CLIFTON "CLIFF" MOSLEY
A true artist, Cliff desperately wants to share his music with the world. A little macabre, Cliff secretly idolizes the 27 Club—the brilliant but tortured musicians who died suddenly at the age of 27. The only thing standing in his way is his deeply rooted fear of failure that makes him self-destruct and constantly undermines his goals. He begins the season semi-homeless, living out of his van, and busking in the streets.
At his best, Cliff is a free spirit who inspires others with his raw creativity. At his worst, Cliff thinks he’s too cool for school (literally a drop out). He is self-destructive, isolated, stubborn, and hides behind his belief in the “rockstar mythos”. After getting taken advantage of by a pair of shysty music producers, Cliff curses the unartistic and greedy and begins to retreat from the world into his own ego--where he sees himself as a colorful rockstar in a sea of monochromatic suits--and that’s when things get dangerous.
After a year on the road, living in his van with no progress towards his music career goals, Cliff is at his lowest, most entrenched point when he decides to heed his family’s urging and go back to college. That night, his last night in LA, Cliff decides to play one last open mic before hanging up his music dream for good. Little did Cliff know that he would meet the aggressive and persistent Mike Berg and that his journey through the world of music was just beginning….
When Cliff is he’s too focused on himself and his career, he becomes neurotic and depressive -- a defeatist who overthinks everything. But getting stuck in the Can changes him. Being thrown together with people of different socioeconomic backgrounds and experiences--a homeless teen beat-boxer, a blind dancer who refuses to give up, a dopey plumber who writes poems to hopefully win back his estranged wife--these experiences reveal the true purpose of art. To connect us. To inspire us. To give us hope. Through these funny and tragic situations, Cliff will learn that when he focuses his energies on helping others, he can finally get out of his own way.
MICHELANGELO "MIKE" BERG
Manic, mouthy, misogynistic, and a bit racist, Mike is a unique animal. He is a successful talent manager that owns his own company, despite his young age. Obsessed with the 48 Laws of Power and Donald Trump, he actually hates who he is. He’s constantly acting and putting on a show. He exudes false confidence and bravado. He acts like he’s achieved a lot more than he has and he has a very distorted self-perception. This stems from the deep abandonment issues in his past...
With the meteoric rise of his best-friend-turned-client, the EDM DJ Robespierre "RP" Cox, Mike took it upon himself to become the sharky music manager he’s always admired. At his height, Mike was in it for the M.F.B.—money, fame and bitches. But after being fired by his best friend and dumped by his up-and-coming power player ex-girlfriend, Vivian Dublin, Mike vowed never to go back to entertainment...or so he says.
Mike is disgusted by the Open Mikers. He dismisses them as weirdos and has no time for mediocrity. Mike is a true aficionado of the ear crack and firmly believes in selling out. Despite how aggravating Mike may be, one of his many redeemable qualities is his work ethic. He hustles. He grinds like a millstone. He won’t take no for an answer--to the chagrin of the few industry connects he has left. While Mike undeniably does a lot for his clients, it will always be a question whether he truly gives a shit about them or if he’s just using them for his own devices. All of this causes tension between Cliff, Riley and the rest of the Open Mikers because they constantly question Mike’s true motives and the genuineness of his friendship. Ultimately, we learn that Mike does care, and, in fact, loyalty is his other big redeeming quality. He would never admit it, but he cares deeply about the surrogate family he gets wrangled into within the Open Mic community.
RILEY GARBO
Riley is way too experienced for her age. At 22 she’s a divorcee who’s late ex-husband left her this coffeehouse after a freak boating accident...or at least, that’s what she says. Riley lives in a small flat upstairs and puts on the open mic to keep the lights on. She’s pragmatic, highly cynical and along with all of her hardships come an equal measure of wisdom...as far as she’s concerned.
Eventually we will come to learn that Riley is a compulsive liar that’s ashamed of her identity. Orphaned at a young age, she is a child of a system that was cold and sterile. She has no ties to her family save for the coffee-shop that was left to her by her estranged biological mother upon her death. Deep down she wants to believe in the magic of the Open Mic community and the “unique” individuals that she hosts--at least until Mark the Fart guy gets up on stage again. Unfortunately, Riley has trouble overcoming her tough exterior that was forged in her early years as a foster kid. She harbors a deep resentment at her mother for abandoning her and choosing this odd community of performers to be her family. The resentment she feels is transferred onto the Open Mikers, who were recipients of her mother's affection and knew her mother better than she ever did.
In a show that is centered on surrogate family and bonds that are stronger than friendship, Riley’s journey is the toughest because she has never felt deep human affection. In fact, she wants it so desperately that she actively dismisses it, pretending like she doesn’t need it. Because she was abandoned as a child, she struggles with understanding who she is and her biggest fear is that she is unlovable.
The “will-they or won’t-they” relationship between Riley and Mike will oscillate continually throughout the series. They are both completely different humans. But…spoiler alert—they are perfect for each other! Even though it aggravates her, Riley can see through the pretensions that Mike puts on. Those rare moments of emotional authenticity and vulnerability from Mike are what keep her candle lit for him.
Ultimately, Riley will transform from a closed off cynic that is too afraid to have dreams into an ambitious and loving businesswoman that believes in herself and the beauty of the open mic community.
