Main •
Aidy Bryant as Annie Easton, the main character. Annie is a journalist at
The Thorn, promoted from editing the calendar in the first episode, and in her late 20s. She is very intelligent and optimistic and aspires to do well, and always tries to solve the problems she faces in life. •
Lolly Adefope as Fran, Annie's best friend since college who was raised in the UK. They live together and own a dog together, Bonkers. Fran dates women. Her brother, Lamar, has had a crush on Annie for years. Alas, he lives in London. •
Luka Jones as Ryan, one of Annie's boyfriends. Ryan works at a hardware store and is rather lazy, although when he tries hard he can be intelligent. (seasons 1–2; recurring season 3) •
John Cameron Mitchell as Gabe Parrish, Annie's boss and the editor-in-chief of
The Thorn and a former
punk singer. At first he was portrayed as an antagonist and enemy to Annie in season 1; they have since come to better terms. He writes a memoir about his early life and the beginnings of
The Thorn in the third season. Gabe has a husband. • Ian Owens as Amadi, a close friend of Annie’s. Amadi works with Annie at
The Thorn and is promoted to its director of human resources in the second season. •
Patti Harrison as Ruthie, the receptionist at
The Thorn (season 2; recurring seasons 1 and 3).
Recurring •
Julia Sweeney as Vera Easton, Annie's mother. Vera is domineering and constantly tries to solve her daughter's problems herself, however later begins treating Annie like an adult. Vera is under a lot of stress due to her husband having cancer, so at times she lashes out at Annie, but does love her. •
Daniel Stern as Bill Easton, Annie's father. Bill is less controlling than Vera and is portrayed as bumbling and silly, he cares deeply for his daughter and wife and has a close relationship with Fran. • Sean Tarjyoto as Angus, a reporter at
The Thorn who is friends with Annie and Amadi. • Scott Engdahl as Andy, an older reporter at
The Thorn who admires Gabe, despite Gabe treating him like a genuine inconvenience. It is revealed in the second season episode "Skate" that he lives a double life as an
EDM producer and DJ, going by the moniker "DJ Pussyhound." • Dana Millican as Kim, a reporter at
The Thorn (season 1) •
Jo Firestone as Maureen, a photographer at
The Thorn who greatly admires Annie and becomes a closer friend to her as the show goes on. •
Conner O'Malley as Reggie, a distro guy at
The Thorn. • Tommy Snider as Mike, Ryan's younger brother and roommate (season 1; guest seasons 2 and 3) • Michael Liu as Pete, Ryan's friend, former coworker, and roommate (season 1; guest season 2) • Gary Richardson as "Calendar" Cody, the new calendar editor at
The Thorn who is popular with the staff. (seasons 2-3) •
E. R. Fightmaster as Emily, or Em, Fran's romantic partner. They start dating at the end of season 2 due to confessing feelings for each other, however they begin to have relationship trouble when Fran doesn’t want to move in with them (seasons 2–3). •
Illeana Douglas as Sheila Branch, the publisher of
The Thorn (seasons 2–3) • Anthony Oberbeck as Nick Powell, an illustrator for
The Thorn (season 3; guest season 2) •
Cameron Britton as Will Nolan, one of Annie's boyfriends who is also Amadi's best friend (season 3). Will is separated from his wife Mikayla who he has been dating since they were in high school.
Guests •
Joel Kim Booster as Tony, Gabe's husband who is a photographer (appearing once each season) •
Beck Bennett as Kevin, also known as "The Awesome," an
Internet troll who gives Annie a hard time. •
Fred Armisen as Bongo, Gabe's friend and former bandmate who also started
The Thorn with him (season 3) ==Episodes==