Meet the characters

JAYNE Hall, 35. Reserved, committed, haunted, hopeful. Born in Caracas. Lives in Silver Lake. A UCLA grad, she runs Agency 32/1. Signature quote: 'Wait, what?'

STEELIE Lander, 35. Quick-witted, fast-talking, realistic, humorous. Born in LA. Lives in Atwater Village. She was a Legal Aid defense lawyer before joining Jayne at 32/1. Also a donut hound. Top request: 'Did you remember to get me a lemon-filled?'

SCOTT Houston, 37. Dogged, impulsive, cynical yet idealistic. Born in Oxnard. Lives in Downtown LA. A special agent in the FBI, he's known as a maverick at times, a hothead at others. 'We are not waiting for further back-up. Got it?'

ERIC Ramos, 34. Balanced, committed, analytical, warm. Born in Honolulu. Lives in Hollywood. Being partnered with Scott in the Bureau sometimes feels like a second job but he likes it. For now. Best advice to his partner: 'Let's go do some forgetting.'

MATTHEW West, 36. Impatient, determined, touchy, curious. Born in Burbank. Lives in Glendale. Was a lifeguard before he joined the LAPD as a rookie, a career stage he hasn't forgotten even though he's a homicide detective now. Heard loud and clear: 'We didn't need any help. And we didn't ask for any, either.'

THERESA Sanchez, 34. Confident, alert, ambitious, loyal. Born in Hollywood. Lives in Echo Park. Unlike her partner, Matt, she had her eye on Homicide from her first day on the job at LAPD. Talking about her partner: 'You want me to share a desk with him?'

MARIE Prentis-Hall, would never tell you her age. Vibrant, engaged, flamboyant, nosy. Born in Caracas. Lives in Altadena. Mother to Jayne, SoCal Public radio show host to everyone else. Signature quote: 'I drive as I live. With verve. With panache.'

CAROL Hanson, 67. Grounded, observant, direct, calm. Born in Petaluma. Lives in Mt. Washington. A retired law enforcement grief counselor, she does the Agency 32/1 admin. Known to say: 'The family needs to know. Give them the hard stuff and they will handle it.'

CRAIG Turner, 50s. Shrewd, discerning, exacting, surprising. A Supervisory Special Agent in the  FBI's LA headquarters, he is Scott and Eric's boss. 'Houston, do you copy?'

The CRITTERS - 4 FBI special agents in their 30s. They are the 'Western Region Critical Stabilization and Recovery Unit' processing crime scenes for Scott and Eric.

STEVE Weiss: 

'Welcome to Critter Central.'

TONY Lee: 

'Talk to me, Thirty-two One.' 

DUANE Sparks: 

'Here comes Houston. Would you say he's down to a Category 2?'

XAVIER Tollen: 

'I think we can downgrade him to a tropical storm.'