Lady in the Lake Season 1: Full list of cast in the series

Lady in the Lake Season 1 is an upcoming Apple TV+ series based on the 2019 novel of the same name. The story takes place in 1960s America, where investigative journalist Maddie Schwartz (Natalie Portman) investigates a series of murders in Baltimore, and crosses paths with Cleo Sherwood (Moses Ingram), who's advocating for the city's black community.

The story of the Lady in the Lake novel was inspired by author Laura Lippman's personal experience reading about two murder cases. One murder was that of an 11-year old girl named Esther Lebowitz, which dominated the headlines, while the other murder was that of 33-year old black woman, Shirley Parker, which was so underreported that Laura only found out about it while working at The Baltimore Sun.

Inspired by the double standards in how these cases were covered, Lady in the Lake season 1 explores the journey of Maddie Schwartz as she becomes more familiar with Baltimore's racial tensions and leaves behind her family to focus on her career.

Lady in the Lake season 1 cast and characters

The primary cast of Lady in the Lake season 1 is as follows.

1) Natalie Portman as Maddie Schwartz

Maddie Schwartz starts the series as a housewife in Pikesville who proceeds to upend her home life in order to become an investigative journalist. When she embarks on her career, she crosses paths with Cleo Sherwood.

Natalie Portman has had a storied career in Hollywood since her debut in the 1994 film Leon: The Professional. She's recently for her role as Jane Foster in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

2) Moses Ingram as Cleo Sherwood

Cleo Sherwood is a black woman and a mother who struggles with providing for her family while navigating the racial tensions in Baltimore. She proves to become a significant influence on Maddie Schwartz when the two cross paths. Moses Ingram gained mainstream recognition for her supporting role as Jolene in the 2020 Netflix miniseries The Queen's Gambit.

3) Y'lan Noel as Ferdie Platt

Ferdie is a Baltimore police officer who gets closely involved with Maddie and Cleo because of their investigation of the Baltimore murders. Y'lan Noel is Panamanian-American and is best known for his role as Daniel King in the HBO original series Insecure, which ran from 2016-2018.

4) Byron Bowers as Slappy Johnson

Byron Bowers stars as Cleo's family member Slappy Johnson. (Image via Apple TV+)

Slappy Johnson is a part of Cleo Sherwood's family, which Cleo struggles to do right by thanks to the sociopolitical climate in Baltimore. Byron Bowers is an actor and comedian who has starred in The Eric Andre Show and BET's reboot of Comic View.

5) Josiah Cross as Reggie Robinson

Josiah Cross is a relative newcomer to acting who's previously starred in Masters of the Air and King Richard. His character Reggie Robinson's role is currently unclear.

6) Brett Gellman as Milton Schwartz

Milton Schwartz is Madeline Schwartz's husband, who she's lived with in Pikesville for 18 years. By the time of the series, Madeline has been chafing under her housewife role and chooses to leave that life behind to pursue a career as a journalist. Brett Gellman is best known for his role as Murray Bauman in Stranger Things and as Martin in BBC's Fleabag.

7) Mikey Madison as Judith Weinstein

Judith Weinstein is a recurring character in Lady in the Lake season 1 who will appear in all seven episodes. Mikey Madison is an American actress who's had prominent roles in films such as Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Scream (2022)

Aside from the above, Lady in the Lake season 1 also includes the following cast members:

Bianca Belle as Tessie Durst
Noah Jupe as Seth Schwartz
Pruitt Taylor Vince as Bob Bauer
Wood Harriss as Shell Gordon
Tyrik Johnson as Teddy
Samir Royal as Lionel Johnson
Dylan Arnold as Stephan Zawadzkie
Jennifer Mogbock as Dora Carter
Charlie Hofheimer as Wallace White
Veralyn Jones as Merva
Angela Robinson as Myrtle Summer

Lady in the Lake season 1 is an anticipated Apple TV+ release thanks to it balancing the genre of murder mystery with sociopolitical commentary on race relations in Baltimore. Lady in the Lake season 1 will launch on Apple TV+ on July 19, 2024.

About the author

Pulak is a versatile writer who covers all things entertainment at Sportskeeda. An M.Sc. graduate in biotechnology, Pulak worked for over 4.5 years as an innovation expert and writer for the AGNIi Mission at Invest India, covering innovation commercialization for the AGNIi and Invest India newsletters and the Invest India magazine. Pulak also completed two internships at the Public Health Foundation of India, where he created a webcomic about drug development financing models. Additionally, he has interned as a subject matter expert in the life sciences at Evelyn Learning Systems.

Pulak’s career trajectory has been far from linear. Growing up, his love for cartoons and Indian soap operas nurtured a strong attachment to the entertainment field. Pulak’s interest in pop culture particularly developed as a response to life’s uncertainties and as an extension of his desire for independence. However, it was his passion for the written word that motivated him to professionally write about the media he consumed.

As an entertainment writer, Pulak strives to get to the heart of what he is reporting. He also utilizes social media to get first-hand accounts of what's happening in Hollywood to report on them.

As part of the AGNIi Mission, Pulak has covered noteworthy events throughout his professional career, including his participation in the Defense Research and Development Organization's (DRDO) Dare to Dream innovation challenge, projects aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change in Uttarakhand and Ladakh, and a partnership with the Common Services Center (CSC) to encourage village-level entrepreneurship in rural India.

A big fan of Keanu Reeves, Pulak admires the actor for his humility and resilience. He also likes Eminem for being unapologetic about who he is and loves Jeremy Strong for the actor’s dedication to his craft.

Know More

Edited by Meghna