In 1984, Ray Drecker owned West Lakefield High: Popular star ball player, destined for great things, admired by the girls and envied by the guys. He married his cheerleading high-school sweetheart Jessica and they took off for greener pastures. But after an aborted professional career with the Atlanta Braves, Ray, Jessica and their twins returned to the Detroit suburbs for Ray to take a temporary job coaching and teaching history at their alma mater. The stop-gap turned into a career. When Jessica dumped him for her dermatologist Ronnie Haxon, Ray moved back to his parents' rundown lakeside house. A fortuitous reunion with old acquaintance Tanya Skagle lead to Ray's new side career. With a second pimp (Lenore) in the picture, budget cuts threatening his job, and the struggle to raise teenagers, Ray has his hands full.

A struggling poet, Tanya works the night shift at a Detroit law firm as a perma-temp proofreader. She was familiar with Ray's special talent as the result of their brief encounter that followed her visit to his history class as part of a "Poets in the Schools" program. When they meet again at an entrepreneurial workshop, Tanya convinces Ray to let her market his winning tool — for a percentage. But after approaching a former temp-turned-life coach, Lenore, to offer Ray's services to her upscale clientele, Tanya finds herself in a battle for control over the business she created.

A former beauty queen and cheerleader, Jessica fell hard for Ray in high school and followed him to Florida when he got a baseball scholarship — and  Atlanta when he was recruited by the Braves. When he was sidelined by an injury and they had to return to their hometown, the magic wore thin. After  years struggling as the wife of a public school teacher, Jessica found love with Ronnie Haxon, her dermatologist. Jessica struggles to regain the respect of her children, and to keep a nagging sense of discontent at bay.

Twin sister to Damon, Darby is proof that girls mature faster than boys — or at least want to sow their oats sooner. The forms of her rebellion from her prom-queen mother and twin brother are seldom predictable.

Twin brother to Darby, Damon, like most teens, is struggling to find his identity. In Detroit, with a dad like Ray, he faces perhaps more obstacles to expressing his true self than some of his peers. Protective of his sister, loyal to his father, Damon's sensitive side doesn't always extend to his mother and her husband Ronnie.

Assistant Coach Mike Hunt is generally content to be Ray's right-hand man. A closet piano player and romantic he is more anxious about losing his tenured position than Ray seems to be. 

A former colleague of Tanya's from the law firm, Lenore left temping to start her own life coaching business. As someone who appreciates the finer things, Lenore pushes her clients to believe they are worthy of cashmere — undaunted by Detroit's polyester times. Mercenary in her business practices, Lenore believes she can take Ray places and views Tanya as an obstacle to their success.

A successful dermatologist, Ronnie stole his patient Jessica away from Ray before Ray even realized his wife had a skin condition. A giving man who's always willing to remove a mole or inject some Botox for family, he barely flinched when Jessica's mother moved in, nor did he complain when the twins showed up after Ray's house fire. But even Ronnie has his limits.

Cast & Characters

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Cast and Character

Ray Drecker

Tanya Skagle

Jessica Haxon

Darby Drecker

Damon Drecker

Coach Mike Hunt

Lenore Bernard

Ronnie Haxon

Thomas Jane

Jane Adams

Anne Heche

Sianoa Smit Mcphee

Charlie Saxton

Gregg Henry

Rebecca Creskoff

Eddie Jemison

About the Series

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