16 Wildly Underrated TV Actresses: Your Picks!

ALYSON HANNIGAN, from How I Met Your Mother. She's been great since she was on Buffy. —Rachel K

ALYSON HANNIGAN, on HIMYM is incredibly funny, but when cast with someone as hysterical as Neil Patrick Harris, it's easy to get lost in the shadows. —Shanna

The women of Mad Men are great, especially ELISABETH MOSS (left). The way Peggy just takes everything the men in the office say to her but still manages to get what she wants is fascinating. CHRISTINA HENDRICKS' (right) recent scenes were so sad and made me feel really sorry for the normally confident and assured Joan. I love and hate JANUARY JONES' (center) Betty in equal measure, and it definitely takes a talented actress to pull that off. —Ryan

SUMMER GLAU, on both Firefly and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. The episode ''Allison from Palmdale'' was one of the most amazingly powerful and nuanced performances I have ever seen, and she'll never get an Emmy nod because she does sci-fi, which seems to be Emmy death! —Ginger

LINDSAY PRICE, first on Lipstick Jungle, now on Eastwick. She has great comedic timing, looks great, and actually outshined veteran Brooke Shields on Lipstick. —Brit

How 'bout MARG HELGENBERGER? She's such a staple on CSI and has had some pretty rough story lines (date rape, father murdered, daughter kidnapped) and doesn't seem to be as whiny as her younger counterparts. —Yola

What about KATEE SACKHOFF, from Battlestar Galactica? I think she has done an amazing job at portraying cocky pilot Starbuck on the series. She steals every single scene she's in. Her character is so multilayered, so damaged....I love the fact that even though her character does some pretty awful things sometimes, we can never truly hate her. This character wouldn't be half as good and believable if Katee Sackhoff weren't the one portraying it. She deserves some recognition and so does the show and the rest of the cast. I hope that she'll receive an Emmy nomination if everyone can get over the fact that Battlestar Galactica is sci-fi. —xoxo

The best thing that ever happened to Battlestar Galactica was casting KATEE SACKHOFF as Starbuck! —Laurie

KATEE SACKHOFF (Battlestar Galactica) portrays one of the most complex characters on television. She is truly amazing. —lilly

BROOKE SMITH, a.k.a. Erica Hahn, on Grey's Anatomy — and Sara Ramirez, for that matter. —Seann

Check out the PopWatch letter Michael Slezak wrote to her following the news about her character's departure.

MAURA TIERNEY is as gifted as the past decade's worth of Oscar winners and has only been nominated for her work on ER at the Emmys a couple times. Unappreciated, underrated, brilliant. —Wes

Every time there is a post like this on PopWatch, I always put the same name, and that is YUNJIN KIM, from Lost. How she has gone unnoticed for this long is beyond me. Here's to hoping more people recognize the talent she has. —BH

On Gossip Girl, everyone's always talking about Blair or Jenny, and it's well deserved. But I really enjoy KELLY RUTHERFORD as Serena's mom, Lily. I think she's very engaging and plays her part, a woman who's lost her love and is adrift in her life, excellently. —Cory

ALLISON MACK of Smallville. She churns out great scenes, yet the producers or whoever act like her character isn't important. It took season 8 for her to be placed second in the credits. What a joke! If Allison Mack left the show, Smallville would be done. —JJ

ALLISON MACK without a doubt. The girl shines on screen and yet continues to be thought of as second fiddle on the show. —Joa

As a huge Veronica Mars fan, I have to go with KRISTEN BELL. She can do anything, and Heroes was not good enough for her. —LK

KRISTEN BELL was great on Veronica Mars....It's a shame the show is over. —Meredith

RACHEL GRIFFITHS is the best actress on TV. I know she has Oscar and Emmy nominations, but I still think she is undervalued both on Six Feet Under and Brothers & Sisters. —Al

JENNIFER CARPENTER as Debra Morgan on Dexter is the show's emotional core — and defines underrated performances. Her portrayal is real and honest, and she avoids the trappings of a cast otherwise occupied by bizarre, quasi-unrealistic characters. Debra is the only person the viewer recognizes as human in a show that offers very little humanity. —Matthew M. F. Miller