Characters

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  Nick George

  Peter Krause

  Nick George is the first main character of the series. He's a well‐meaning, civic‐minded lawyer in his 30s, Nick is a husband, father, and son to the Darling family attorney, Devlin "Dutch" George. Growing up in a troubled household (his mother left when he was six), he always came second to his father's job. When he was younger, he dated Karen Darling (she lost her virginity to him). At one point, in the episode "The Cavanesca", it is revealed that Nick proposed to Karen when they were 19. He never admits it until late in Season 2, but Nick never stopped loving Karen, and he knew that she was the only person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Though he promised himself he would never follow in his father's footsteps, he is inevitably drawn to the Darling family when his father dies suddenly in a mysterious manner and agrees to be their chief counsel. However, he finds himself becoming more like the Darlings, while his marriage falls apart. Like his father before him, he delves deeper into dealings with Simon Elder as he believes him to be his father's killer. He forms a bond with Tripp and a considerable friendship with Patrick and, later in Season 2, Brian, his half brother. He is named Vice‐Chairman on Darling Enterprises Board of Directors after Letitia is asked to step down. With the new partnership between Simon Elder and Tripp Darling not much on this new title has been developed. He and Lisa divorce later in Season 2, after Lisa finds out that Nick still has feelings for Karen, and so they undergo a custody battle for their daughter, Kiki. Nick's relationship with Karen finally amounts to something when they confess their feelings for each other in the episode "The Convertible" when their plane threatens to crash. In the final episode of the last season, Nick & Karen are open to a future together, with them discussing having children, and getting married at long last.

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  Patrick "Tripp" Darling III

  Donald Sutherland

  Tripp Darling is the second main character of the series and the Darling family patriarch. Now in his 60s, he has amassed a wealth of such enormity that he owns vineyards and maintains residences around the world, including one in Upper East Side, Manhattan. With his wife, Letitia, they have raised five grown, troubled children: Patrick, Karen, Brian, Jeremy and Juliet. He runs the family's fifty billion dollar business, Darling Enterprises. His younger brother, Kenneth, was the New York State Senator from 1970 to 1975. He was one of the youngest and most influential Senators until his mysterious assassination in 1975. To this day his murder is still unsolved.

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  Letitia Van Kirk Darling

  Jill Clayburgh

  Letitia Darling is the family matriarch. Friends with the Vanderbilt family, she is a socialite of formidable standing in New York. Rendered devastated by Devlin George's death, the truth about the nature of their relationship comes to light when her daughter, Karen, reveals that they were engaged in a years‐long affair. Letitia treats Nick George as a son to her, for a number of reasons, some of which are revealed in the series. When Nick's mother left when he was a young child, she loved and cared for him. Letitia always wanted Karen to marry Nick, as she was well aware the two had a relationship years ago, and still have feelings for each other. She co‐ran the family business, Darling Enterprises, alongside Tripp, as Vice‐Chairman of the Board.

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  Patrick Darling IV

  William Baldwin

  Patrick Darling is the firstborn child of Tripp & Letitia Darling. Now in his 40s, he is the New York State Attorney General married with two kids. A rising political star, he was elected to the United States Senate. He's also been having a torrid affair with a transsexual who refuses to go away. As his marriage begins to fall apart, Patrick becomes more determined to distance himself from his father and become his own man. He is elected senator of New York and engages in an illicit affair with a gay congressman's wife.

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  Reverend Brian Darling

  Glenn Fitzgerald

  Brian Darling is the middle child of the Darling family. In his 30s, he is an Episcopalian priest, even though he has an illegitimate child who he won't admit is his. Described as a "pale, sour, whiny jerk", he loathed Nick George as a child, and when Nick first starting working with the family, hated him, but in Season 2, they end up building a unlikely friendship. He once spitefully accused Devlin George (who is also his biological father) of trying to ingratiate himself with his family, and now feels Nick is attempting to do the same. He and his first wife, Mei Ling, divorce when she finds out
  he has an illegitimate child, Brian Jr., but he marries Andrea later, a cancer survivor. In the unaired episodes, Andrea throws him out when she finds out that Brian went to DC for a tryst with his ex‐wife and he turns to Nick for help. The half‐brothers bond and the animosity is lessened between them. He resigns from Darling Enterprises after a position of Vice‐Chairman which he believed was supposed to be given to him went to Nick, also with the partnership between Tripp and Simon Elder. He rejoins the church after Andrea becomes healthy again.

