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The Plunketts
Christy Plunkett
- Played by: Anna Faris
A young mother who went through Teen Pregnancy and fell into alcoholism until she turned her life around (well, is trying to) and tries her best to raise her teenage daughter Violet and young child Roscoe, while also dealing with her sadistic, cynical mother Bonnie living with her. Her heart is in the right place, though.
- Abusive Parents: In the present, she means well, but it seems that, during her drinking days, she pretty much forced Violet to take care of her and Roscoe.
- The Alcoholic: She has never been seen drinking after her sobriety and has a steady life. She keeps herself together better than the rest of the cast (besides Marjorie).
- Ambiguously Bi: In "Big Sad Eyes & An Ancient Hot Dog," she is at first disturbed to learn a sober retreater named Rebecca misjudged her friendly behavior for wanting to sleep with her in the same bed. However, before leaving and telling Rebecca it was all a misunderstanding, Christy comes back and gives her a Big Damn Kiss before leaving anyway. It's not clear if Christy did so because she had been stressed during the whole stay or because she really did like the idea in the end.
- Amicable Exes: Christy and Baxter get along fairly well, even though Baxter lives out of a van and is perpetually late with his child support payments. When he does manage to pay her, she'll cheerfully have casual sex with him. It helps that, in spite of his shortcomings, Baxter is an attentive father to Roscoe and shows concern for Violet even though she's not his biological daughter.
- "Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word: Invoked when Christy tries to convince the regional manager of the restaurant she works at to let her keep working there (despite how she always comes in late every day) by threatening him by telling everyone what dark secrets the place has. It works.
- Distracted by the Sexy: When a new AA member named Julian joins, she and the other ladies can only fawn over how hot he is. But when she has to personally make sure he stays sober, she finds out he's too much broken of a man that he has crying bouts despite all the encouragement he gets. She ultimately forgets about flirting with him (and he stops appearing altogether in the next episodes).
- Inverted in one occasion when she tries to seduce customers at her waitress job to get money to recover from being tossed out from her first home. It fails because the two men she was talking to were gay for each other.
- The Gambling Addict: Has always had a habit for it, but it becomes a real addiction at the end of Season 5, to the point that she gambles away the bail money (twice) needed to get Bonnie out of jail and loses the diamond earrings the group gave her as a graduation present. By the end of the season finale, she starts going to Gamblers Anonymous.
- Hope Spot: Season 5 has her failing to get into law school, despite graduating, which very nearly pushed her to drink again.
- Jerkass Ball: She's mostly nice unlike her mother, but Christy has a habit of becoming a thorn on someone from time to time. Sometimes, it just comes out of nowhere.
- Living Emotional Crutch: After having Nora be her sponsor for a while, Christy starts to develop a very needy attitude that desperately seeks Nora's approval to feel like she is doing well. Nora points out to her that this is wrong, since it makes Christy want to depend on people for their approval when she should be happy with what she does for herself.
- Manchild: The loss of her kids (Violet moving out and Roscoe moving in with his father and stepmother) seemed to have gradually turned Christy into this, such as throwing a tantrum for Bonnie to take her to Dairy Queen.
- My Beloved Smother: She freaks in Season 4 when she learns Roscoe has been smoking weed and trying beer. It gets exaggerated, as she becomes extremely overprotective and more of a disciplinarian to the point of stressing out Roscoe, Bonnie, and literally anyone else around to hear it.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Despite her best efforts to go forward with her life as a recovering addict, unfortunately, she recovered too late to mend all the problems she had caused for her children and is forced to take the long road of recovery. To her chagrin, anyone else outside her family who faced similar or worse problems recovered fast enough and enjoy better lives than she does. When she becomes the manager of her restaurant, she decides to be nice to the employees. This has the horrible side effect of everyone getting lazy. Then she seeks Gabriel for guidance and tells her to be a Drill Sergeant Nasty to make sure the establishment works properly. This of course makes everyone there hate her despite the place becoming stable. It also bites her in the ass when she is demoted back to a waitress.
- Not So Above It All: Despite wishing to break the cycle of alcohol abuse with Violet, she is quick to judge Bonnie and would not hesitate to insult her to her face if it will make her feel better. The irony is quite lost on her that she’s just as bad as violet when it comes to handling her relationship with her mother.
- Put on a Bus: She is implied to leave in the Season 8 premiere to pursue her further studies to become a lawyer.
- Rape as Drama: Christy revealed in Season 4 that she was raped and she was so drugged up that she couldn't fight him off.
- Really Gets Around: She has many, many romances in the show, but hardly one of them lasts more than 5 episodes. In Season 5 she dates a fellow student named Cooper and Adam's brother Patrick. She hadn't ended either relationship before entering the other unlike previous times. You know where this is going. In the end, she manages to quietly put Cooper's attraction to her to rest and is able to love Patrick without him knowing she had sex with Cooper three times...till she broke and told him, but miraculously, she managed to keep the relationship going...for a while, until Patrick gets fed up with Christy putting her friends first before him.
- Sanity Slippage: When she had pilfered from an expensive accessory shop because the saleswoman was rude to her, her conscience constantly made her reach deep end so much that the glasses she stole suddenly gained angry eyes staring at her at night.
- Smoking Is Not Cool: In Season 6, she was goaded by Chef Rudy to smoke. Time will tell if this becomes a new addiction for her, as she didn't stop smoking even under the rain.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: By the season finale of Season 5, she manages to get into law school after not being picked at the same time as her other classmates.
- Ultimate Job Security: She starts out the series still trying to do the best job she can, but over time, she gets lax, often comes in late, steals food, and so forth. Season 5's "Teenage Vampires and a White Russian" makes this a plot-point; her manager repeatedly tries to fire her, but she refuses to go away because (despite, by her own admission, being bad at this job) she has bills to pay. When the manager goes all the way to corporate to try to get rid of her, Christy counters by saying she knows all the dirty little secrets that would destroy the restaurant financially and legally. She gets to do as she pleases in exchange for her silence.
Bonnie Plunkett
- Played by: Allison Janney
Christy's cynical mother, who also conceived during her teenage years but made more polarizing decisions with her daughter around, ultimately impacting her daughter's life for the worse. She also fell into alcoholism and tries to stay sober, even if it means making her daughter's life her own personal show.
- The Alcoholic: Fell into it after she conceived Christy, but she started going sober. She goes through two relapses total - one when she loses her job and another when she takes drugs to cure her back pain - during the show's run.
- Almighty Janitor: Bonnie becomes a building manager in Season 2. She's incompetent at the job but has all her tenants kowtowing to her after she reveals that she knows everyone's dirty secrets and won't hesitate to make them public if the tenants try to get her fired.
- Ambiguously Bi: She claims she's not actually bisexual, just "easy-going" and "temporarily disgusted with men." But two years of living with a woman (who was like a second mother to Christy) is a long time to be easy-going...
