Characters

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  Cathy

  Laura Linney

  Cathy Jamison is a reserved, stifled, Minneapolis schoolteacher who receives life changing news and decides, from that moment on, to make drastic, long-overdue adjustments to the way she is living her life. She’s always been conservative and structured – the perfect suburban wife and mother – but Cathy is tired of being ‘the sensible one.’ Now she wants to let her freak flag fly. For the first time in her life, she is going to make choices that suit her needs. Who says you can’t eat dessert as an appetizer? Time is precious, and Cathy is grabbing life by the balls...

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  Paul

  Oliver Platt

  Cathy's loveable but immature husband, Paul is no longer living in the house when the series opens. Cathy has kicked him out because she is tired of taking care of him and she hopes he will grow up. As she says, “It's hard not to treat you like a child when every time I make a sandwich you ask me to cut the crusts off your bread.” Paul has no idea that Cathy has cancer and he is determined to get himself back into Cathy's life... and heart.

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  Sean

  John Benjamin Hickey

  Sean is Cathy’s eccentric brother – and “eccentric” is putting it mildly. Selectively homeless and wildly outspoken, Sean appreciates life while he is living it, on his own terms at all times, critics (and deodorant!) be damned. He has always been the portrait of unbridled freedom – no inner conflicts, just comfortable and content – Cathy’s polar opposite. Which might be why she finds herself seeking him out as she goes through this big transition.

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  Marlene

  Phyllis Somerville

  Cathy's grouchy neighbor, Marlene becomes an unexpected ally for Cathy. Both women feel left out and frustrated, and despite their large age difference, they begin to work together to get through life. They continue to fight, but in some ways, they "get each other."

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  Adam

  Gabriel Basso

  Adam is Cathy's bratty son, playing pranks on his mother and keeping her on her toes. But Cathy wishes she had been a better parent to Adam, and is starting to take the reins. When she literally grabs Adam by the throat and pushes him up against the wall, she explains adamantly, "From now on, I'm going to raise you so hard your head is going to spin."

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  Andrea

  Gabourey "Gabby" Sidebe

  Andrea is mean and snotty, but something about her attracts Cathy. She carries a confidence and a spiritedness that makes her stand out from the other students in the class. Cathy takes on Andrea's smart-aleck ways as a challenge to nurture and help. And through this, Cathy helps herself.

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  Dr. Todd

  Reid Scott

  For an oncologist, the young Dr. Todd is quite the stud, and Cathy can't ignore his attractiveness. She finds herself talking bluntly in his presence about her personal life, and Todd's sturdy compassion and kind humanity keep her comfortable. But does his interest in Cathy go beyond the fact that she is his first cancer patient?