cHARACTERS
Overview
The key characters include a talk show host and ten focus group panelists. The panelists represent, in rough proportion, the US electorate across the following demographics: gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, and education level.
On the focus group set, they are seated in chairs designated #1 to #10 from left to right. The seating arrangement represents the cultural political spectrum. Seat #1 is the extreme left (EL), and seat #10 is the extreme right (ER). Between the extremes are, in ascending order, far left (FL), left(L), center left (CL), center right (CR), right (R), and far right (FR). The first letters of each character’s name match the abbreviation of his / her cultural-political orientation.
The key characters include a reporter and ten focus group panelists. The panelists represent, in rough proportion, the US electorate across the following demographics: gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, and education level.
On the focus group set, they are seated in chairs designated #1 to #10 from left to right. The seating arrangement represents the cultural political spectrum. Seat #1 is the extreme left (EL), and seat #10 is the extreme right (ER). Between the extremes are, in ascending order, far left (FL), left(L), center left (CL), center right (CR), right (R), and far right (FR). The first letters of each character’s name match the abbreviation of his / her cultural-political orientation.
The Panelists
1
Elaine
2
Florence
3
Lamar
4
Clara
5
Clayton
6
Cristy
7
Craig
8
Rachel
9
Frank
10
Eric
EXTREME LEFT
FAR LEFT
LEFT
CENTER LEFT
CENTER RIGHT
RIGHT
FAR RIGHT
EXTREME RIGHT
Jason
Host
Leading Role
(Male, 25 – 40) Tenor Caucasian. Handsome, quick witted TV personality who thrives on conflict and spectacle. He moderates a debate show and pushes buttons to keep ratings high—even when it escalates tensions. He is a youthful blend of one part Jon Stewart, one part Jim Carey, and two shots of Jameson. He has enough alcohol-enhanced charisma and snarky wit to power a small office building. Beneath the sarcasm is ambition, insecurity, a love for Clara, and a relentless desire to hit a million views to save his show. Energized, mischievous, and increasingly buzzed.
Stewart
Production Assistant
Minor role
(Male, 20 – 40) Tenor Production Assistant – A mostly silent but humorous presence who represents backstage chaos and the crew’s patience with talent. Observant, reactive, slightly cynical, and part of the show’s rhythm. Adds physical comedy while grounding the action in the world of a live, unpredictable production.
His greatest aspiration – getting through the day.
BLUE TRIBE
Elaine
Panelist #1 (Extreme Left)
Supporting role
(Female, 20 – 30) Mezzo. Bi-racial (Black + other) This recent college grad is a fiery, outspoken young progressive bursting with certainty and attitude. Proud of her activist identity and academic background, she leads with passion over diplomacy. Sharp-tongued, easily provoked, and fiercely protective of marginalized groups. Her lived trauma around gun violence fuels her intensity. Idealistic, impulsive, and always ready for a fight.
Florence
Panelist #2 (Far Left)
Leading role
(Female, 35 – 55) Soprano Caucasian. A confident, articulate Women’s Studies professor deeply rooted in far-left ideology. Fluent in academic rhetoric and unafraid to challenge conservatives aggressively. Maternal toward Elaine, disdainful toward Frank, and proud of her intellectual grounding. Sharp, assertive, morally convinced, and capable of escalating debate with cutting humor and righteous conviction.
Lamar
Panelist #3 (Left)
Supporting role
(Male, 30 – 40). Baritone / Bass Black. A grounded, thoughtful civil servant with center-left values. Calm and measured until pushed too far, he strives for justice and fairness but retains patience and empathy. His rapport with Rachel reveals nuance beyond tribal lines. Represents reasonableness on the left, though capable of passionate critique when provoked.
PURPLE TRIBE
Clara
Panelist #4 (Center Left)
Supporting role
(Female, 25 – 35) Alto Latina. A practical, no-nonsense assistant producer reluctantly thrust into the panel. Smart, organized, and emotionally attuned, she tries to keep Jason from losing control. Politically center-left but temperamentally moderate. Offers balance, calm, and reality in a chaotic environment. Sharp-witted, loving toward Jason, and unwilling to indulge political extremism.
Clayton
Panelist #5 (Center Left)
Leading Role
(Male, early 25 – 40) Tenor Caucasian. A cheerful, slightly geeky engineer and a quintessential political centrist. Earnest, analytical, and conflict-averse, he prefers logic over heat. He believes in compromise, civic duty, and pragmatic solutions. Represents the weariness of the middle, stepping in only to restore balance or highlight common sense. Good-natured and level-headed. Has a thing for Cristy.
Cristy
Panelist #6 (Center Right)
Leading role
(Female, 25 – 35) Soprano Asian. A warm, intelligent resident physician with a scientific mindset and balanced temperament. Culturally centrist but deeply compassionate. She brings nuance and evidence-based reasoning to emotional topics. Hopeful about progress, skilled at de-escalation, and capable of surprising moral clarity. She sees issues through data, empathy, and lived possibility. Has a thing for Clayton.
Craig
Panelist #7 (Center Right)
Supporting role
(Male, 30 – 40) Baritone Caucasian. A stoic, professional police officer with center-right values. Calm under pressure and rooted in law-and-order thinking. He believes in responsible policing but emphasizes civilian compliance. His moral compass is steady, though occasionally rigid. Offers perspective from within law enforcement while striving to advocate safety, realism, and balanced reform.
RED TRIBE
Rachel
Panelist #8 (Right)
Supporting role
(Female, 55 – 70) Alto Caucasian. This retired school bus driver is a conservative Christian grandmother with a warm heart and traditional values. Despite strong views, she often seeks empathy and understanding. Proud, sentimental, and occasionally tone-deaf, she nonetheless tries to bridge divides. Grounded in faith and family, capable of gentle authority and emotional vulnerability. More complex than her tribe.
Frank
Panelist #9 (Far Right)
Leading role
(Male, 35 – 60) Bass. A hardened conservative commentator shaped by outrage politics. Sarcastic, combative, and unwavering in ideology. Sees himself as truth-teller against liberal corruption. Quick to anger, dismissive of nuance, and prone to hyperbolic culture-war framing. Loves rhetorical combat and sees compromise as weakness. Represents the entrenched far-right worldview.
Eric
Panelist #10 (Extreme Right)
Supporting role
(Male, 20 – 30) Tenor Caucasian. A volatile, extreme right-wing white nationalist who masks danger with boyish enthusiasm. Proud gun owner, provocateur, and conspiracy believer. Laughably ignorant yet unpredictable and armed. Driven by resentment, identity panic, and fantasies of violence. Represents the darkest, most radical edge of the spectrum—simultaneously comic and threatening. He augments his slight stature with a façade of macho confidence. He is of average intelligence but is hypersensitive to being perceived as less than bright.