- The Atoner: She spends season 5 fighting for Tammy to get an early release, after discovering how much damage she did to Tammy’s life. She also continues to be on Tammy’s corner throughout the rest of the series, supporting her endeavours.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: When Tammy attacks her during an AA meeting at prison, Bonnie genuinely doesn't remember her or what she did to provoke her, which is attributed to having done a lot of awful things in her time. She racks her brain trying to remember, finally remembers in the middle of the night, and feels incredibly guilty about both so completely destroying someone who didn't wrong her and not even thinking twice about it over the years.
- Character Development: Started out as the embodiment of Comedic Sociopathy, then became a Stepford Snarker and Jerk with a Heart of Gold, then finally became The Atoner.
- Enfant Terrible: It's disturbing to know that, during her pre-teen years, she concocted a dastardly plan to get her then-roommate Tammy expelled just so she could have the room at the best foster home she'd ever been to for herself. Tammy practically did nothing wrong to her and had her life ahead of her, even having a boyfriend, until Bonnie used a friend of hers (who passed away later on) to pretend Tammy's boyfriend was cheating on her, giving Bonnie an opening to make her smoke weed and pretty much destroy Tammy's whole life and convince the foster parents to kick her out. Fat chance that worked for Bonnie in the long run, because even then she got expelled two weeks later because she couldn't find a scapegoat to hide a stolen wallet. As for Tammy, she became an outlaw and was thrown in prison.
- Forgiveness: When her mother died, Bonnie is forced to confront her own feelings about the relationship she had with her. Despite seeing her mother as an easy scapegoat for most of her life, Bonnie ultimately comes to accept responsibility for her own actions in life and forgives her mom.
- Fostering for Profit: It's implied she was a victim of this as a child in her original foster homes, causing her to be jaded even when placed with well-meaning people.
- From Bad to Worse: Since Adam's not an alcoholic, he doesn't understand why drinking can be a problem for Bonnie, so she shows him a tape of Christy's wedding. Bonnie's behavior gets exceedingly crazy, to the point of being arrested.
- Hidden Depths: Later in season 5, Christy discovers that her mother is secretly a nice person to her tenants, so far as to do small favors for them like going to the pharmacy and reading to the blind. The other women are just as speechless. Strangely enough, her good building manager skills are back to being bad the next episode after Christy comments that the building manager will take a month to fix their own window.
- Hypocritical Humor: When she is disgusted by anyone else doing something to avoid their problems, she tends to immediately backpedal the moment she has to face a similar issue without missing a beat.
- Mama Bear: Her raising of Christy aside, she has a protective streak for people who took advantage of her daughter in a bad way.
- Misery Builds Character: The only way she can be interested in people is if they're in pain and they're suffering.
- Never My Fault: Ultimately subverted. She often cited how her own mother abandoning her at age 4 messed her up in life. When she vents her frustrations at her mother's grave and goes over a list of complaints, Bonnie realizes it's actually not healthy or right to blame everything on someone that wronged her years ago. Instead, she accepts responsibility for how her own life turned out.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: When Tammy gets out of prison and Bonnie actually lets her stay with her and Christy, she later regrets the fact Tammy can be so emotionally unstable and very hard to keep an eye on, but Bonnie eventually learns that the first weeks will be the harshest to endure and does keep Tammy around (much to Christy's cynical joy seeing Bonnie suffer).
- Noodle Incident: The many she had was what impacted her later generations.
- She has rap sheets in multiple states, even on the other side of the country like West Virginia. She even got into trouble in Micronesia, of all regions.
- While giving Tammy advice about being too obsessive over possible partners, Bonnie admits she once secretly moved into a guy's attic just to be near him. She made it three weeks before getting caught. She says a website was once dedicated to warning others about this.
- Only in It for the Money: If there's some way she can get a lot of money from the people she knows, it's usually the only thing she can think of.
- Pals with Jesus: She's met him twice (and God's implied to be the reason she found her building manager job).
- Really Gets Around: Like mother, like daughter. Bonnie goes out with plenty of guys throughout the first 3 seasons until she eventually settles down with Adam.
- Reasoning with God: When she relapses in Season 2 and finally comes down, she's not sure what to do and struggles with continuing to get high or getting sober again. While in bed by herself, she argues with different sides of her personality and begs for help from God. At that moment, Jesus enters from the bathroom and assures her she can get sober again. In the final scene of the episode, it seems like Bonnie was just asleep the whole time, but then Christy asks who left the seat up.
- Sanity Slippage: When she undergoes a relapse in season 1, she Apologizes a Lot to Christy for being a mess...while telling her this at work as a mess herself. She even tried to apologize by pretending to work at the restaurant.
- When Alvin dies, she has a hard time letting it go that she pretends his portrait is alive...and has dinner with it.
- When she's prescribed painkillers for her sudden back injury, she goes into a second relapse taking drugs and drinking alcohol, and she tries to hide it all from everyone.
- Soul-Sucking Retail Job: The reason why she isn't that into her building manager job is because she fears that's what all her life will amount to, until she finds that defending and giving people (who don't have any relatives, suffer from blindness, and then pancreatic cancer) a home to live in is more worthwhile than being a soulless monster wanting to drive them away because they can't pay the rent due to said extreme circumstances.
- Statuesque Stunner: She's approximately six feet tall.
- Stepford Snarker: Beneath the snark is someone who regrets the traumas of her life and failing her daughter.
- You're Not My Mother: She absolutely despises her mother for leaving her behind and preferring her second husband (whom she had a son by: Ray Casper) over her. Her mother tried so hard to make amends, but Bonnie still refused to accept her. Following up, when she sees her half-brother Ray, she can at least tolerate him because he's the only one who manages to help her out from her ridiculous tax debt. Later on, though, when he is thrown in prison for DUI but he'd rather tell Adam to bail him out rather than her, it was the last straw she had for him and she decides that he's not worth it either, even after Adam and Ray's husband tossed Ray out from their homes because of his addiction to cocaine and alcohol.
Violet Plunkett
- Played by: Sadie Calvano
Christy's daughter, who has a rocky relationship with her mother and failed to avoid Teen Pregnancy as her mother and grandmother had.
- Abusive Offspring: Due to her mother's alcoholism, she slowly begins to psychologically and emotionally abuse Christy for her misfortune and practically blames her for everything and manipulates her and makes her the bad guy without any remorse.
- The Alcoholic: Thankfully, not to the same extent as her mother and grandmother, but she is never shown drinking in moderation when she drinks.
- Bratty Teenage Daughter: Okay, so it's understandable that she has some resentment towards Christy, given the way she was raised, but Violet also frequently blames Christy for things that aren't her fault, and refuses to take responsibility for her own decisions. At one point, Christy admits to Bonnie that she loves Violet... but she doesn't like her.
- The Bus Came Back: Reappears in Season 6, hosting a podcast about her childhood with Christy.
- Cool Big Sis: To Roscoe whenever Christy was unable to care for them when she was still drinking.
