After a personal tragedy, Anna isolated herself away from her life and career as a WSK TV News anchor. But when her high school friend Rachel is murdered in their sleepy hometown, Anna returns to report on the unsolved case.

Both Thompson and Bernthal describe Anna as a go-getter. “She runs toward ambition and work and activity and feeling in control, and that has really served her,” says Thompson, who also executive produced the series. “She’s fierce,” Bernthal agrees. “She’s one of these people who is doing exactly what they’re supposed to be doing in life. She’s really a truth teller and a truth seeker.”

Creed, Thor, Dear White People

Since losing his last job in Atlanta, Jack is now working as a sheriff’s office detective in his hometown of Dahlonega, where he lives with his sister and niece. He’s still technically married to newscaster Anna, but the two are currently estranged, their relationship complicated by loss and betrayal. When Jack is assigned to investigate the murder of someone he knew, he becomes deeply troubled by the case.

“He’s trying to do the right thing and can sometimes be misguided, but he always leads with a lot of heart,” Thompson says. “He is someone that cares tremendously about the people in his life and is rooted in a great sense of responsibility to protect the people that he loves.”

King Richard, The Accountant, The Bear

Earnestly efficient, eager to please, and fascinated by murder, Priya is a new detective for the Dahlonega Sheriff’s Office. Having left the big city to work in a small town, Priya brings a sharp quirkiness to the job that her more experienced partner Jack finds both endearing and annoying.

Everything Everywhere All at Once, Death of a Unicorn, The Roses

Anna’s mother, Alice, is strong, says what she thinks, and lives alone in the home where she raised her daughter in Dahlonega. Following a family tragedy, Alice hasn’t heard from Anna in a year, but her son-in-law, Jack, has been checking in on her. Alice’s health is in decline, which has recently resulted in some odd behavior around town.

Driving Miss Daisy, In the Heat of the Night, The Haves and the Have Nots

Richard is one of the best camerapeople at WSK TV News and the husband of Anna’s professional rival, Lexy Jones. When Anna returns as a field reporter covering a murder in Dahlonega, she chooses Richard to be her cameraperson.

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, Den of Thieves, Skyscraper

Smart, professional, and driven by raw ambition, Lexy is the news anchor at WSK TV News — a position previously held by Anna. Capitalizing on Anna’s recent leave of absence, Lexy leapfrogged into the anchor desk position, and though she claims to be “delighted” to see Anna back at the news station, she has no intention of giving up the coveted role.

Four Weddings and a Funeral, Maggie, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

Sharp-tongued and bored, Zoe lives in Dahlonega with her six-year-old daughter, Meg (Ellie Rose Sawyer), and is currently — and begrudingly — letting her brother Jack stay with them until he gets back on his feet. Her love of wine and her too-tight sweatpants suggest that Zoe peaked in high school, so of course, she finds the recent murder of a former classmate equally exciting and scary.

Hell or High Water, Homeland, Eileen

The husband of recently murdered Rachel, Clyde is a pizza-chain mogul who’s very candid about his immense wealth. As a person of interest in Jack’s investigation, Clyde is keeping secrets that might just make him the perfect suspect.

The Wire, True Blood, The Deuce

Helen is the fiercely self-protective headmistress at St. Hilary’s Academy, the high school she once attended along with Anna, Rachel, and Zoe. A good friend of the murder victim, Helen becomes increasingly incensed by Anna’s reporting, and Anna can’t help feeling like her former classmate is hiding something. 

Hacks, Sunnyside, Dead Ringers