Mia is Everything Now’s protagonist. We meet her as she’s entering sixth form after seven months at a treatment facility for disordered eating. As Mia re-enters life outside the walls of rehab, she’s desperate to jump directly back into teenage revelry alongside her three best friends.  

Creator Parker admits the Everything Now team always expected that finding its Mia would be “a real challenge” because the character has an undeniable duality to her. “Mia has this very, very, very sweet, quite bumbling exterior, and is very, very snarky in a monologue,” Parker says. “Then Sophie Wilde just stepped right out of our dreams and onto Zoom.” 

Horror movie fans may recognize Wilde as the star of Australian spookfest Talk to Me about a haunted party game gone horribly wrong. 

While Parker praises Wilde’s kindness and charm, she’s most moved by the Australian actor’s ability to convey Mia’s most intimate fears. “You see that insecurity play out with such pain, and it’s just impossible not to empathize with her,” she says. 

A24 horror hit Talk to Me. 

Although Mia is the head (and mouthpiece) of the Everything Now friend group, Becca just might be its heart. She’s one of Westmere’s greatest overachievers — and romantic catches. Becca is the sensible mom friend of the crew and simply wants everyone to get along. But Becca just might be holding a secret that could tear these BFFs apart. 

Parker turns emotional the moment she considers Ajufo’s turn as endearing Becca. “Just everything she says makes me want to cry. I don’t know what it is, but she does that stunningly well,” she says. 

Cam is the lovable lothario of Everything Now’s central quartet. If he’s not working out or playing footie, he’s sending a flirty Instagram DM to his latest crush. Despite his sporty, horndog reputation, Cam has a lot of love to give.

As Parker says, Cam is the character most “impacted by a culture of toxic masculinity.” However, you can expect to see him open up over Everything Now Season 1. “It was so moving to see Cam be that vulnerable. And Harry did it wonderfully,” Parker says. 

Well-dressed and charming, you want Will at your next party. He’s always ready to offer a laugh or a shoulder to cry on to his friends. Yet, Will’s beaming smile is covering up some unexpected insecurities of his own. 

As with Cam, Parker appreciated seeing uber-confident Will “let down some of his walls” over the course of Season 1. 

Every teen show needs a stylish queen bee, and Niamh McCormack joyfully embodies that role as Alison. But Alison isn’t a regular cool girl — she’s an oddball cool girl. “We hadn’t realized until Niamh came in, but it was like, ‘Oh, Alison’s really, really fucking weird,’ ” Parker says. “ ‘This is a really weird girl.’ ”

While Everything Now is McCormack’s first starring role in a Netflix show, you can also spot her in The Witcher Season 2. In Episode 5, the Irish actor portrays Lara Dorren, an ancient relative of Ciri (Freya Allan). 

If Alison is Westmere’s most popular girl, Carli is its most mysterious one. She has just transferred to Westmere and instantly catches Mia’s eye. 

While Carli may be an enigma, Alonzo is well-known to her legions of TikTok followers. She posts everything from makeup looks to comedy content. Alonzo previously appeared in comedy Newark, Newark and Take That-inspired musical movie Greatest Days. 

Meet another one of Mia’s winsome classmates. Theo is a quintessential good guy and is widely beloved at Westmere. 

Everything Now is Akodoto’s first major role. But here’s a fun fact: He graduated from the Oxford School of Drama the same year as Queen Charlotte’s Freddie Dennis. 

Alex is Mia’s golden child little brother. He worked to maintain the family peace while Mia was in treatment. Alex is naturally good at school, sports, and making friends. But is the Polanco family pressure getting to its most unflappable member? 

This is Reuben’s first starring role, although he did previously guest star in British thriller Trust Me. 

Mia’s time in treatment is mostly about self-reflection. But she still makes a few connections in rehab. Jenna, her roommate at the facility, is one of them. Toward the end of the season, we learn just how important Jenna really is to Mia. 

As Becca reveals in the Everything Now trailer, Jonah is known for having the good weed at Westmere. Yet we soon learn Jonah can offer so much more than illicit substances to one of our heroes. 

You’ll probably find Viv’s photo next to “fabulous” in the dictionary. She is the most extroverted member of the Polanco family, and the most distant from Mia. Viv’s bright confidence often makes her daughter feel misunderstood and judged — especially now that Mia has returned from rehab. 

Like co-star Ajufo, Acheampong also appeared in long-running medical drama Holby City. Acheampong has since starred in multiple series and films, including The Sandman as Lucienne, the librarian of Dream’s (Tom Sturridge) realm.

Unlike his wife Viv, Rick has never had a problem connecting to his daughter. Creative and emotional, he and Mia are two peas in a father-daughter pod. Rick is also the parent who has taken an active part in Mia’s treatment and recovery. 

Hassell has been popping up on-screen for decades. Beyond his role in Everything Now as an understanding patriarch, he’s carved a niche for himself in sci-fi projects. Hassell has starred in anime adaptation Cowboy Bebop, along with The Boys and His Dark Materials. 

If Stephen Fry seems particularly well-suited to Dr. Nell, Mia’s kindly rehab doctor, there’s a reason for that. Creator Parker “wrote the character very, very specifically for Stephen Fry,” she says. 

At first, locking Fry down for the part was “kind of joke in the writers room.” Then the series’ casting director Kharmel Cochrane told Parker to write Fry a letter. “I don’t think she expected the tome that I passed on detailing every teenage interaction I’d had with his writing. But something got him,” Parker says with a laugh. Soon enough, she was on a pinch-me Zoom call with the man himself. 

Now viewers can enjoy Dr. Nell’s calming energy as he supports Mia on her healing journey.