- Didn't Think This Through: When she angrily leaves her mother and grandmother behind after losing their first house in season 2, she goes to live in an even worse hellhole that doesn't compare to living with Marjorie. She immediately ditches the place she went to the moment Christy mentions they got a Big Fancy House and she could have her own room.
- Disappeared Dad: The topic of her missing father aggravates her bond with Christy until the latter reveals what kind of man he was. Though Christy lies about him being dead, deciding that it's best for Violet to never meet him for being an unstable violent parent.
- Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Christy kind of forced her to grow up before her time but this is never treated as an excuse for her partying and bratty behavior in-series. In fact, the one time she tries to get sympathy for growing up without a father, she's immediately assured that her father would have likely abused her, having abused Christy herself. In-universe, however, she does have a popular podcast where she gets sympathy for her chaotic life.
- Generation Xerox: She's the end of the long shameful traditions of her family. Despite trying her best to avoid them all (such as giving her baby away for adoption because she knew deep down she wouldn't be able to provide for her and trying to study and get a job), she almost repeatedly comes back as a wreck or keeps blaming everything on her mother.
- Gold Digger: Without a hint of shame, at that. She's engaged to an older man for a time because he pays for everything for her, and when that blows up, she gets Luke to take her back after finding out he now has a good job and a condo.Bonnie: The condo's in your name, right?
Luke: Yeah?
Bonnie: Keep it that way. - Hates Their Parent: She makes no secret of the fact that she hates Christy for ruining her childhood. She likes Bonnie, though.
- Jerkass Has a Point:
- When Christy's friends ask her how bad Violet's podcast is, she has to admit "It's horrible. She tells the truth."
- After they get evicted, she questions if Christy should be sponsoring Jill since they already have more problems than they can handle. While it does help Christy in the long run, Violet was right that the odds were stacked against them.
- When Violet returns in Season 6 she is self-sufficient, no longer mooching off men, or partying to the point of being self-destructive. When she says her life is better without Christy, it's hard to argue that she's wrong.
- Karma Houdini: She never faces any consequences for her horrible actions and abusing Christy all together till date.
- Never My Fault: While some of her life choices were caused by Christy, she of course never wants to admit when some of the other choices were caused by her hands.
- Playing the Victim Card: How she deals with everything. Act like a victim and make Christy the bad guy of every situation.
- Put on a Bus: She leaves with her ex Luke in early Season 4.
- Stepford Snarker: Her attitude in early Season 2 stems from her guilt over giving up her daughter for adoption and her fear that she'll fail to succeed in life (which she feels would compound her guilt over giving up the baby).
- Selective Obliviousness: Her only appearance in Season 6 shows that she repressed any memory of Christy working on repairing their relationship and making it up to her, especially any happy memories with Christy.
- Shadow Archetype: She is basically what Christy would've become had she never forgiven Bonnie for missing out on her childhood and continue to dislike her and not work on her relationship with her.
- Teen Pregnancy: She is pregnant for most of Season 1.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: In Season 1, she was cynical and angry, but overall trying her best in a rough situation and ultimately did the right thing for her baby. Come Season 4, she's a freeloading Gold Digger who refuses to accept any responsibility for her own choices, and manipulates people without remorse.
- Villain with Good Publicity: Thanks to her podcast.
- You're Not My Mother: When she returns in Season 6, while Violet is somewhat proud of her mother coming around, Christy is greatly saddened by the fact Violet will never forgive her for missing out on her childhood for things she or any other kid shouldn't worry about and will continue disliking Christy for that, and she will continue her podcast in hopes to help other people with similar problems. She doesn't have any enmity against Bonnie, though.
Roscoe Plunkett
- Played by: Blake Garrett Rosenthal
Christy and Baxter's son. Largely the only normal person in the cast.
- Crying Wolf: He will smile and hide the fact he didn't do his homework.
- Generation Xerox: To Christy's dismay, he started drinking and smoking during his early teenage years behind everyone's backs.
- Put on a Bus: He lives with Baxter, but he doesn't appear after the fourth season.
- Spoiled Brat: It's clear this kid likes living with Candace only because she can give him anything he wants and she treats him better (because Candace knows that will piss off Christy), instead of living with his biological mother and her poorer life conditions. To be fair, Christy was making him sleep in a closet (even after Violet left home).
- The Stoner: He experimented with weed during an early season 4 arc.
- Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: He was taught by Bonnie how to cheat at table poker at a young age. He himself got cheated by her by not teaching him the fact he could hold cards.
AA Meeting Attendees
Marjorie Armstrong-Perugian
- Played by: Mimi Kennedy
A former alcoholic who always has the best intentions for her friends and tries to guide them using her past experiences as an example, but she constantly clashes heads with Bonnie. She sponsors Christy, Bonnie, Wendy, among others. She's a surviving cancer patient.
- Always Second Best: The woman has a respectable record and years of having sponsored many people, but try to show her up, and she'll get a tad frustrated.
- Been There, Shaped History: Downplayed, but pretty much at any major moment during the counter-culture movement of the mid-20th century, she was there... Woodstock, Altamont, the hippie movement in San Francisco, robbing banks with the Black Panthers. Ditto for having met many of the people of the same movement; with taking a bath with Jimi Hendrix and doing acid with Jerry Garcia being but two instances that have been mentioned.
- Broken Bird: Season 5 is not kind to her. Victor suffers a near-fatal stroke that forces her to look after him, the fact her sponsor had a relapse in the previous season starts to take a toll on her as she starts to admit she can handle herself (which she's not, since she herself said no former alcoholic should be left alone), and the last thing that made her snap was a butcher skipping her number over someone else (as that reminded her that she's old and people ignore her because of that). Ultimately averted, as she starts to make amends with her issues and manages to find a new sponsor (who has a dedication to give knitted sweaters with butterflies to her sponsored people).
- In Season 8, she goes through a brief episode of grief after her then-boyfriend Gary breaks up with her, but she pulls back thanks to the others, despite getting a fractured wrist on top.
- Broken Pedestal: She was also sponsored by a fellow former alcoholic, but she was heartbroken to know her senior fell back into it after 52 years of being sober (all because the hedge that divided her house with another was cut wrong).
- The Cobbler's Children Have No Shoes: In Season 5, her relationship with Christy has hit such a low point that Christy often ignores her advice on the grounds Marjorie is no better than them (after having a breakdown over a butcher having skipped her number for someone else, which made Marjorie lose it as she has been going through rough times in the season). The two then come to an agreement to keep being friends, but Marjorie no longer sponsors Christy as that ruins their relationship. Until Nora moves to Minneapolis in the Season 6 finale, leaving Christy to be sponsored by Marjorie again (as Christy has become less needy than before).
- Fake Guest Star: Credited as a main character from Season 2 on.
- Foil: Much of her backstory mirrors Bonnie's: a longtime alcoholic who broke the law numerous times and went to prison. Marjorie cleaned up much faster than Bonnie and devoted years to helping others instead of just coasting by. On the other hand, Bonnie was able to reconnect with her child much faster; years of good deeds did not make Marjorie's son forget her actions during her drinking days.
