Lena James

Lena James arrives at Hillman College a scholarship freshman with a mouth as quick as her mind and no patience for pretension. Sharp-tongued and unapologetically herself, she clashes fast with the campus's more polished set, more interested in art and honesty than fitting in.

Jada Pinkett Smith plays Lena with a live-wire wit that never curdles into meanness — she's funny because she's paying attention, not because she's cruel. The show uses her as a needle to pop the campus's egos, and Pinkett Smith's confidence makes every retort land like she thought of it a beat before you did.