Avery is a 17-year-old pansexual high school senior forced to relocate to rural Georgia due to her grandmother's terminal illness. Having recently broken up with her girlfriend over racial microaggressions, she feels anxious about fitting in and connecting with her estranged maternal family. Avery is observant and justice-minded, struggling to define her identity while wearing a lip piercing that draws judgment from conservative locals.

Letty is a cantankerous, terminally ill woman who has spent decades living in Bardell. She has been estranged from her daughter Zora for many years, a rift caused by past neglect and harsh judgments. She carries heavy, unresolved grief over the violent death of her husband, Raymond, which hardens her exterior and makes her slow to trust.

Zora is a highly successful astrophysicist who fled her hometown of Bardell as a teenager and rarely looked back. She relies on the personal motto "focus forward" to avoid dealing with her painful childhood trauma and the emotional abuse she suffered from her mother. Returning to care for her dying mother forces her to confront the town and the people she left behind.

Simone is a Black high school senior living next door to Letty. She dreams of attending Spelman College and becoming a policymaker, using her ambitions to endure the anti-fat bias and racist comments at her predominantly white private school. She keeps parts of her identity hidden due to fear of rejection from her socially conservative mother.

Jade is a wealthy white teenager descended from Bardell's most prominent and historically racist family. Disgusted by her family's conservative politics and the morbid true-crime tourism surrounding their hotel, she plans to leave for New York City after graduation. She acts as a fierce defender of her friends but struggles to fully grasp their lived realities as Black teens.

Carole is Simone's mother and a long-time resident of Sweetness Lane. She works at the Draper Hotel & Spa and holds conservative, religious views that cause tension in her household. She harbors intense, lingering resentment toward Zora for abandoning their hometown.

Sam is Avery's white father, a patient and mediating presence in the Anderson family. He travels frequently for work in Washington DC but remains emotionally available for his daughter, offering reassurance when she feels overwhelmed by the complicated Harding family dynamics.

Lucas is Jade's father and the heir to the Oliver family's wealth and influence. Accustomed to getting exactly what he wants, he carries the arrogance of a family historically insulated from consequences. Local rumors surround his involvement in his first wife's sudden death.

Tallulah is Lucas's second wife and Jade's stepmother. She organizes local social events and promotes an idealized, whitewashed version of Southern history. She weaponizes her privilege effortlessly, often framing herself as the victim when challenged by people of color.

Amelia is Jade's late mother, an Ohio native who married into the wealthy Oliver family. She transformed the family's plantation into an idyllic wedding venue, choosing to ignore the property's horrific history to maintain her comfortable lifestyle. Her unsolved murder hangs over Bardell.

Raymond is Avery's late maternal grandfather. He worked as a train porter and faced immense pressure balancing his job with the racial violence of the Jim Crow era. His tragic murder before Zora's birth devastated his family and shaped the trajectory of Letty's life.

Mr. Arnie is an elderly Black man who owns a secluded, invitation-only restaurant. He serves as a protective community elder and creates a safe haven for LGTBQ+ people in an otherwise hostile region.

Kelsi is Avery's white ex-girlfriend from Washington DC. Her culturally insensitive behavior and dismissal of Avery's feelings regarding racial issues led to their recent breakup, which left Avery cautious about trusting new friends.