Being Erica - Characters

Characters

Because the show involves time travel, very young versions of the characters are played at times by different actors.

Erica Strange (Erin Karpluk) – the protagonist in the series. At the beginning of the series, she is thirty-two, single, Jewish, and well-educated. However, she is an underachiever who has recently been fired from a mindless customer service job because she is overqualified. She is convinced poor choices made in her past have made her life a failure and seeks Dr. Tom's help to undo many of her mistakes. As the series progresses, she gains confidence in herself and her choices, dates and finds love, and gets promoted to junior editor at a publishing house, from which she eventually gets fired in the penultimate episode of the second season. She has a master's degree in English literature. During the third season she and Julianne start their own publishing company 50/50 Press and become good friends in the process. Having written short stories throughout her life, Erica aspires to write fiction as an author. In the season 3 finale, Erica passes Dr. Tom's test at the end of group therapy and becomes a trainee doctor. The penultimate episode of season 3 ends with Erica walking down a street in Toronto looking for somebody to give her business card to so they can become her first patient. In the series finale of season 4, Erica successfully completes her doctor training and becomes an official doctor. Her office is a quote-plastered artist's studio loft with a honeycomb-style bookcase and a tan leather chair behind a large, red desk. Even though she has to bid farewell to Dr. Tom, the now Dr. Erica remains connected to him through his daughter Sarah who is her official patient. In the episode "Adultescence", a twelve year old Erica Strange is played by teen actor Samantha Weinstein; Rachel Marcus plays a young Erica in the episode "Fa La Erica"; Grace Arianna Kirby plays a childhood Erica in the series finale "Dr. Erica".

Dr. Tom Wexlar (Michael Riley) – Erica's therapist. He has a habit of using quotations, often to Erica's annoyance. Instead of helping Erica directly with her problems when they meet in the past, he is often vague and inscrutable, giving clues that relate to her present-day life. In his more mundane life before his own therapy and ultimately becoming a therapist, he was married to Marjorie (Shauna MacDonald) and had a daughter named Sarah (Tatiana Maslany) who becomes Erica's first official patient. Sarah ran away from home in 1996, resulting in Tom's downward spiral of alcoholism and violence, culminating in a suicide attempt; it is sometimes implied that Dr. Tom may partly be using Erica as a substitute for Sarah. It is also revealed in "Sins of the Father" that he was engaged once before to Amanda Mathieson (Suzy Joachim) until he pushed her away; they meet once more in the present and rekindle their relationship. In "Physician, Heal Thyself", Sarah returns after a long absence, seeking her parents' help to kick her heroin addiction. She then burglarizes their home and ends up in prison. Dr. Tom comes to visit her and instructs her to take more responsibility of her own life instead of relying on him to bail her out. His office is very regal, and looks very much like a study or a library. After careful consideration and with his life flourishing after reuniting with Amanda, Dr. Tom decides to resign as a therapist on the condition that he is to sever all ties with his patients, including Erica. At first, he struggles with his decision upon seeing the heartbroken Erica, but ultimately bids farewell to his favorite patient. With Erica as witness to his departure, his office disappears into a vast, white space.