Here are the breakout shows and stars of 2018

[TV Guide’s picks for best new actors of 2018 make their own picks for the shows that you should be watching. Included is a dark comedy about a hit man, an inspiring new drama and a dirty spoof on true-crime shows.](#) [TV Guide Watch This Now!]( Hello! TV Guide’s [inaugural Freshman 15]( picked out the new performances and shows that wowed us from the past year. But we thought it would be fun to have our honorees — including actors and actresses from [NCIS]( [The Haunting of Hill House]( [Lodge 49]( and more — make their own recommendations for new shows and stars that they can’t get enough of. Today’s newsletter is a treat: All of today’s recommendations come straight from them. After all, who better to know the best new talent than the best new talent? [Your Watch This Now! newsletter is created by Senior Recommendations and Reviews Editor Tim Surette and more show-obsessed editors at TV Guide!]( WATCH THIS NOW! [Barry]( [Barry hits its mark]( Season 1 available on HBO A violent comedy about a hit man who gets the acting bug while on assignment in Los Angeles doesn’t sound like your typical hit, but it’s one of 2018’s best new shows. [Sera Gamble]( longtime [Supernatural]( executive producer and showrunner for Lifetime’s [YOU]( singled it out for the actors. “I feel like every performance in Barry, every single person in that acting class, the weird Chechen guys, all of them, were brilliant,” she told us. Creator and star [Bill Hader]( who won an Emmy for his role as the titular malcontent assassin, is a highlight, but we’re big fans of [Anthony Carrigan]( who steals every scene he’s in as an oddball gangster from Chechnya. YOU GOTTA BELIEVE [God Friended Me]( [God Friended Me has faith in the power of people]( Sundays at 8/7c on CBS, streaming on [CBS All Access]( The CBS dramedy stars [Brandon Micheal Hall]( as an atheist podcaster (stay with us here) who receives a friend request from God, or someone pretending to be God. But the show isn’t about religion or social media; it’s about how we perceive different points of view — something NCIS’ [Diona Reasonover]( told us she loves. “God Friended Me is a show about someone who’s learning to become open,” she said. “And I think it’s really important that we as a society are willing to become open to the things that people present to us.” The No. 1 Show About No. 2 [American Vandal]( [In American Vandal, the ish hit the fans, and they loved it]( Seasons 1 and 2 available on Netflix Netflix’s faux true-crime documentary series received multiple nominations from the Freshman 15, and it was mostly because of the individual performances of their peers. “[Watch it for] Travis Tope and Melvin Gregg from American Vandal Season 2, because they were hilarious,” said [Murphy Brown]( and [Atypical]( [Nik Dodani](. The Haunting of Hill House’s [Victoria Pedretti]( agreed, noting that the freshness of the actors added to the show’s realism. “All of those actors in American Vandal [are wonderful], because it’s the first time you’ve seen all of them,” she said. “That’s why the show’s so great.” Though they both laud Season 2, your best bet is to start with the equally great Season 1. A HERO STRIKES DOWN [Black Lightning]( [Black Lightning is electric]( Tuesdays at 9/8c on The CW, streaming on [cwtv.com]( "For Freshman 15, I absolutely recommend Black Lightning,” says NCIS’ Diona Reasonover. The CW’s newest superhero show isn’t as tight with the others on the network — it doesn’t participate in the Arrowverse crossovers — but that’s because it’s plenty busy on its own. Not only is it the first standalone African-American superhero show from the DC universe, but it’s a family superhero series, which cranks the conflict up a few notches. DON’T HATE on the reboot [Charmed]( [Charmed cast a spell on a network sibling]( Sundays at 9/8c on The CW, streaming on [cwtv.com]( All American’s [Daniel Ezra]( keeps it in the network family, with a strong recommendation for The CW’s new series Charmed. The reboot takes the late-1990s drama about young women who discover they’re witches, and updates it with a primarily Latina cast and socially relevant issues. Ezra is particularly taken with [Sarah Jeffrey]( who plays youngest sister Maggie, and told us, “She was making me laugh hysterically.” [Unsubscribe]( | [View online]( ©2018 CBS Interactive | All Rights Reserved. CBS Interactive - [235 2nd St., San Francisco, CA 94105](#) [Privacy Policy]( | [Terms and Conditions](