The central "inmate advocate" and negotiator.
The younger brother and a police detective caught between his family's legacy and a safer career path.
The leader of the Crips and a central liaison for Mike in the criminal world.
The story follows the McLusky family, who act as unofficial "mayors" or power brokers between the town's seven prisons and the community.
Mike works to maintain a fragile peace while navigating a "flawed system of checks and balances" that involves corruption, systemic racism, and inequality.
Mike's mother, a prison teacher who opposes her sons' involvement in the incarceration business.
A Russian mobster who exerts influence from behind bars and attempts to manipulate Mike.
After his older brother Mitch is murdered in the pilot, ex-convict Mike McLusky takes over as the primary mediator between law enforcement, prison guards, and criminal gangs.