The first season of the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

American television

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting. In terms of context and co ...

horror series ''

The Following ''The Following'' is an American crime thriller television series created by Kevin Williamson, and jointly produced by Outerbanks Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television. The first season follows former FBI agent Ryan Hardy ( Kevin Bacon) ...

'' premiered on January 21, 2013 and concluded on April 29, 2013, with a total of 15 episodes.

Plot

The first season centers on former

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

agent Ryan Hardy (

Kevin Bacon Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8, 1958) is an American actor. His films include the musical-drama film '' Footloose'' (1984), the controversial historical conspiracy legal thriller '' JFK'' (1991), the legal drama '' A Few Good Men'' (1992), t ...

) and his attempts to recapture

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

Joe Carroll (

James Purefoy James Brian Mark Purefoy (born 3 June 1964) is an English actor. He played Mark Antony in the HBO series ''Rome'', Nick Jenkins in ''A Dance to the Music of Time'', college professor turned serial killer Joe Carroll in the series ''The Following ...

) following the latter's escape from prison. Hardy soon discovers that the charismatic Carroll has surrounded himself with a group of like-minded individuals (whom he met while teaching and while in prison), and turned them into a

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

of fanatical killers. When Carroll's son Joey (

Kyle Catlett Kyle Catlett (born November 16, 2002) is an American child actor from Morristown, New Jersey. Catlett has appeared in the television series ''The Following'' as "Joey Matthews". He made his feature film acting debut in a 2013 adventure drama film ...

) is abducted by his father's followers, the FBI discovers that it is the first step in a wider plan for Carroll to escape custody, humiliate Hardy, and be reunited with his ex-wife Claire (

Natalie Zea Natalie Zea (born March 17, 1975) is an American actress known for her performances on television. Zea began her acting career in theatre. Her first major role was on the NBC daytime soap opera ''Passions'' (2000–2002), where she played the ro ...

Cast

Main cast

as Ryan Hardy, a former

agent, recalled to assist the FBI once Carroll escapes and his cult begins to develop (15 episodes) *

as Joe Carroll, a former professor turned serial killer and cult leader (15 episodes) *

Jeananne Goossen Jeananne Goossen (born January 3, 1985) is a Canadian actress. Early life Goossen was born on January 3, 1985, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Goossen was raised in a middle-class family, to a Chinese mother and a Canadian father. Goossen studied b ...

as Jennifer Mason, an FBI Agent who is soon replaced by Debra Parker (1 episode) *

as Claire Matthews, Joe Carroll's ex-wife, who also had a relationship with Ryan Hardy (13 episodes) *

Annie Parisse Anne Marie Cancelmi (born July 31, 1975), known professionally as Annie Parisse, is an American actress. She portrayed Alexandra Borgia on the drama series '' Law & Order''. Parisse has also starred as Julia Snyder on the soap opera ''As the W ...

as Debra Parker, head of the investigation on Carroll and his cult (14 episodes) *

Shawn Ashmore Shawn Robert Ashmore (born October 7, 1979) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his roles as Bobby Drake / Iceman in the ''X-Men'' film series, Jake Berenson in the television series ''Animorphs'', Agent Mike Weston in the television drama se ...

as Mike Weston, a young FBI agent (12 episodes) *

Valorie Curry Valorie Mae Curry (born February 12, 1986) is an American actress. Her credits include ''Veronica Mars'' (2005–06), ''The Following'' (2013–14) and ''The Tick'' (2016–19).Gaede, Susan (December 1, 2010)"AEDE: Sonora grad cast in 'Twilight' ...

as Emma Hill, a follower and romantic partner of Joe Carroll (15 episodes) *

Nico Tortorella Nico Tortorella (born July 30, 1988) is an American actor and model, known for roles in filmsincluding ''Scream 4'', the Fox crime drama series ''The Following'' (2013–2015), and the TV Land comedy-drama series '' Younger'' (2015–2021). Fro ...

as Jacob Wells, one of Carroll's followers and romantic interest of both Emma and Paul (12 episodes) *

Adan Canto Adan Canto (born December 5, 1981) is a Mexican actor. He is known for his role as Sunspot in the 2014 superhero film '' X-Men: Days of Future Past''. On television, Canto played Paul Torres on the Fox drama series ''The Following'', and in 2015 ...

