Millie is a criminology professor at UC Santa Barbara whose academic focus is female serial killers. Following her mother's death, she developed strong emotional barriers and uses sarcastic humor to keep others at a safe distance. She agrees to a dating app pact with her male friends but finds it difficult to express genuine feelings or share personal family struggles. Her deep platonic bond with Reid becomes complicated by a sudden physical attraction.

Reid is a perceptive neuroscience professor who values authentic emotional connections. He serves as the primary emotional anchor for his friend group and often senses when Millie hides her true feelings. While he enjoys the comfortable stability of his current social life, he actively desires a meaningful romantic partnership. He agrees to the dating app pact and begins searching for someone who can match him intellectually and emotionally.

Chris is a chemistry professor who acts as the responsible anchor for his academic peers. He relies on facts and logic, taking a pragmatic approach to the online dating project. He views their tight-knit social circle as a chosen family and worries that romantic entanglements between members could cause irreparable damage to their group dynamic.

Ed is a postdoctoral researcher in Reid's lab who brings a goofy energy to the academic group. He possesses more experience with modern dating app terminology than his fellow professors. Despite his easygoing exterior, he takes the search for a romantic partner seriously and faces the common frustrations of digital courtship.

Alex is a biochemistry professor who embraces a cynical approach to modern courtship. He prioritizes physical attraction over emotional vulnerability, making him a distinct contrast to his more romantically inclined friends. His blunt commentary provides levity as the group attempts to build appealing online dating profiles.

Elly is Millie's sister living in Seattle. She manages a job and her own family while acting as the primary caregiver for their ailing father. She expresses frustration with Millie's physical distance and reluctance to engage with their family's medical realities.

The father of Millie and Elly, residing in Washington state. He has Parkinson's disease and requires significant care, a situation that deeply affects his family's dynamics and causes Millie considerable hidden anxiety.

Daisy is a conventionally attractive woman who matches with Reid on the IRL app. Her profile looks perfect on paper, but her tendency to talk exclusively about her ex-boyfriend ruins the possibility of real connection during an in-person date.

Reid's mother, who lives at the family vineyard. She insists that Reid bring his entire friend group home to celebrate his birthday, demonstrating her warm hospitality and close bond with her son.

Reid's father, who operates the Campbell family vineyard. He wears a prosthetic arm with a hook due to a past farming accident, a detail that fascinates his son's academic friends.

Reid's younger sister. She joins the family birthday celebration at the vineyard, easily drawing the attention of Reid's single male colleagues when she arrives.

Millie's ex-boyfriend. He resurfaces in her life purely as an unwelcome suggestion on the dating platform, highlighting the awkwardness of digital matchmaking in a small social pool.

An acquaintance of Millie's sister. She awkwardly brings up the sensitive topic of Millie's father's health in a public setting, forcing Millie into a defensive posture.

Reid's ex-girlfriend. He remembers her primarily for her inability to integrate comfortably with his close-knit family, contrasting heavily with the way his current friends fit into his home life.