Chief Carter

Chief Carter runs the Easttown police department where Mare Sheehan works, which mostly means managing Mare — her insubordination, her grief, her habit of running investigations her own way. He's patient but not a pushover, aware the town is watching how he handles a beloved, unraveling local legend.

John Douglas Thompson gives the thankless boss role real weight: he's not comic relief or an obstacle, he's a man trying to hold a small department together while its most talented detective is quietly falling apart. His restraint makes Mare's chaos land harder — you feel him deciding, scene by scene, how much rope to give her.