Bradford Meade

Bradford Meade runs Meadowlark Media with the easy assurance of a man used to being obeyed, and it's his decision to install his son Daniel as editor of Mode and hire the resolutely un-glossy Betty Suarez as his assistant. He's polished, controlled, and clearly keeping more in reserve than he lets on.

Alan Dale plays corporate power as quiet calm rather than bluster, which makes Bradford's occasional flashes of warmth toward Betty land as real rather than sentimental. The show uses him as the fixed point everyone else orbits and schemes around, and Dale's stillness makes you watch for what he isn't saying.