Meet the Cast of ‘The Woman in the House …’ (Sort Of)

The world of The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window is as small as its title is long — in fact, two of the main characters are mentioned in the title itself. A satire of the increasingly popular woman-fronted crime thriller, The Woman in the House contains every element of the page-turners you know and love: a lonely woman lead, a handsome but mysterious neighbor, a cherubic child, a still-in-the-picture ex-husband and a disbelieving cop. To prepare you for the eight-episode series, get to know the key players in this mystery below.

Anna (Kristen Bell)

The heartbroken painter, mourning the loss of her daughter and demise of her marriage, spends every day the same way: sitting with her (very generous pour of) wine, staring out the window as the world passes her by. But when a new neighbor and his young daughter move into the house across the street, Anna gets shaken out of her depressing routine — until she witnesses a murder in that very house. Or does she? 

Neil (Tom Riley)

A charming and handsome single dad, Neil moves in across the street with his young daughter. But there's something this mysterious (and very sexy) widower is hiding — and it's not just the fact that he has a penchant for hanging out shirtless in the front windows of his house. The question is whether his secret is homicidal or just... embarrassing. 

Emma (Samsara Leela Yett)

Neil's sweet nine-year-old daughter Emma reminds Anna a lot of her own daughter who died in a freak accident while visiting her father at work. (Well, that’s one way to describe it. You’ll see what we mean.) Anna and Emma bond when the little girl stops by to sell candy for a school fundraiser, and Anna decides she should cook dinner for the family to welcome them to the neighborhood. Anna also encourages Emma’s burgeoning artistic talent, which inadvertently sets off a devastating series of events.

Lisa (Shelley Hennig)

Neil's flight attendant girlfriend Lisa throws a wrench in Anna’s plans to get to know Neil and Emma. But there's more to Lisa’s story than meets the eye. Is she really the sweet, nurturing woman she appears to be? If so, why does she always seem to be sabotaging Anna’s attempts to bond with her new neighbors? Surely Anna’s flirtation with — and steamy fantasies about — Lisa’s boyfriend couldn’t have anything to do with it, right?

Douglas (Michael Ealy)

Anna’s estranged husband is an FBI profiler — not the ideal profession for a Take Your Daughter to Work Day visit. Taking your nine-year-old child to meet a serial killer should definitely be grounds for divorce. It’s absolutely grounds for your ex-wife to subsist on antipsychotic pills and chardonnay (in case it wasn’t clear, this is something Douglas actually does). But Douglas clearly still cares about Anna and is still involved in her life in a surprising way.

Sloane (Mary Holland)

Anna's sister and loyal best friend Sloane is a local art gallery owner who hopes her sister can heal from her trauma and move on with her life. Sloane’s friendly and supportive but not afraid to give Anna some tough love. 

Carol (Brenda Koo)

Sometimes there's more to the nosy neighbor than meets the eye. So while Anna's neighbor Carol might seem pushy and judgmental, she also seems to genuinely want Anna to get her life back together.

Detective Lane (Christina Anthony)

The no-nonsense cop in charge of the murder investigation is used to the drama in this neighborhood, since she seems to get called any time there's an issue (no matter how small or silly). Detective Lane doesn't believe Anna at first, but perhaps she'll eventually come around.

Buell (Cameron Britton)

Perhaps the world's worst handyman — he's constantly fixing Anna's mailbox, though it never seems to get repaired — the sweet, polite Buell might also have a secret past. Naturally.