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Main Characters
Katherine
Katherine Hastings
New CEO of Payne Motors.Portrayed By: Ana Gasteyer
- Big Ego, Hidden Depths: More sympathetic than she initially seems. It’s implied that running a troubled company —especially as a woman — necessitates taking on a callous persona.
- Hidden Depths: Lampshaded by Katherine in the season 1 finale; she knows how to handle the crisis because the pharma industry, where she came from, is known for scandals like this. In the season 2 premiere she turns down a golden parachute termination for six months to turn things around, in order to save the others' jobs.
- It's All About Me: She admits to being selfish, and in the penultimate episode delays a needed ER visit for Richard so that she can continue to schmooze the board. This goes over with him about as well as you’d expect.
- Married to the Job: Tacitly chooses her corporate responsibilities over her marriage. Unfortunately, her job is still very much in jeopardy.
- Modern Major General: She’s hired as the CEO of Payne Motors despite having no experience with cars at all—as in, never having even driven (although she does get to in the first season finale.) Payne, which seems to hire leading executives on a superficial basis in general, poached her from a pharmaceutical company.
Sadie
Sadie Ryan
Chief Commercial Officer of Payne Motors.Portrayed By: Harriet Dyer
- Improbable Age: A top level executive at a large and storied company while still appearing to be in her 20s.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: Her having a one-night stand becomes a major point of office gossip after he’s promoted to the C-Suite.
Jack
Jack Fortin
Assembly line worker promoted to executive suite.Portrayed By: Tye White
- Fish out of Water: Jack spends the first episodes unsure of what his new corporate role actually is and awkwardly tries to blend in by pretending to be on the phone or using the copy machine.
- Rank Up: He’s promoted to the C-Suite to provide a working-class employee’s perspective (and to avoid embarrassments and lawsuits after he’s hit by a self-driving car.)
Wesley
Wesley Payne
Descendant of Payne Motors’ founder, given a legacy position.Portrayed By: Jon Barinholtz
- Expy: Schemer with a volatile temper and unhappy family background, much like Andy Bernard from The Office. Barinholtz even bears some resemblance to Ed Helms.
- Lonely Rich Kid: Most of his family never seems to have liked or respected him, which provides a Freudian Excuse for some of his behavior.
- The Resenter: Takes an immediate dislike to working—for a certain definition of “work”—for Katherine.
Cyrus
Cyrus Knight
Payne’s Chief Product DesignerPortrayed By: Michael Benjamin Washington
- Black and Nerdy: Very bright but socially awkward, at least in most situations.
- Those Two Guys: With Elliot, the other awkward office brain.
Elliot
Elliot
Payne’s Legal Counsel.Portrayed By: Humphrey Ker
- British Stuffiness: Sometimes tries to prove that he isn’t stuffy, but it never goes well.
- Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Played by a 6’7 actor, sends barbs to characters a head or more shorter than he.
- Those Two Guys: With Cyrus, the other awkward office brain.
Dori
Dori
Portrayed By: X Mayo
- Beleaguered Assistant: Katherine puts her in some no-win situations, for example ordering her to keep an office bore away from her but upbraiding her for being rude when she actually tries to do so.
- Hidden Depths: In the pilot she quickly learns how to create a lightshow, from a friend who works raves.
- Sassy Secretary: Snarky when she gets the chance to be, at least.
Payne Motors
Jin
Jin Tao-Kang
Portrayed By: Christopher Chen
Janine
Janine
Portrayed By: Jennifer Kenyon
Others
Richard
Richard Hastings
Katherine’s long-suffering teacher husband.Portrayed By: Brad Hall
