Yahoo Lifestyle Performer of the Week: Toya Turner
THE PERFORMER | Toya Turner
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THE SHOW | Chicago P.D.
THE EPISODE | “Friends and Family” (Jan. 8, 2025)
THE PERFORMANCE | This week on P.D., Turner — eight episodes into her run as Intelligence Unit officer Kiana Cook — was given the kind of “-centric” episode that can shed light on what makes a new character tick, and in turn invite viewers to embrace and accept them into their living rooms each week.
Cook was heading into the office on a Saturday, to catch up on paperwork, when she laid witness to a multi-vehicle crash. After darting out of her car and doing her best to quickly maintain some semblance of order amid the mayhem, Cook found a banged-up man, Gregory Miller, slumped behind his steering wheel and badly bleeding. Soon as the dazed Gregory mumbled something about “ransom” money and how “they took my family,” Cook was invested in solving this mystery, in saving multiple lives.
Turner thus far has presented Kiana as a bit unflappable. Someone with experience, but who also knows she has things to learn. For the first stretch of this kidnapping storyline, the Warrior Nun alum focused on showing us that her character was also focused. But as soon as Cook, when searching Gregory’s home, happened upon the severed finger of the man’s wife (left behind as “proof”), Turner shifted into a different gear, slowly ramping up Cook’s intensity.
So resigned was Kiana to salvaging what she could of Gregory’s family — wife Cara, and daughters Courtney and Maya — that when $200,000 in bona fide cash was needed to pay the ransom, on a Saturday when the PD was unable to round up enough greenbacks, she called an audible that clearly pained her. Kiana paid a visit to her mother, whom she hadn’t seen in years: Patricia (Marie-Françoise Theodore), a well-heeled society woman who has strong opinions about her daughter’s line of work, but was willing to pony up the needed cash. But in trade, Mom asked that her estranged daughter put in an appearance at an upcoming family fundraiser. (Kiana’s grandfather is running for alderman.) Turner here did so much with Kiana’s gritted-teeth acquiescence, that when she later in the episode showed up, dressed up, but couldn’t bring herself to actually step foot inside the swanky affair, it came as zero surprise. Plus, you kinda cheered for her.
The Intelligence Team, despite their best efforts, could not save Cara. And you saw through Turner’s performance that the shortcoming really hit Cook hard. But when they eventually found Gregory’s daughters, Turner perfectly communicated the relief that Kiana felt, and the satisfaction in knowing that she put in her best effort on the case.
Scroll down to see who got Honorable Mention shout-outs this week…
HONORABLE MENTION: Charlie Day
Honestly, we weren’t sure if an Abbott Elementary and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia crossover episode would work, but we were delighted to see how well the Paddy’s Pub gang fit in at Abbott this week, with Charlie Day reminding us how damn funny he is as Sunny’s Charlie Kelly. We were giggling right away when the blissfully brainless Charlie volunteered to do duct work at the school: “I’ve done tons of duck work!” And for longtime Sunny fans, it was genuinely moving to see Charlie finally learn to read with the patient guidance of Barbara and Melissa, with Day exuberantly celebrating Charlie’s accomplishment. We’re still waiting for Sunny to serve up a round of new episodes, but Day’s hilarious turn here definitely quenched our thirst for now. — Dave Nemetz
HONORABLE MENTION: Jude Law
Jude Law uncovered a wealth of fun this week on Disney+’s Skeleton Crew, as Jod Na Nawood slipped back into his Captain Silvo persona. Reunited with his crew aboard his frigate, Silvo had to scoff out loud when first mate Brutus failed to see through the camouflage surrounding the famously hidden planet of At Attin. Later, Law turned deadly serious when Silvo coldly executed Brutus to show the crew (and the kids hiding inside the Onyx Cinder) that he meant business; even more so when he brandished his lightsaber to behead SM-33 and then threatened to “carve” the kids’ parents into pieces. And at episode’s end, when Silvo laid eyes upon the treasure that is the At Attin mint, Law’s expression was truly golden. Did we even see the cold-hearted pirate shed a tear of joy as he caressed the shiny credits? — M.W.M.
Which performance(s) knocked your socks off this week? Tell us in the comments!
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