The Cast

Katherine “Kate” Beckett

Age: 17

Kate is a high-school senior and loves music and the performing arts.  She lives with her father, famous retired baseball player Herman Beckett, and her younger brother, Thurman Beckett.  She’s a bright girl who does well enough in school, but finds it hard to care enough to really excel.  She spends a lot of her time playing her guitar, watching tv or internet foolishness, and generally hanging out as teenagers are apt to do.

She and her best friend Penny have a band, The Champions, which does well enough as far as high-school garage bands are concerned despite being terrible, and she shows up on the party circuit from time to time on the weekends- without her dad knowing, of course.

Kate is neurotic, sarcastic, and somewhat cynical, but a good person at heart who usually fights for the right cause when the opportunity presents itself.

Penelope “Penny” O’Brien

Age: 18

Kate’s best friend since kindergarten, Penny is an upbeat, cheerful girl whose good spirits are surpassed only by two things. Her powerful intellect, which allows her to be the sole character who is aware of her presence in a comic strip, and her utter and complete lack of impulse control. She chooses to remain in her current grade so she doesn’t leave her friends behind… that and she’s so far ahead that she doesn’t have to try very hard.

She has a contentious relationship with her mother, who tries and fails to contain her daughter’s more wild impulses.  She’ll drink you under the table, unless she’s already fallen through it.  She plays the drums and probably could do really well in any number of areas but really hasn’t found a direction yet.

Herman Beckett

Age: 45

Herman is a divorced father of two and the patriarch of the Beckett family. He was also the Third Baseman for the National League’s Hartford Weasels for 26 years. Widely regarded as the greatest player of all time, Herman’s fame is immense and his fortune surpasses the GDP of Uruguay.

Unfortunately, Herman’s pampered, sheltered existence has left him with a baffling level of naivete, and this can be a source of frustration for pretty much everyone he ever comes across. He has no idea what to do with his money and more often than not spends it in ways that are irresponsible, if not plain confusing.

Herman enjoys sports, 80’s thrash metal, and shiny things.

Thurman Beckett

Age: 10

Thurman is a lazy, angry, spoiled brat of a 10-year-old. He tends to be dismissive toward others and incredibly self-involved. His favorite activities include video games, TV, and sleep. He is the proud owner of a 0.4 GPA, but continues to pass each grade level due to Herman’s misguided, well-meaning bribes. He loves to tease and play pranks on his sister, although his natural ineptitude usually makes this backfire. He likes any activity that involves violence, unless it also involves moving. He’s also pretty sure his dad played… football?

Age: 10

Thurman’s best, and, basically, only friend. Eddie loves computers and all things technological, especially gaming. A colossal nerd in denial about his inherent dorkitude, Eddie nevertheless is fairly comfortable, if inept, in social situations. He and Thurman have been best friends ever since he and his dad moved in a few years ago. He has an obsessive, unrequited crush on Penny, who refuses to agree with Eddie’s belief that age is “just a number, plus women live longer than men so we’ll probably die at the same time”.

Age: 45

Bob is a bitter, stoic, spiteful man who lives next door to the Becketts and is the father of Eddie. After losing everything in an insider trading scandal, he accepted Herman’s offer to live next door and become his accountant. Despite the job and generous purchase of a house, Bob remains deeply jealous of Herman’s success, and has been ever since the two grew up together on the same suburban street. Bob is very protective of Eddie’s safety and watchful over his activities. He enjoys soft rock, talk radio, and the A&E network.

Age: Yes

Impossibly ancient B-Movie actor known as “America’s Grandpa” when Herman was growing up. After meeting in a TV station green room, he and Herman have become fast friends. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1957 for “Shot in the Head: The Abe Lincoln Story”.

Age: 35

Penny’s mother and former unruly youth.  Had her daughter at 17 while making the rounds as a groupie trying to make it in the acting scene in New York.  She tries to act conservatively, but has a lot of trouble concealing her wild side.  Had impulsive sex with Herman,  broke up with him, got back together in secret, then broke up again.

Age: 18

Alasdair (AL-uh-stir) is a friend and classmate of Kate and Penny.  He works as a cashier at the local grocery store, a job which gives him no end of grief.  Confident to a fault, he gets through his days with a thick layer of impenetrable smugness.  Also, he plays the theremin.

Age: 18

Dustin is another friend of the girls and bass player in their band.  He works with Alasdair as a bagger at the grocery store.  Generally quiet and laid-back, Dustin tends to keep to himself unless alcohol is involved, in which case all bets are off.

Age: 12

Penny’s half-sister, Courtney is a bookish, quiet 12-year-old who wants to be left alone.  Go away.

Age: None of your damn business

Herman’s former publicist and lover, Mim has sworn revenge on him for firing her and breaking her heart. However, she isn’t very good at it. She continues to plot against him, but most of the time her efforts hurt her more than her intended target. Currently in prison for all that stuff I just mentioned.

Age: 54 49 39

Gina is Herman’s ex-wife and the mother of Kate and Thurman.  Since her alimony ran dry recently (helped in no small part by extensive plastic surgery), she has been tirelessly trying to squeeze more money out of her ex-husband in wildly illegal ways.

Age: 22

Engineering student at a local University who can only seem to land internships with evil madmen or other scheming criminals.  He’s a nice guy, but work experience is hard to come by.

Age: 26

The world’s most successful and ruthless agent.  Specializes in getting new talent wildly inappropriate wads of cash.  Andrew is ranked #5 in a Forbes poll of the world’s most powerful people under 30, the highest-ranked individual not part of a royal family.

Age: Classified

Bodyguard and vigilante.  Specializes in hurting people.

Age: 19

Former rival of Kate who she hated for seemingly no reason.  Tried to frame her for murder, and is currently serving a long prison sentence.