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Three-Master Staff
Wrenn
Wrenn Munsinger
"I never said it was good TV."
A fiction writer and founder of the literary journal Three-Master.Portrayed by: Jennifer Wicks
- Abusive Parents: Possibly. She at least claims that they heavily favored her sister, but they also left Wrenn the house.
- All of the Other Reindeer: Claims she was a "spitball magnet" in high school.
- Badass Book Worm
- Chick Magnet: Despite her general loneliness, Wrenn does okay. She's been in several relationships and had even more flings. At one point, the editor of a high-profile magazine sends a video message in which she segues from rejecting Wrenn's story to babbling about how beautiful Wrenn is. Jessica also likes her.
- Go-Getter Girl
- Deadpan Snarker: Is extremely snarky, sometimes using her wit to avoid showing actual emotion.
- Heroic BSoD: Has one in "In a Grove."
- Loners Are Freaks: Accuses Emerson of harboring stereotypes against introverts.
- Noodle Incident: Whatever happened on the monkey bars in third grade, when she apparently "saved" Punter and began their lifelong friendship.
- Also, her apparently disastrous attempt to woo a girl named Joan.
- Oblivious to Love: Misreads where she stands with both Emerson and Jessica on separate occasions.
- Straight Gay
- Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: Skirts this in Season 2 after becoming so focused on her work that she seems oblivious to the feelings of others, not to mention bitter about Jessica's accomplishments.
Punter
Punter
"I hate all generalizations."
Portrayed by: Richard H.
Wrenn's childhood friend who acts as a contributing editor for the journal.- Ambiguous Gender Identity: When a video game asks Punter for his gender, he chooses "Other." It's unknown whether he's just roleplaying a character or taking this literally.
- Berserk Button: It's better if you don't mention Art Cleaver around him.Punter: You do remember that my graduate thesis was about how Art Cleaver's work is a pile of empty, substance-less goop, right?
- Bound and Gagged: Just bound in "Treasure Island."
- Catchphrase: In the first season, he often rhymes terse phrases with the names of authors. For example, "Sleep tight, E.B. White," "No thanks, Russell Banks," and so on. Sydney occasionally does it back to him, and eventually Emerson tries to get in on it.
- Often gives a deadpan "Uh-huh" when unimpressed or annoyed.
- Deadpan Snarker: Has his moments.Cecil: We've seen the Sword of Truth!Wrenn: Who told you that name?Punter: And why couldn't they come up with a better one?
- Genre Savvy: Easily figures out that Sig is Trying to "Red Wedding" him during the LARP.
- In Harmony with Nature: Played with. Punter tries to be this in the "Walden" episode, but is really just spending a few months avoiding his writing by taking on outdoorsy hobbies like maple sap collection, chopping wood, etc. At least his activities have a positive effect on Wrenn and her work.
- Noodle Incident: Whatever happened between him and Sig in the past.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: When J.J. Dunphy asks whether "Punter" is his first or last name, Punter simply replies, "Nope."
Jessica
Jessica Mc Cloud
"Stop whining."
Portrayed by: Suzanna Bornn
Jessica is a fiction writer, poet, audiobook actress, and editor who takes over Wrenn's position as managing editor at the beginning of Season 2.- Irony: In Season 2, Jessica advocates an "all-business" attitude for Wrenn's management of the journal, but when she tries to reveal her feelings for Wrenn later, Wrenn is so focused on her work (thanks to Jessica's advice) that she's oblivious and somewhat hurtful to Jessica, and the relationship never really pans out.
- Remember the New Guy?: Jessica is already at the table at the beginning of Season 2, and already acquainted with Wrenn and Punter. Her role in the show is soon clarified, however.
Sydney
Sydney Coombs
"Stay here with us in blissful poverty."
Portrayed by: Amanda Jade
Former host of a ghost-hunting reality show on TV; now working as a contributing editor on the journal while doing freelance electronics repair.- Cloud Cuckoolander
- Disproportionate Retribution: Gets a little carried away sometimes, particularly in "Treasure Island" when she apparently thinks Wrenn wants her to kill Punter with an axe for annoying them during work.
- Genre Savvy: Always seems pretty clear on what "style" the show is taking on, and when to give or withhold certain information.Sydney: I like to reveal things about myself naturally, rather than when a moment of plot contrivance calls for it.
- Meta Guy: More so than anyone else.
- Tagalong Kid
- Wrench Wench: Starts an electronics repair business, which is apparently going pretty well.
Emerson
Emerson O.
"There's air in here!"
Portrayed by: Joyce Hausermann
A journalist and essayist who becomes nonfiction editor for the journal.- Abusive Dad: Alluded to when she tells Wrenn that the latter's repeated walking away from her reminds Emerson of her dad.