- Generation Xerox: Not Marjorie herself, but her and her son Jerry are both cat people, as his first (and at the moment only) scene has him carrying a cat.
- Happily Married: To Victor Perugian. Until he dies in Season 6.
- The Heart: She's the one person many at the AA meetings turn for advice in their lives. When she leaves her position, it causes disarray when Bonnie substitutes her.
- Jerkass Ball: Make no mistake. The woman is a wonderful, charitable woman who devoted her life to helping other addicts as atonement for her own mistakes in the past. "Chicken Nuggets and a Triple Homicide" is the only episode where she acted entirely selfishly by scaring Christy and her family out of their well-furnished house they got a great deal on because she was lonely without them.
- Kindhearted Cat Lover: She has way too many cats whom she dotes on, which has been implied to be a side effect of her son thinking less of her because of her past actions.
- Lethal Chef: Marjorie's homemade baked goods being as edible as rocks is a Running Gag.
- The Mourning After: After Victor dies from a stroke, Marjorie spends the rest of her time without mourning once for him, which irks Christy since she thought Marjorie was going against all she taught them about not bottling up their feelings. It turns out Marjorie was relieved, because she constantly had to monitor Victor's condition whenever he needed help, and his death set her free from that burden. After she has an otherwise wonderful time with the girls, though, she breaks down in tears when she holds the cat Victor liked the most.
- Never Mess with Granny: Before, she was in prison, and back then she used to be the top dog of the women there because she realized it was the only way to survive the tough environment. She was so good at it she ruled the place and had her own harem. Bonnie is wary of this woman when she gets tough on them, and it is effective.
- Not So Above It All: After Nora becomes Christy's new sponsor, Marjorie gets rather tweaked by all of Christy's raving about the woman (not unlike how Bonnie would get irritated by Christy praising Marjorie).
- Not So Stoic: The payoff to her first appearance. She gives Christy all sorts of rational and sage advice about not holding onto anger, but in the last scene, she encounters Bonnie. After a tense moment, she asks Christy if that was her mother and is told yes.Marjorie: No wonder you drank.
- Running Gag: Giving her fellow AA friends empty books to chronicle their recoveries during special occasions to celebrate is this. They all think she's trying to give them homework.
- Team Mom: She is the oldest in the group and she gives advice to all the women.
- Yaoi Fangirl: She watches gay porn, and she doesn't have any shame.
Regina Tompkins
- Played by: Octavia Spencer
A divorced money manager who embezzled from her clients and is faced with prison detainment. She comes into Christy's life when Christy offers to help her after watching Regina have a nervous breakdown during an AA meeting.
- The Alcoholic: Averted. She wasn't actually an alcoholic, as her main vice was drugs. In a season 3 episode, she begins drinking in moderation, and appeared to have it under control.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Doesn't appear after Season 3.
- Deus ex Machina: In-Universe. The women are utterly speechless how her constant praying to god has helped her massively after coming out of prison. The woman is back on her feet better than ever.
Jill Kendall
- Played by: Jaime Pressly
A divorced socialite woman who also is an alcoholic and assists AA meetings, becoming friends with the ladies after being sponsored by Christy.
- The Alcoholic: She was going up and down when she first appeared, but she later managed to keep herself together. Until in Season 5, when her retreat's personal trainer helped her to avoid eating a more than half a cookie ended up making Jill believe (by herself) that she could avoid drinking more than half a glass of wine. Bad move. This only causes her to have multiple relapses until she's back on her sober feet.
- Always Someone Better: She's far better at anything her boyfriend cop Andy does when it comes to physical labor (exercising, paint gun games, the Heimlich maneuver), which bums him out. It helps her actress grew up as a gymnast.
- Babies Make Everything Better: Part of the reason she really wanted a baby was to overcome the loss of her mother when she opted for suicide. Even after she pressed on despite Christy's lack of support for her decision, she lost the baby, which later became a catalyst for her to become a foster mother. She got wound up fostering a teenage girl in late season 4. In the final season, she finally gets pregnant with Andy's baby.
- Cold Turkeys Are Everywhere: After choosing to go to rehab for her added weight, she gets herself lost thinking of junk food pretty often.
- Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: Her failed attempts at marriage, being a mother, and losing her long sobriety streak have made her wonder if there is anything she's good for, so Christy suggests her to get a job. Jill ends up getting one at a homeless shelter after giving away loads of year-old clothes from her absurdly spacious closet.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: She suffers assorted hardships throughout the series, including multiple relapses and a miscarriage. Towards the end of the last season, she gets knocked up shortly after getting back together with Andy (who's ecstatic and proposes).
- Freudian Excuse:
- Growing up without a mother is often cited as a cause for her addiction and emotional problems.
- Being a rich kid, she grew up wondering if her peers were really her friends or if they just liked her for her money. A couple of episodes in Seasons 2 and 5 highlights that she is still sensitive about it as an adult.
- In the last season, it's suggested her father neglecting her after her mother's suicide is why she gets hung up on men she can't have a relationship with and why she gets very clingy towards her actual boyfriends.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Jill will fall into long jealous fits whenever she finds out how well her ex-husband's life with his new wife and family is going so far, which she then tells everyone at meetings.
- Harmful to Minors: Her mother committed suicide. Jill discovered the body.
- Inter-Class Romance: Jill starts dating Andy, a middle class police officer, in Season 6.
- Irony: Jill wanted to have a baby but sadly lost it while pregnant. Two years later, the actress who plays her got pregnant with twins.
- Pass the Popcorn: Tends to be quite amused whenever Christy and Bonnie go at it during shares.Jill: Best meeting ever.
- Reckless Gun Usage: She carries a handgun and a revolver in her purse. She used the first to terminate a rat in a trap.
- Rich in Dollars, Poor in Sense: She's done quite a few boneheaded decisions in the past and still does some strange things, such as saying that she'll take her foster daughter Emily far away from her blood mother so Emily isn't around her unstable mother. That all but spells "kidnapping".
- Missing Mom: Her mother killed herself when she was younger.
- Noodle Incident: Unsurprisingly, she has these as well. Like the one time she dated basketball star Dennis Rodman.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: Her early days of her divorce with her husband were so rocky that she always became a mess knowing how his life is turning out better without her, revealing to others what "wasn't" bothering her at the moment about his life with his new wife.
- Upper-Class Twit: Not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed among the ladies.
Wendy Harris
- Played by: Julie Dretzin (first appearance), Beth Hall (subsequent appearances)
Yet another woman attending AA. Works as a nurse. Come Season 3, she is promoted as a regular character.
- Ambiguously Bi: When the topic of conversation goes to theoretical scenarios where her friends are gay, Wendy always gets the most into it.
- Brainy Brunette: She's a registered member of Mensa, though she meekly says that her group only does puzzles and nothing else.
- Butt-Monkey: She suffers way more emotional baggage than the other ladies. Of course, it usually comes from Bonnie. This becomes a serious thing in "Fake Bacon and a Plan to Kill all of Us" where she complains the other ladies don't know much about her and she's fated to end like Mary, who died and the ladies didn't know much about her because they didn't care much for her. Bonnie ends up reassuring her they'll make an effort to stop pushing her aside.