GUMBY SPARKS
Gumby Sparks is the godfather of the open mic scene, a phenomenally talented spoken word artist, and the host of Friday night’s big open mic at The Can. Loved and respected by all, despite a gruff exterior and intimidating mystical wisdom, Gumby’s role as guru was hard earned after a long and intense life spent on both extremes of the spectrum of success. A former rock legend, Gumby’s fame propelled him into a tortured and dark existence that tore him away from everyone that he loved. After reaching rock bottom, Gumby quit touring with his band, grew introspective, and fell into obscurity.
Gumby spent the next chapter of his life homeless and wandering, really getting in touch with his larger self-identity. On this journey Gumby found enlightenment and inner peace. As a Bodhisattva, he returned to the world in an effort to help others reach the same inner peace and sense of self that he discovered on his spiritual travels.
As the godfather of the open miker family, Gumby becomes the surrogate father to Riley, Cliff, and Mike. Gumby sees a lot of his younger self in Cliff and worries that if he continues to pursue his dream of becoming a member of the 27 club, he may not get the second chance that Gumby got. While Gumby doesn’t regret his past, he knows it was a hard and destructive path that forced him away from what is truly important--the love of those you care about most.
Early on in the season Gumby is dealing with a new set of personal problems that take him away from the Open Mic community and from Riley in particular. Cliff, through his music and aspirations, starts to bring Gumby back into the community and reignites his recently forgotten passion for life. Through Cliff, Gumby is able to reground himself in what’s important. Once Gumby regains his true sense of self, he is able to mentor our trio and help them realize that the thing they care about most is each other--the family that they chose.
ATTACHED TALENT
LISA TUCKER
SETAREH KHATIBI
Because of her surprising and outrageous expressions, Setareh is most recognized for her 20MIL viewed viral video "El Pollito Pio" featured during her participation on the pageant reality show "Nuestra Belleza Latina 2016". She was most recently seen as a host on Univision's "Va Por Ti" and graduated from the prestigious acting conservatory CEA de Televisa. On YouTube she is known as "The Fruit Gypsy" where she vlogs weekly about the plant based lifestyle, motivation and beauty.
You can learn more about Setareh here.
YVONNE ZIMA
Yvonne Zima is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Daisy Carter on The Young and the Restless. Zima first appeared on television at the age of five as "Rachel Green" in the ground-breaking television drama, ER (1994), later landing a quick succession of movie roles in Bed of Roses (1996), Executive Decision (1996), Heat (1995) and See Jane Run (1995), and also appeared in the Christmas classic Christmas Every Day (1996). She had a leading role in The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996), playing opposite Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson. She has recently appeared on HBO's The Night Of.
TOMMY SWERDLOW
Tommy Swerdlow is an actor, writer and director, known for Cool Runnings (1993), Child's Play (1988) and Little Giants (1994). Check out Tommy's work here.
VAN KOO
More on Van here.
AMBER BOUYER
More on Amber here.
SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
VIVIAN DUBLIN
A tall bombshell, Vivian Dublin is Mike’s power-hungry ex-girlfriend. They met at Columbia Records but she broke up with him after he was dropped by RP. Now, Vivian is an up-and-coming music manager. Basically, on paper she’s the manager Cliff would love to have.
She’s young but she’s got IMPECCABLE taste. She has incredible advice for Cliff and her small tidbits of wisdom seem to push him farther in the right direction than any opportunity Mike could ever scrap together. She knows everyone and she’s working hard to make sure they know her. She’s going to run this town very soon.
Vivian is the soul mate Mike would make for himself. Type A. Anal retentive. Overbearing. Controlling. Always on top. Not passive-aggressive, but aggressive-aggressive. She’s not afraid to have “the conversation.” Where Mike is toothless she is ruthless. She’s taller than Mike, a foil to him, and for all intents and purposes, she is the villain of the first season. Whenever she drops into the story, Mike’s brain chemistry goes haywire and this not only impacts Cliff and Riley, but also ripples throughout the entire open mic community.
Her biggest character flaw, and a crucial difference between her and Mike, is that she has no loyalty. She’s more successful and cutthroat, but Mike is actually a good guy pretending to be a shark. This becomes clear when she betrays her client in an effort to sign the more talented and seemingly more driven Cliff...
MISTY XIE
Whimsical, caring, and exceptionally eccentric, Misty is an Open Mic legend for no other reason than the fact that she’s the worst singer you’ve ever heard. People drive from miles away to laugh as Misty sings. While Misty’s vocals are cringeworthy to say the least, what makes her so amazing is that SHE KNOWS IT. There’s no delusions or pretentions here. Misty sucks at singing, but she doesn’t give a shit. It’s what she wants to do, so she’s going to do it. While she appears meek and a bit naïve, Misty firmly stands up for what she believes to be important: artistic integrity, love, Harry Potter trivia, and, above all else, the Can. Feeling abandoned by her powerful agent mother, Misty uses the Open Mikers as a surrogate family, often acting as the glue that keeps the community together. She stops at nothing—readily conniving, manipulating, and coercing to preserve her "family" and the traditions of the Can. In doing so, Misty takes an active role in preserving the important relationships in her life.