

Crushing on Jeremy Strong in Succession? Not cool (though that hasn’t stopped, ahem, some of us). Crushing on Jeremy Strong in The Trial of the Chicago 7? A much, much better idea. Lovably daffy, with a laid-back disposition and a silly sense of humor — but also, crucially, the courage to fuck shit up when the situation calls for it — Jerry might not be the loudest or most charismatic member of the group, but he’s the one you’ll want to trade bad puns with over drinks at the bar. — A.H.

Where to watch: The Trial of the Chicago 7 is now streaming on Netflix. 

Ben Hargreeves (Justin H. Min) in The Umbrella Academy

Image: Christos Kalohoridis / Netflix

Ben is dead, so he’s always been literally the least visible of the Hargreeves “siblings,” but he got more time to shine as the constant companion of Klaus (Robert Sheehan) in the show’s second season. And so fans got to enjoy more of Min’s sweet and subtle performance, not to mention those K-pop idol cheekbones — whether he was acting as Klaus’ conscience, possessing his body in order to clumsily try to woo a crush, or, in the final episode of the season [spoiler!] crossing over for real with a devastating farewell monologue and then showing up alive in an alternate reality with a bad-boy emo makeover and an attitude to match. This is almost a preemptive entry for Season 3, if we’re honest.

Where to watch: The Umbrella Academy is now streaming on Netflix. 

The hot chess dorks of The Queen’s Gambit

Image: charlie gray / netflix

Look, many of us struggled to see a couple of these glorious nerds in The Queen’s Gambit as anything other than Dudley Dursley and the Love Actually Kid. But you can’t deny that Anya Taylor-Joy, her otherworldly I’m-going-to-end-you mid-match gaze, and Beth’s army of sweet exes, rivals, and hangers-on all helped make chess sexy. That’s power, baby.

Where to watch: The Queen’s Gambit is now streaming on Netflix. 

Aleksandr Lemtov (Dan Stevens) in Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga 

The hyper-masc, accidentally (?) gay, note-perfect faux-Eurovision song “Lion Of Love.” The delicate, lilting mumble of a Russian accent whose authenticity I cannot speak to. The heartbreaking flashes of closeted pain under the constant. Dan Stevens’ crowd-favorite superstar Lemtov is an utter delight in this uneven but incredibly sweet Netflix movie, and the best thing about it that isn’t “Husavik,” “Ja Ja Ding Dong,” or Rachel McAdams’ irresistible sparkle. It could have been pure camp archetype, but for the gentleness and cheekiness under all the louche posturing and pouting. Mashable’s Angie Han said it best: “Lemtov spinoff when?”

Where to watch: Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga is now streaming on Netflix.