Based on the comic book series by Brian K Vaughan and Cliff Chiang, Prime Video’s “Paper Girls” tells a new sci-fi story that calls back to the likes of “E.T.” and “Stranger Things.” Amidst a great throwback soundtrack and lots of 80s and 90s memorabilia, a group of four young girls stumble upon two warring factions trying to control time travel.
Erin, Mac, KJ and Tiff meet on “Hell Day,” November 1, 1988 in the early hours after Halloween. The four of them have taken the job of the paper route for the Cleveland Preserver in their small town of Stony Stream, Ohio. Tiff has just bought two walkie talkies, so after some teenage boys mess with KJ, the foursome decides to split up into pairs to complete their route safely, but two mysterious men steal the walkie talkies and plunge them into a time jump all the way forward to the year 2019.
Here’s a complete guide to the cast and characters of “Paper Girls,” which is now streaming on Prime Video.
Erin Tieng (Riley Lai Nelet)
Erin is the new girl, at least when it comes to the paper route for the Cleveland Preserver. She and her mother and sister live together, and her mom is hesitant to have her start this new job, but Erin is determined. Her mom doesn’t speak English (they are Chinese). Erin dreams of working from the White House one day. This is Nelet’s first breakout role after smaller ones in TV shows like “Generation,” “Altered Carbon” and “American Housewife.”
Mac Coyle (Sofia Rosinsky)
Mac is a little rough around the edges, but her loyalty is steadfast. Her older brother isn’t exactly the best influence, and her parents are poorer than most. Mac can be a bit of a troublemaker because she doesn’t really have a filter, but her tough persona gets the group through some tough spots. On their first night together, Mac spots teen boys chasing down a paper girl (KJ) and she shoots off a firework to rescue her. Mac was the first girl to take over the “paper boy” job. Rosinsky played Sora Morris in “Fast Layne” (2019). She has also appeared in several short films.
Tiffany Quilkin (Camryn Jones)
Tiff helps Erin out when she puts a paper on the wrong porch, and the owner happens to be awake to come grab the news right at that moment. He threatens Erin with some racist language, but Tiff roles up just in time to deliver his actual paper since he is part of her route. Tiffany works hard toward dreams of her own that she hopes to achieve one day. Jones has appeared in TV shows like “Perpetual Grace, LTD,” “Pacific Rim: The Black” and “Pete the Cat.”
KJ Brandman (Fina Strazza)
KJ rounds out the group. She gets chased by some teenage guys during her route the morning after Halloween. Mac saw the guys go after her so she leads the charge to defend KJ. Her family name is on the bank as well as the library because her grandfather was a big deal in town. Strazza has previously appeared in “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.”
Adult Erin (Ali Wong)
Older Erin’s life turned out a bit differently from how she envisioned it would. She works as a paralegal and lives in her childhood house. She had to take care of her mom when she got sick and she is not on the best terms with her sister Missy. Ali Wong is a well-known comedian who has appeared in films like “Always Be My Maybe” (2019) and”Birds of Prey” (2020) as well as TV shows like “American Housewife.”
Prioress (Adina Porter)
Prioress is a leader of “The Old Watch” the time wardens that first appear to track down the girls when they time travel from November 1, 1988. The Old Watch try to prevent time travel. She follows them to 2019 and back to 1999. It seems like she answers to another leader, played by Jason Mantzoukas. The girls call her “freaky armor lady.” Adina Porter has previously appeared in TV shows like “True Blood,” “The 100,” “American Horror Story,” “Underground,” “The Newsroom” and Netflix’s “Outer Banks.”
Dylan Coyle (Cliff Chamberlain)
Dylan is Mac’s older brother. He was not the nicest sibling to her when they were younger. Mac finds her brother, who has become a doctor, and he treats her way better than he used to. He even has a wife and kids. He wants to help Mac because he knows how her future self ends up. Chamberlain has appeared in Netflix’s “The Chair” (2021), “Dirty John,” “Homeland” and “Altered Carbon.”
Larry Radakowski (Nate Corddry)
Larry is a member of the Standard Time Force (or STF for short). The girls find him in 2019, and he says he can help them travel back to 1988. Corddry played another character named Larry in “For All Mankind.”