- Child Hater: Specifically, babies. She says handling adults is far easier than dealing with babies. She even is disgusted at their tiny hands.
- Conditioned to Accept Horror: She lives together with several roommates in a house, and all are nurses. Said roommates gleefully talk about extremely gory hospital stories while eating, and she isn't fazed one bit unlike any unlucky people coming to eat with them.
- Hidden Depths: She's pretty sharp at anything involving poker games.
- Irony: The nurse dislikes babies.
- Nice Girl: She's friendly, gentle, and a teeny bit naive. Of course, she's a lot more aggressive at work.
- Noodle Incident: She can compete against Bonnie for it!
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The others are taken aback by how assertive and downright mean Wendy can be at the hospital. Bonnie says she saw her smack a lollipop out of a sick kid's hand.
- Prone to Tears: Very easily moved to tears by anything remotely emotional (though she did cry once when she saw people just having dinner).
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Inverted on the "suck" part when Wendy complains to Jill during her fat phase that Jill's life is so much more amazing than all of the ladies' combined and she has absolutely no reason to be complaining about something as small as getting fat when Jill's life as a rich socialite gives her everything she ever wanted while Wendy has all the right to complain about her own life but chooses not to.
- Remember the New Guy?: She got quietly promoted as a main character from Season 3 onward after only appearing in a few episodes in Season 2.
- Significant Name Overlap: In-Universe. Christy tried to find a good Secret Santa gift for Wendy, but she didn't know what, so she went around Facebook to track down Wendy's family for clues and managed to give her a nurse bear cookie jar with cookies using Wendy's grandma's cookie recipe, but Wendy tells her she got the wrong Wendy Harris. She still thanks Christy for the gift and hugs her. Until she whispers...
Jodi Hubbard
- Played by: Emily Osment
An drug-addicted, aggro teenager who becomes sponsored by Christy at AA. Her life turns around after being advised by the other women of the group.
- Character Death: Dies (offscreen) midway through Season 3.
- The Stoner: She was on a lot of drugs. Some of them the other AA women have never heard of.
Mary
Another alcoholic who attends AA.
- Character Death: Dies in Season 7 during AA by an aneurysm.
- Recurring Extra: While never the focus of an episode, she's almost always showing up throughout every meeting and gets to talk about her sobriety stories.
- A Dayin The Lime Light: In Season 6, she finally gets focus: by showing that her grandson is a thief posing as an electrician who robs her fellow AA members behind their backs during Christmastime. She is devastated to find out her trust on her grandson was misplaced.
- We Hardly Knew You: After her death, the group of girls feels greatly ashamed they didn't know Mary all that well despite her coming to AA very often. Feeling guilty, Jill makes a funeral to honor her memory, since Mary's daughter had a strained relationship with her (until she realized her mother wasn't lying about her experiences in AA and decides to attend meetings in her place for also being The Alcoholic) and Mary's grandson is a scumbag who never cared much for her.
Nora Rogers
- Played by: Yvette Nicole Brown
A sponsor in AA whom Christy chooses to be her new sponsor late in Season 5 after her relationship with Marjorie was getting in the way of her sponsor skills. Works as a weather forecast woman.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Her tough demeanor on her sponsored people prevents her from getting too close to them, as that ruins her job. She only ever spends time with them if it's a special occasion (like getting into a fight with her husband). Unfortunately for her, she starts to defrost around Christy.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: Compared to Marjorie, Nora is much more strict in her sponsor skills, though not quite as nasty.
- Put on a Bus: Departs after the Season 6 finale to Minneapolis where she was offered a better weather cast position (they have 8 different precipitations).
- Sassy Black Woman: She's being played by Yvette. What did you expect?
Tammy Diffendorf
- Played by: Kristen Johnston
Bonnie's former foster sister whom Bonnie screwed up so much and turned her into a life of crime, ending in prison well into adulthood, but later gets released in Season 6.
- The Alcoholic: She went to AA in prison, and she later goes to normal AA meetings with the other ladies.
- Ascended Extra: She has lasted far longer with the girls than most characters who only last 5 or so episodes at best. In Season 7, it cements her status as a secondary character that she gets Promoted to Opening Titles by integrating her mugshot with the rest of the ladies' mugshots (which extends the opening theme's music a little longer) and appears in the full picture with everyone else.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Chef Rudy, of all people, but then she prematurely decides to break up with him because she's not ready for a serious relationship. Cue his Big "NO!" It later turns out she's just playing hard to get...
- Big Fun: The largest lady of the girls who has a penchant to do crazy things.
- Break the Cutie:
- The reason why she even was in foster care: her own father murdered her mother, which left a heavy emotional scar on her, leading to her foster mother spoiling her because she needed it the most out of all the orphaned children (including Bonnie). What Bonnie did to her only added to Tammy's misfortune.
- Later on, it turns out her long-lost maternal aunt didn't really care about Tammy, and only tracked her down to get her to donate her kidney for a lifesaving transplant. Tammy averted breaking down, but she did refuse to be taken advantage of any further.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Prison messed up her good, even after she got out.
- Continuity Nod: Her Epic Fail moment when she was arrested gets integrated as her mugshot to the opening a season later.
- Dramatic Irony: Bonnie is the whole reason she turned to a life of crime and ended in prison because of it, but it's also thanks to Bonnie that helped Tammy come around and get out of prison. More ironically is the fact Tammy looks up to Bonnie, much to Bonnie's dismay.
- Epic Fail: The reason she was in prison when she first appears is because she attempted to rob an Outback Steakhouse, only to learn it was Cops Eat Free Night. She was arrested by 32 officers.
- Genki Girl: After being released from prison, she's exaggeratedly more emotional than trying to murder Bonnie, whom she looks up to (as Bonnie reconciling with her was what let Tammy be released earlier for good behavior).
- Hidden Depths:
- She took several handyman classes while in prison and knows her way around fixing machines than even Bonnie can't, which makes Tammy into an unofficial handyman for the apartments managed under Bonnie.
- It is a wonder Tammy was basically a perfect child (before Bonnie screwed her up, anyway) when she was enduring the trauma of her father murdering her mother.
- Mundane Luxury: Several years in jail where all of her choices have been made for her (and most weren't all that good, as well,) have left her amazed by rather ordinary things, even finding Olive Garden (a memetic Butt-Monkey among restaurant chains) to be incredible. It becomes Played for Drama as well, as the luxury of even having choices can be overwhelming, with something mundane as picking out clothes (after years of nothing but prison sweatsuits) being able to make her freak out.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Before her parole check-up due date, she managed to get a job at a taco restaurant to avoid going back to jail. However, she was fired from it because she had sold a soda for much less than what it costed to a hobo, which meant she'd go back to jail. The women from AA rally to keep her away from jail, and they succeed in getting Tammy more time.