- Batman Gambit: Her borderline insane plan to manipulate Wrenn into letting her observe the journal for a weekend.
- Catchphrase: "Fire away."
- Deadpan Snarker: Wields an extremely sharp wit.
- Manipulative Bastard: Although she claims it's all for the good of Wrenn and the journal.
- No Social Skills: She invokes this to make Wrenn feel sorry for her.
- Oblivious to Love: The look on her face when Wrenn says "I'd like to kiss you" says it all.
- Older Than They Look: Emerson looks pretty young, but her actress is in her late twenties.
Others
Sig
Sigrid "Sig" Munsinger
Portrayed by:Jessika Leary
Wrenn's rambunctious sister with whom she shares a complicated past.- Affectionate Nickname: Calls Punter "Punt."
- Badass Boast: She's a master of these.Punter: This isn't your house.Sig: The present state of your precious table disproves that assertion. (to henchmen) Laugh, mooks!
- Captain Obvious: "Did I mention that the winner gets six thousand dollars? American?"
- Chewing the Scenery: She likes to put on a show.
- Nasty Party: Attempts this in order to defeat Punter and find out where Wrenn is hiding during the LARP.Sig: You mean to tell me you saw this coming? God, what is with spoilers nowadays? You can't even Red Wedding anyone anymore!
- Noodle Incident: Whatever happened between her and Punter when they were in high school.
- Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: Says "Die with honor, Flannery O'Connor" just before stabbing Punter during the LARP.
- Sibling Rivalry: Alluded to up until episode 10, "Lord of the Flies," when it takes center stage.
- Unusual Euphemism: In "Things Fall Apart," Punter complains that Sig stabbed him with a plastic sword, to which Sig replies, "I've stabbed you with worse." It's unknown whether this is a Double Entendre due to the gigantic Noodle Incident that is Sig and Punter's relationship.
Nellie
Nellie Balcolm Russell
"Stay outta the obituaries."
Portrayed by: Elhora
Editor of the magazine Space Tornado and an ex of Wrenn's.- Butch Lesbian
- Embarrassing Nickname: Calls Sydney "Titmouse," for some reason.
- Ensemble Dark Horse: She's pretty popular, despite only having three scenes and one meta-scene at the end of the first season.
- Large Ham: The "Neuromancer" episode mostly involves her giving a sprawling monologue that toggles between heightened descriptions of Wrenn's worst nightmares, and borderline nonsense.Nellie: It's a new world, Munsinger. A world connected to computers and fueled by sports drink!
- Precision F-Strike: In "Neuromancer."Nellie: Because I'm me, and this is Space fucking Tornado...
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: Drops the only F-bombs of the series.
- Title Drop: She's the only one who says the word "slushpile" in the entire series, though it happens in a post-credits meta-scene where she's reviewing the TV show you just watched.
Gabby
Gabby
"Still?"
Portrayed by: Stephanie Tribu-Cromme
Wrenn's monthly workshop partner.- Remember the New Guy?: She shows up in episode 6 without an introduction because everyone in the series already knows her.
The Editors
Art Cleaver, Georgia Berneau, and J.J. Dunphy
"Period."
Portrayed by: Scott Reinert, Kristen Felsen, and Collin Martino
A group of successful mainstream writers who give Wrenn the chance to win a fully funded trip to AWP.- Affectionate Parody: Of Shark Tank.
- Bald of Evil: Dunphy.
- Beard of Evil: Dunphy again.
- Catchphrase: When they're not interested in a deal with a contestant, they mention that they're out, then say "Period."
- Female Misogynist: Berneau is annoyed by the presence of so many female writers in Three-Master, and claims that rich people don't stalk women.
- Jerkass: All of them are dismissive of and insulting to Wrenn.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Dunphy has the "hairstyle" and hand mannerisms of Kevin O'Leary. Cleaver's attitude and appearance strongly resemble that of T.C. Boyle. Berneau's offensive comments are nearly word-for-word quotations of things Joyce Carol Oates has said on Twitter.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Berneau's dialogue and tweets both involve tasteless references to Hitler, women, China, and Black Lives Matter.
- Stylistic Suck: The plots of Cleaver's novels are pretty much all the same, and they're essentially a bunch of misogynistic crap designed to appeal to white college-aged boys.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Boy, do they receive one from Wrenn, who describes Cleaver as a "pathetic, illiterate Jack White ripoff" whose books are "misogynistic, write-by-numbers wastes of paper;" tells Dunphy that professors teach his work in order to show students what not to do; and tells Berneau that she would only work with her in a world where Wrenn's goal is to be the "biggest stooge in the literary community."
- Verbal Tic: Cleaver can't stop mentioning that he's a millionaire.