as Paul Torres, one of Carroll's followers, working closely with Jacob and Emma (8 episodes) *

as Joey Matthews, Joe Carroll and Claire Matthews' son (12 episodes) *

Maggie Grace Margaret Grace Denig (born ) is an American actress and model. She is known for playing Shannon Rutherford on the ABC television series ''Lost'' (2004–2006; 2010), Kim Mills in the '' Taken'' trilogy (2008–2014), Irina in ''The Twilight Sag ...

as Sarah Fuller, the last victim of Joe Carroll before he is captured (1 episode)

Recurring

* Chinasa Ogbuagu as Deirdre Mitchell, an FBI agent, specializing in following and tracking cult information on the computer (12 episodes) * John Lafayette as Scott Turner, head of the Marshal's detail participating in the investigation of Carroll's cult (7 episodes) *

Warren Kole Warren David Blosjo Jr. (born September 23, 1977) known professionally as Warren Kole, is an American actor known for his role as LAPD Detective Wes Mitchell on the USA Network original series ''Common Law''. He also played Roderick on the FOX ...

as Roderick, Carroll's friend and second in command of the cult (6 episodes) *

Jennifer Ferrin Jennifer Ferrin (born February 25, 1979) is an American actress. Early life and education Ferrin was born in Lawrenceville, Georgia. She attended Brookwood High where she was the lead in many high school plays and was a member of the choir. Up ...

as Molly, one of Carroll's followers, planted to develop a romantic relationship with Ryan Hardy (5 episodes) *

Mike Colter Mike Randal Colter (born August 26, 1976) is an American actor best known for his role as Luke Cage in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in the streaming television series ''Luke Cage'' (2016–2018), '' The Defenders'' (2017), and ''Jess ...

as Nick Donovan, an FBI agent who assumes command of the FBI team following Carroll's second escape from prison (5 episodes) *

Li Jun Li Li Jun Li is an American actress, known for her portrayal of Iris Chang in the ABC series '' Quantico'', Rose Cooper in the Fox series ''The Exorcist'', and Jenny Wah in the Netflix series ''Wu Assassins''. Early life Li was born in Shanghai, ...

as Megan Leeds, hostage of Paul, Jacob, and Emma (4 episodes) * Tom Lipinski as Charlie Mead, an ex-militant and member of Carroll's cult assigned to stalk Claire Matthews in the years following Carroll's incarceration (4 episodes) * Billy Brown as Agent Troy Riley, an FBI agent who initially assisted Hardy in the days following Carroll's escape from prison (3 episodes) *

Steve Monroe Steven Monroe (born October 30, 1972) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, and practicing psychotherapist. He has a number of television credits to his name, including guest roles on such series as '' 7th Heaven'', ''CSI: Crime Scene Invest ...

as Jordy Raines, a local cop and follower of Carroll (3 episodes) *

Michael Drayer Michael Drayer (born March 19, 1986) is an American actor. He is best known for his recurring role as Cisco on the television drama–thriller series ''Mr. Robot'', Gabe on the television drama series '' Deception'', and for his supporting role a ...

as Rick Kester, follower of Carroll (3 episodes) * Annika Boras as Louise Sinclair, follower of Carroll and love interest of Roderick (3 episodes) *

Renée Elise Goldsberry Renée Elise Goldsberry (born January 2, 1971) is an American actress and singer known for originating the role of Angelica Schuyler in the Broadway musical ''Hamilton'', for which she won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musica ...

as Olivia Warren, Carroll's attorney (3 episodes) *

Christopher Denham Christopher Denham is an American actor, screenwriter and director. He is perhaps best known for supporting roles in '' Argo'', '' Being the Ricardos'', ''Shutter Island'' and his role in the Sundance Film Festival cult phenomenon, ''Sound of My ...

as Vince McKinley, follower of Carroll (3 episodes) * Virginia Kull as Maggie Kester, follower of Carroll (2 episodes) *

Arian Moayed Arian Moayed ( fa, آرین مؤید, born April 15, 1980) is an Iranian-American actor, writer, and director. Moayed received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in ''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo'' a ...

as David, follower of Carroll (2 episodes)

Guest cast

Audrey Esparza Audrey Esparza (born March 4, 1986) is an American actress best known for her role as FBI agent Tasha Zapata on the American television series '' Blindspot'', and more recently as Liliana on ''Power'' and its spin-off, '' Power Book IV: Force''. ...

as Dana Montero in ("Let Me Go")

Episodes

Ratings

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Following, season 1 2013 American television seasons The Following