- The Thing That Would Not Leave: Bonnie and Christy eventually get fed up by her loafing behavior, until Bonnie manages to convince Tammy to go live with Marjorie since Victor died recently.
- This later gets inverted with Marjorie when Tammy starts to get frustrated with her lecturing her too much as if she was her daughter, convincing Tammy to go live somewhere else since she does have the money to live alone until she learns Marjorie is soon running into financial difficulties (as Victor's medical bills burned a lot of the money he already had before passing away) and is grateful for Tammy helping her out, which convinces Tammy to remain with her.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Understandably not the most pleasant person when she first appears; she even assaults Bonnie upon recognizing her. She becomes considerably nicer and more sociable, as she gets her life back on track and gets out of prison.
Patty
- Played by: Kate Micucci
A young lady whom Bonnie meets after she becomes frustrated with Adam during their honeymoon at a cabin near the lake.
- The Alcoholic: She very recently just admitted herself to AA the same day Bonnie visited her meeting. Her life is such a mess: she has lost her daughter, said daughter was taken away by her mother, didn't attend her daughter's latest birthday, is married to a husband who has a mistress she likes better than her, and she was evicted and lives in an alley.
- Cool Teacher: Sees Bonnie as one after Bonnie took leadership of the rather disorganized AA meeting and told everyone her story. In all fairness, Bonnie simply repeated the same things Marjorie had told her in the episode and, obviously, took the credit. Bonnie ends up becoming her sponsor.
- Genki Girl: She's very upbeat, though she behaves like that to hide her many issues.
Gary
- Played by: Kevin Dunn
Marjorie's boyfriend from Georgia starting Season 8.
- The Alcoholic: Had a crappy past that put alcohol before his family.
- Freudian Excuse: His constant passive-aggresive criticism of people's every little thing going on with their lives may stem from the fact he was an alcoholic who chose very destructive choices that ultimately convinced his wife to leave him once she had their second son.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: His nonstop recommendations he tells others to do makes even Adam hate his guts.
- Hypocritical Humor: He very much acts like a life coach constantly butting into other people's business, but he says the exact opposite after butting into other people's business.
- What Does She See in Him?: Marjorie's friends are very much confused how she finds the irritating man good enough to be in a serious relationship. It turns out she was moved by his previous history as an alcoholic because of choosing alcohol over his family and driving a wedge between them; something Marjorie herself did in regards to her son.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: After his debut, he only gets mentioned at times until he breaks up with Marjorie in a text.
Other Main Characters
Baxter
Christy's second husband, blood father of Roscoe. He gets remarried to a woman named Candace and moves in with her.
- Character Development: Much to Christy's chagrin, Baxter ends up turning his life around when he marries a woman who also happens to be wealthy and loves him despite his rocky past. Before all this, though, he's actually a loving and supportive father to Roscoe besides the fact his son got into his hidden pot stash, which Candace was sure he got rid of.
- Dumbass No More: After hooking up with Candace, he gives up his get-rich-quick schemes and focuses more on maintaining the opulent lifestyle he's been handed, even becoming more insightful.Violet: You got smarter when you stopped smoking weed.
- Henpecked Husband: While Candace appears sweet while listening to her husband's checkered past, Baxter always says she chews him out hard when no one's looking.
- Hidden Depths:
- The Season 1 finale has him reveal he's fully aware of what a pathetic loser he is and his get-rich-quick schemes are due to the shame of the fact he has no stability at his age and it's just a desperate attempt to obtain it.
- As hair-brained as some of his schemes are, they actually work sometimes, like his knockoff Viagra scheme or using Roscoe to pass a drug urine screen.
- Lives in a Van: Baxter lives in a red car. When Christy comments that it's being towed, he runs out muttering about his cleaning lady still being in there.
- The Scapegoat: After dealing with the subject of her awful first husband, Christy admits Baxter was a good guy she unfairly took her anger out on.
- The Stoner: If made to choose between oxygen and pot, Baxter would pick pot. And not even his new life with Candace is enough for this man to forget about having a hidden stash that he abuses himself.
Alvin
Bonnie's ex-husband and Christy's estranged blood father. He is a car repair salesman with another family.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: He and Bonnie start off with a rocky relationship by the time they see each other again that Bonnie constantly insults him (which is justified, since he disappeared the moment Bonnie had Christy and there was no indication he would get cold feet). Several talks later, the two can hardly stop kissing each other.
- Character Death: He dies of a second heart attack, much to the horror of Christy and Bonnie.
- Shared Family Quirks: The only thing that convinces Christy that he is her father from one photo is that she inherited...his short size. Later, he mutters to himself how she and her daughter Violet inherited his explosive temper when slightly angered.
- Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: Several jokes come from how he has to stand on something to be able to kiss Bonnie.
- You're Not My Father: The fact that he deserted Bonnie when she had Christy has this happen to him coming from Christy, and then it happens again with Violet. Thankfully, they manage to re-accept him after he has tried to make amends.
Adam Janikowski
Bonnie's boyfriend and later husband. A former stunt actor who became disabled in the legs.
- Amicable Exes: Him and his ex wife are close.
- Berserk Button: He takes deep offense to Bonnie using a handicapped spot as a matter of convenience and forging a copy of his handicapped placard to sell it. He notes he doesn't need his placard, but he knows people in much worse shape that depend on handicapped spots to do everyday shopping.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: He doesn't like the fact he can get away with things by being disabled and he prefers people to treat him like any other person, which Bonnie finds out the hard way when she herself is disabled for an episode and she tries to use their status to get an advantage at a restaurant.
- Heroes Love Dogs: He's so devoted to his dog Samson that he goes into a major funk when the dog finally dies of old age. Bonnie gets him a new puppy to help him get over his grief, and he eventually takes to it.
- Heroic BSoD: The final episode reveals he suffers from a mild case of cancer, though fortunately it's apparently treatable.
- Irony: He opens up a bar, yet he loves a former alcoholic woman. They both know it's weird.
- Jerkass: Towards his brother Patrick. He greatly enjoys if he can manage to make Patrick angry in some way or another. He insists that he doesn't get along with his brother, due to not getting money from a business they started together. While that is a genuine annoyance, he admits what really hurt is how Patrick never visited him after the accident when even old high school acquaintances did.
- Jerkass Has a Point: When he attends an AA meeting with Bonnie, he keeps criticizing elements of people's stories. He thinks he's being this trope (as he feels he's pointing out practical solutions and criticizing avoidable mistakes), but unsurprisingly, Bonnie keeps telling him to be quiet.
- The Loins Sleep Tonight: One episode deals with this. Bonnie gets offended when she learns he gets buzzed before they sleep together, so he tries to prove that's not a comment on her looks or age by not drinking or getting stoned the next time he sleeps over. Then he finds himself unable to perform that night and the following morning. He realizes, though, his failure to perform is actually rooted in his subconscious dislike over how Bonnie keeps making various decisions for him. Things go back to normal when she concedes he's right and apologizes, as he considers that a turn on.
