Flying Right

Meet the cast:

SAM WATERSTON
*Character: Forrest Bedford, DA and solo father
*Defining Moments: Prosecuted a white man involved in a black man's death; sought comfort with another woman after his wife was institutionalized for a breakdown
* ''Forrest is complicated. He has a big moral center, and he's fighting with himself all the time.''

REGINA TAYLOR
*Character: Lilly Harper, a reserved housekeeper with the stirrings of change in her heart
*Defining Moments: Overcame obstacles in registering to vote; divorced the long-absent father of her daughter
* ''She has the soul of a poet and a philosopher. I didn't want her to be a neutered figure. She is first and foremost a woman.''

KATHRYN HARROLD
*Character: Christina LeKatzis, defense attorney and Forrest's paramour
*Defining Moments: Represented a black murder suspect; nursed an embittered, alcoholic former beau
* ''Christina is single and has a career in a man's world. It was almost unheard of. But there she is, living this experiment.''

JEREMY LONDON
*Character: Nathan Bedford, eldest son and rebel wrestler
*Defining Moments: Discovered his father's infidelity; lost his virginity to a Jewish girl whom his friends scorned
* ''Nathan is quiet, very intelligent. He is not a follower at all. He questions authority. He's starting to get that way more.''

ASHLEE LEVITCH
*Character: Francie Bedford, moody teenage daughter
*Defining Moments: Got caught smoking and blamed it on not seeing much of her father; cried when she started her period and couldn't turn to her mother
* ''Her mom being away is painful for her, but she hides behind sarcasm. When she does come out with her feelings, it's with rage.''

JOHN AARON BENNETT
*Character: John Morgan Bedford, adorably ornery baby of the family
*Defining Moments: Disguised his pain at his mother's absence by telling the kids that she was a famous cowgirl
* ''He's just a little boy that has a housekeeper for a mom. Sometimes he's happy, and sometimes he's sad.''

RAÉ-VEN KELLY
*Character: Adlaine Harper, Lilly's little girl
*Defining Moments: Watched in confusion as her pal John Morgan went out trick-or-treating without her
* ''Adlaine Harper believes in hexes and that the old man at the end of the road has an evil eye. She is raised around bigger people; that's why I think she never has done a single thing wrong.''