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  Karen Darling

  Natalie Zea

  Karen Darling is the eldest daughter in the Darling family, with four failed marriages under her belt (the fourth didn't even survive the reception). She possesses an MBA from Columbia University, as well as running the family's charitable foundation. Nick and Karen were romantically involved at one point in time when they were younger (she lost her virginity to him). Nick proposed to Karen while holidaying in Italy when they were both 19. They never ended up getting married, which both Nick & Karen both regret, because the latter always thought she would end up his wife. She now resents the fact that it didn't turn out that way. All along, she knows that even when she tries to forget about the past and move on, she knows that she loves Nick, and always will do. She later begins a relationship with Simon Elder so she can spy for her father, but ends up forming slight feelings for him, alienating her from the rest of her family. Her relationship with Simon ends when he trades her for a business deal with Tripp on their wedding day. She later finds out she is pregnant with Simon's baby, but loses it in a miscarriage when she falls down the stairs at the Darling house. Karen starts a long overdue relationship with Nick late in Season 2. They talk openly about having a real future together, that both of them always wanted. They discuss having children, and the possibly of someday getting married.

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  Simon Elder

  Blair Underwood

  Simon Elder is the world's third‐richest man, thanks to his invention of a superfast computer processor, but he couldn't be more different from the old‐money Darling family headed by Tripp Darling. Unlike the Darlings, who live their lives so conspicuously, Simon is always radically underdressed. He lives very simply in a mostly empty loft, and he's sharp. He is engaged in a continuous war with the Darlings for the ownership of the island of Manhattan. His hatred of the Darlings stems from the fact that his parents used to work for Tripp's Father. A rumour started that Simon's father was having an affair with Tripp's mother. Whether or not this was true, things escalated and resulted in Devlin George reporting them to the State Department. The result was that they had to flee to Russia, Simon was told that Russia was more "sensitive to the plight of African Americans". However, it did not work out and they ended in a Siberian Work Camp where they died. Simon incorrectly blames the Darlings for their deaths. He later embarks on a partnership with Tripp regarding a bio‐fuel he supposedly developed, but was really the idea of Nola Lyons' father, his old college professor. He also reveals to Nick who he is ultimately working for.

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  Lisa George

  Zoe McLellan

  Lisa George is the loving, attractive art dealer wife of Nick George. Mother to their daughter, Kiki, she is a patient partner in parenting and enjoys the frequent, lavish parties that the Darlings throw in which she is now privy to. Despite their newfound wealth, Lisa is also aware of the fact that her husband might be drifting away from her and growing closer to his old flame, Karen Darling. She begins a short‐lived romantic entanglement with Jeremy Darling, which ultimately leads to the destruction of her marriage. In the unaired episodes she writes a tell‐all book about the Darlings, much to Nick's chagrin, but her plan backfires when she ends up looking like a bitter, money‐crazed ex‐wife on daytime television. She tries to get Nick back but fails.

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  Nola Lyons

  Lucy Liu

  Nola Lyons is a powerful attorney who has never lost a case. She is the prosecutor in the Devlin George murder trial and has a strong dislike for the Darlings. Despite this, she begins an affair with Jeremy Darling, which ultimately costs her the case when it comes to light. It is revealed that she is working with Simon Elder to take down the Darlings after her career falls apart, and she convinces Patrick Darling to make her his Chief of Staff under Simon's orders. Though she occasionally shows signs of remorse, she is motivated by the safety of her younger brother, whom Simon is holding hostage.

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  Jeremy Darling

  Seth Gabel

  Jeremy Darling (along with Juliet) is half of the set of fraternal twins that make up the youngest members of Darling family. Addicted to cocaine, he is frequently seen hung over, chain‐smoking and pleading with Nick George to get him out of a jam. Completely oblivious to other people's suffering and unable to imagine a life worse than his, Jeremy often fears that he is the family disappointment and that his father abhors him. He has been involved with several who have complicated relationships with his family. He gets involved with Nola Lyons, who, under Simon Elder's instructions, is prosecuting Letitia Darling. He pretends to have amnesia in order to hide from Simon Elder to help Nola save her brother.