- Nice Guy: Well, by the show standards, he's this. Just don't take him to an AA meeting or else he'll point fingers and laugh at people telling their stories, or even have his brother Patrick around for too much.
- Only Sane Man: The cooler head to Bonnie's behavior and prone to pointing out the others needlessly doing something odd. He is very much aware of.Adam: Crazy never takes a day off here.
- Really Gets Around: Before Bonnie, he dated and slept with a lot of different women. Well-into Season 5, Bonnie says she still bumps into his exes at random locations, much to her irritation.
- The Stoner: He smokes and drinks, but he doesn't have an addiction.
- Taught by Experience: After adjusting to life with an AA member, he figures out how to use it to his advantage, such as ensuring Bonnie goes to meetings on sporting event nights but framing that as if he was doing her a favor. His friends at his sports bar consider him a hero for this.
- We Used to Be Friends: He has a strained relationship with his brother Patrick, whom he started a business that became too successful but he felt like he was stealing his money and left it behind to become a stunt actor. However, Adam became disabled during his work, but he never informed his brother about the accident. His brother did want to see him despite what happened between them.
- Wham Shot: He spends most of his first episode talking to Bonnie on the phone. This is how viewers learn he's in a wheelchair.
Gabriel
Manager of the restaurant Christy works at on Season 1. Also one of Christy's many one-time lovers.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: After Season 2, he stops appearing, alongside his wife. Season 5 indirectly reveals he was replaced by a manager who actually had a degree in restaurant management.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Even after Christy broke up with him, he tries to make her love life miserable when he gets the chance to know she's with another.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: His wife is much more attractive than him.
Chef Rudy
The very snarky head chef of the restaurant Christy works at. Hardly will try to help someone if it means demeaning them even more.
- The Alcoholic: Likes to drink a lot, but not to the extent it screws his life. Rather, it makes him more insufferable. Come Season 7, it finally bites him in the ass for getting a DUI and he has to legally attend AA, much to his frustration and embarrassment.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension:
- Firstly with Bonnie, which ended up with him dumping her because the spark went out...and her breaking his wine bottles in retaliation.
- Then, much later, with Tammy, though ironically she ended up breaking up with him because she wasn't ready for a serious relationship. Cue his Big "NO!"
- Played for Laughs after the above. Tammy, Rudy, and his companion all think Christy has a crush on him because of this.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Stops appearing after Season 2.
- The Bus Came Back: He comes back a few times during later seasons. Most notably, he comes back in the Season 5 finale by tempting Christy into gambling away and losing her pay money and the diamond earrings she got as a graduation gift from the women. After that, he appears just as much as he used to be.
- Full-Name Basis: Everyone calls him by Chef Rudy. Adam points out why no one just calls him "Rudy."
- Mr. Vice Guy: Although he isn't exactly a nice person, Rudy has so many vices. However, he apparently draws the line on every vice he has before he becomes completely addicted to them.
- Never My Fault: Often screws people (namely Christy) with his actions. Whatever they do with what he does to them, he doesn't feel ashamed if they break under pressure.
- Noodle Incident: He's the man he is because he's very distant from his mother, but he doesn't elaborate.
- Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: In-universe, Chef Rudy has a working-class Boston background but uses a generic accent to hide his humble origins. He reverts to his Boston accent when Bonnie tortures him and he's too distraught to maintain the facade.Chef Rudy: "Hahd to chahge sixty bucks for lobstah chowda with capers."
- Pet the Dog: On one occasion, Gabriel was being so obnoxious to Christy that Rudy presented her with a pie. As Rudy expected, she shoved the pie into Gabriel's face. Another time, he gave Christy a gambling tip that he assured her was a sure deal to help her save her home. It worked, but she got mugged on the way home.
- Single-Target Sexuality: After Tammy breaks up with him, he's left as an emotional wreck pinning for her attention as she toys with his heart in order to get him to love her. Apparently, this was all a ploy for Rudy to reverse the roles and have her pinning for his attention instead.
- The Sociopath: "Twirly Flippy Men and a Dirty Bird" cements for good the man is incredibly rude and insufferable to the point that he can't bring himself to be touched by one of Marjorie's heartfelt speeches during AA on her checkered past as an alcoholic but rather would criticize her on her choice of clothing. Christy snaps and kicks him out of her car. This has the unintended effect of making Rudy lose his passion for drinking.
- Those Two Guys: Together with Paul, his sous chef.
- Too Kinky to Torture: ...so Bonnie has a field day breaking every single bottle of expensive wine in retaliation for having a one-night only stand with her. After all the abuse, he admits that was also kinky.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Your mileage may vary on the "unwilling" part, but he is usually one of the driving forces that makes Christy fall back into her addictions or introduce new ones that end up screwing her life.
Luke
Violet's boyfriend, who got her pregnant too early.
- The Bus Came Back: He returns in Season 4 after not being seen since mid Season 2.
- Put on a Bus: Though Season 6 doesn't show him, Violet reveals the relationship didn't work out. Again. Effectively retiring his character.
- Character Development: He turns his life around and becomes a successful video game programmer (by getting a job from the guy who decided to adopt his child).
- Dirty Coward: He's a nice guy, but he constantly folds in the face of his parents' disapproval. It annoys Violet to no end.
- Irony: His parents are more well-put together than he, yet they believe their mess of a son wasn't at fault for making Violet pregnant.
- Kindhearted Simpleton: Luke's heart is always in the right place, even if the rest of him isn't in the right timezone.
- Mr. Fanservice: His first scene, he was wearing just his underwear.
Andy
- Played by: Will Sasso
A police cop who befriended Jill after her home was ransacked. The two quickly begin developing a relationship.
- The Alcoholic: Not as bad as the girls', but one outing with Adam has him go overboard with drinking that it scares Jill about returning to a life of alcohol. She never truly considered the part where Andy would simply stop drinking for her sake.
- Always Second Best: Jill is far more physically adept than him, which bogs him down given the fact he is a cop.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: When compared to Jill.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Invoked. Andy isn't exactly good-looking, but the attractive Jill finds him irresistible simply because he's a Nice Guy.
Recurring Characters
Victor Perugian
- Played by: Jonny Coyne
Christy's former landlord who kicked her out of her first apartment for not paying rent for a while. He loathes both Christy and her family.
- Accidental Misnaming: Invoked. He calls Christy "Chrusty", which may be caused by his thick accent.
- Character Death: He dies off-screen in Season 6 from a stroke while Marjorie was away at a play with Christy and Bonnie.
- Funny Foreigner: His thick accent just makes his threats endearing to the audience, but threatening to Christy.
- Happily Married: With Marjorie. Christy presenting her to him is what convinced him to forget about the debt she had with him.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's abrasive and intimidating, but ultimately not a bad guy. He simply wants three months of the back rent he's entitled to and is willing to accept one month's back rent as a token payment, understanding Christy hasn't paid due to Violet's pregnancy robbing her of shifts. He's even able to win over Marjorie and generously absolves Christy of the debt as a thank you for introducing him.
