Kimberly "Kim" Reese

Kim Reese is a pre-med student at Hillman College, buried in textbooks and determined to become a doctor no matter what it costs her socially. She's sharp-tongued, guarded about her insecurities, and quick to call out nonsense in her dorm mates, even as she quietly longs to be seen as more than the smart, reliable friend.

Charnele Brown plays Kim's brains and vulnerability as the same instinct: she overprepares for exams and for feelings alike, and her prickliness reads as armor rather than meanness. The show lets her ambition be serious without making her humorless, which is rarer than it sounds and gives the character real staying power.