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Manhattan

Manhattan returned for a second season this week, and while it’s been one of our favorite shows for a while, we understand that most of you are just jumping on the bandwagon now. Perhaps the hardest part of jumping into Manhattan — or any show midway through — is figuring out who’s who, what’s what, and why the characters behave they way they do. There are over a dozen major players on the show and they all have an important part to play in the creation of the atomic bomb.

We got a chance to visit the Santa Fe set of the show this summer and thought it would be fun to see how smart the cast is offscreen. We asked the entire cast who was the most intelligent off camera, and while it quickly became clear that Manhattan‘s stars are witty and well-educated, one cast member can actually do all of the complex physics equations that his character does on the show. Check out the video below to find out who it is!

We might not be smart enough to help explain all of the obscure scientific references, but we can help you get to know Manhattan‘s massive ensemble cast. Here are names and faces that you’ll encounter when you join in on all the drama on “The Hill.”

Dr. Frank Winter (John Benjamin Hickey)

Dr. Frank Winter is our brilliant anti-hero. Loosely based on Dr. Seth Neddermeyer, Winter’s unorthodox techniques have made him an outcast in Los Alamos. While most of the scientists rally around the doomed “Thin Man” model for an atomic bomb, Frank is championing an “implosion model.” It’s not a question of whether or not Frank can figure out the science, but can he get to the finish line without sacrificing his humanity and everyone he cares about.

Dr. Liza Winter (Olivia Williams)

Frank isn’t the only genius in the Winter family. His wife Liza is considered to be one of the most brilliant botanists in the world, but her career has been put on hold while Frank devotes his energies to the Manhattan Project. Ever-intelligent, Liza isn’t content to sit idly by and play the housewife. She finds herself asking too many questions which raises the concerns of the military on the Hill. She also suspects that radiation poisoning is ruining life in Los Alamos, but Frank shrugs this off as paranoia — a remnant of her earlier mental illness.

Dr. Charlie Isaacs (Ashley Zuckerman)

Dr. Charlie Isaacs is a bright young thing who is considered the great hope of the Manhattan Project’s “Thin Man” project. However, the young genius has one big detractor: Dr. Frank Winter. It seems that Frank was the only academic to figure out that Charlie plagiarized part of his breakthrough paper. Nevertheless, Charlie is a brilliant, brash, upstart who finds himself at the center of something bigger than he can handle.

Abby Isaacs (Rachel Brosnahan)

Most of the characters on Manhattan are distinguished scientists, but Abby Isaacs is a trust fund baby who’s found herself a long way from the creature comforts of her privileged upbringing. Abby’s unflagging support for her husband Charlie is put into question as she gets increasingly frustrated with all the secrets between them. Not to mention the fact that Abby begins to discover a different side of herself in the arms of her sexy French friend Elodie — hint: she’s bisexual. Still, at the end of the day, Abby is ruthlessly ambitious and loyal to her family and faith.

Dr. Helen Prins (Katja Herbers)

Helen Prins is the tough and sassy Dutch PhD on Frank’s staff. She believes whole-heartedly in Frank’s implosion model and sees herself on the front lines of history. She enjoys casual sex and is love with science. By the end of season one, however, she also falls for a certain Dr. Charlie Isaacs.

Paul Crosley (Harry Lloyd)

Paul Crosley is your basic snooty British cad with a posh accent and lowborn origin story. He pretends to be a playboy, but he’s really in love with co-worker Helen Prins. Crosley is also running from a past in the UK that includes seducing the daughter of a prominent British scientist under false pretense, knocking her up, and abandoning her. He hates Charlie Isaacs for obvious reasons.

Sid Liao (Eddie Shin)

Even though the effervescent Sid Liao only has a small part to play in Manhattan, the reverberations of what happens to him — and of Frank’s choice to be complicit in his downfall — haunt everyone on Frank’s implosion team for the duration of the show.

Jim Meeks (Christopher Denham)

Meeks, as his name would suggest, is not the boldest member of Frank Winter’s implosion project team. He is fond of acting, Shakespeare, and the Brooklyn Dodgers. However, he is good at keeping secrets and distrusts the military after the murder of his good friend Sid Liao.

Louis “Fritz” Fedowitz (Michael Chernus)

You could say the adorable “Fritz” is the heart of the show. He’s as sweet as he is smart, a stereotypical nerd who loves comic books and a WAC named Jeannie. Fritz had an unfortunate accident in season one where he swallowed a bunch of radioactive material. It is still unclear what the long-term effects of that incident will be.

Callie Winter (Alexia Fast)

Callie is Frank and Liza’s 16-year-old daughter who is a little too precocious for her own good. All Callie wants to do is get as far away from the stifling culture of the Hill, so she assumes prep school in New York (or acting up) is the answer. Little does she know that what her father is working on could murder millions — including her.

“Occam” (Richard Schiff)

“Occam” is the mysterious and terrifying man responsible for ratting out any and all spies on the hill. He repeatedly corners many of our protagonists and uses their weaknesses against him. At the end of season 1, Frank Winter sabotages himself and winds up in Occam’s clutches.

Private First Class Dunleavy (Jefferson White)

This cornfed Iowa boy joined the army with dreams of busting Nazi skulls, but then found himself bored doing administrative and security work on the Los Alamos hill. He pulled the trigger too soon and killed suspected spy Sid Liao. That act made him a hero to the military in town and set him up for advancement. However, he’s found himself distracted by his love for the Winters’ impulsive teen daughter Callie.

Dr. Glen Babbit (Daniel Stern)

Dr. Glen Babbit was Frank’s closest friend and ally in season one, but found himself in danger when the military accused him of being a Communist. What he really was is a closeted homosexual.

Colonel Emmett Darrow (William Petersen)

There’s a new face on the Hill in season two: Colonel Emmett Darrow. After all of the shenanigans of the first season, the US military has sent this tough-as-nails, god-fearing patriot to Los Alamos to keep the scientists in line and the war on schedule.

[Watch Season 1 of Manhattan on Hulu]

[Where to Stream Season 2 of Manhattan]

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[Photos: Everett Collection & WGN America]