- Love at First Sight: And he paid 50 bucks as ransom to talk to Marjorie.
- Obnoxious In-Laws: His sister aggravates Marjorie so much. Luckily for her, it looks like she didn't get to live in her house.
Steve Casper
A creepy but good lawyer who takes Christy under his wing after she decides to become a lawyer. Has a sexual relationship with Bonnie too.
- The Alcoholic: He attends meetings with Bonnie, Christy and the other ladies.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He's a big mess of a lawyer because of how frightened he can get when handling cases (the state of his office is also a mess...and that's where he lives), but when he does put some work into it, he is pretty good.
- Male Gaze: Invoked. He thought leering while slowly eating cookies at Bonnie was meant to be sexy. She and the other women were freaked out instead.
- Too Dumb to Live: He once tried to hide from a Mexican cartel in Mexico.
Candace Hayes
Baxter's second wife, who is a rich Spoiled Brat that enjoys making fun of Christy but is constantly embarrassed by all the dark secrets that come up about Baxter.
- Foil: She's this to Jill (even though they haven't met). Both are rich socialites. Candace is a jerk who treats others badly but is married and isn't an alcoholic that has a jerk for a dad. Jill is a good friend (if a little goofy) but is divorced and an alcoholic and lost her mother.
- Freudian Excuse: Getting money instead of love from her father emotionally stunted Candace, effectively turning her into the selfish Womanchild she is today.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: She goes drunk the moment she hears from her father that he's going to marry Christy.
- Irony: If she was much less rude towards Christy, the two would really be good friends (while simultaneously chewing Baxter out behind his back).
- Jerkass: Not exactly nice to anyone else who isn't Roscoe.
- Missing Mom: Invoked. Candace's strained relationship with her parents is so bad that all you can get about her unseen mother is an exasperated "Yeah, what about her?"
- Rich in Dollars, Poor in Sense: See Spoiled Brat.
- Spoiled Brat: Her father spoiled her rotten by giving her anything she wanted, but because of his poor manners towards her (as he enjoys making her social life miserable like she does with Christy), she grew up to be a Jerkass.
- What Does She See in Him?: It's a wonder a rich woman like her even fell for Baxter. The only thing she genuinely seems to like is how easy it is to control him.
- Wicked Stepmother: Inverted. While a bit controlling, she seems to somehow be both a more indulgent and responsible parent to Roscoe than Christy. On the other hand, it's implied she takes some pleasure in showing up Christy.
Emily
Jill's foster daughter from Season 4.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: She didn't talk to Jill when first arrived, but thanks to Christy (because of their bond over Rick and Morty), she warms up more.
- I "Uh" You, Too: Jill thinks this trope proves Emily doesn't like her, but Christy points out this is typical of teenagers and wishes she got as much from Violet.
- Missing Mom: She's in the foster care system because her mother Natasha is an alcoholic. Her mother later is released from prison and is able to raise her.
- Put on a Bus: Alongside her mother, as both head for Los Angeles.
- True Art Is Angsty: She's writing and illustrating a graphic novel with a story about a girl living in an apocalyptic world. To boot, said girl dies.
Natasha
Emily's biological mother.
- I Owe You My Life: After overhearing the troubles with Ray, Natasha hugs Christy and thanks her for not giving up on her.
- New Job Episode: The Season 5 premiere sees Natasha look for job with pay so she can get custody of Emily.
- Properly Paranoid:
- She constantly switches gears when she gets down to worrying about her and her daughter's future. And when she has a job interview and is feeling a bit confident, Christy tells her to be scared instead and makes Natasha cry and run away.
- Once she actually manages to get her own apartment (a crappy one in Bonnie's building) so she and Emily can live together again, she constantly thinks her lack of communication with her daughter means she's doing things really wrong. Fortunately, it's all in her head.
- Put on a Bus: Alongside her daughter, as both head for Los Angeles.
- Super Gullible: Apparently, a music director wanted to give her a record deal to become a successful singer in Los Angeles, but Christy can't believe Natasha fell for that trick so that a man could sleep with her. It turned out it was the truth, and he was gay.
- Took a Level in Kindness: While in prison, it was implied she only cared about Emily to gain sympathy from her parole officer, to the point that Emily was even reluctant to see her. When she finally reappears, she's portrayed as a loving parent.
Ray Stabler
Bonnie's half-brother.
- The Alcoholic: When he appears for a second time after having been pulled over for a DUI, he remains in denial about having an addiction to alcohol and cocaine.
- Fatal Flaw: His is Pride. Ray can't admit he doesn't have a grip on his drug problem. His refusal to address his addiction leads to everyone, even Bonnie and Christy, abandoning him.
- Odd Friendship: With Adam, which Bonnie and Christy never knew about.
- The Stoner: He's ashamed to admit he has done cocaine, but the girls see this as an exciting sign he's one of them. It is later Played for Drama when it (and alcohol) becomes the catalyst for his life going to crap; his husband dumps him, Adam stops letting him stay at his home after some time, and Bonnie feels betrayed that she wasn't the person he spoke to first to bail him out of prison and then became the last one he asked for help.
- Twofer Token Minority: He's black and gay.
Patrick Janikowski
Adam's brother who became rich after he and Adam started a business until Adam felt he was trying to take over the business and simply quit it out of disgust. Christy's boyfriend in Season 5.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Rocky past with his brother aside, he's the one who cares the most about mending their relationship. Adam though is kind of a Jerkass when it comes to forgiving his brother.
- Green-Eyed Monster: If his brother helps Christy in big things like financial problems, he'll do anything to sever that gesture (and even repay anything he gave her).
- Hypocrite: Defied. He's surprised that Christy Googled him, but he says he's in no position to judge because he did the same with her. He then compliments her mugshot.
- Replacement Flat Character: To Adam, being a snarky newcomer surprised by how the Plunkett women will drop any plans at a moment's notice to help a member of the group. Unlike Adam, though, he is not able to deal with it.
- We Used to Be Friends: As noted above, but Patrick is more emotionally hurt than Adam is about it.
Trevor Wells
- Played by: Rainn Wilson
Bonnie's free A.D.D. therapist starting Season 6.
- Awful Wedded Life: His relationship with his wife Sandra is a huge mess that it ends up with him having to file for divorce.
- Humiliation Conga: His Awful Wedded Life was the start. He goes hysteric whenever talking about her ex, he is forced to move out because his ex got their house as settlement, he moves to a poorly-maintained apartment that's next to a pool that regularly has swimming lessons for loud children, and his mom sided with his ex. Thankfully, he gets better after Bonnie helps him out.
- The Smart Guy: He absolutely knows how to work through Bonnie's many, many, many psychological issues. It just takes time because of Bonnie's A.D.D. getting in the way (and her smart ass attitude).
- The Stoic: At first, he can endure all the snarky comebacks from Bonnie by having comebacks of his own, but eventually, Bonnie slowly but surely drives him crazy that he needs to vent his anger out in some way (such as airboxing).
