‘MaryLand’ Cast Guide: Where Have You Seen Suranne Jones, Eve Best, and the Rest of the ‘Masterpiece’ Actors Before?

PBS’s new Sunday night drama MaryLand is a gripping look at how a matriarch’s sudden death reveals fault lines in her entire family. The Masterpiece series is a fabulous watch because of its understated gravitas, brilliant writing, and — most importantly — incredibly grounded acting. The cast of MaryLand is a veritable who’s who of British acting talent known for lighting up the screen (plus one very fun turn from famous American actress Stockard Channing).

MaryLand tells the story of estranged sisters Becca (Suranne Jones) and Rosaline (Eve Best), who reunite when their mother Mary (Judy Clifton) suddenly dies on the Isle of Man. Initially, the sisters are confused because their mother was supposed to be vacationing in Wales. However, when they arrive on the Isle of Man, they discover their mother had a completely secret life. She had a lover, Pete (Hugh Quarshie), a best friend named Cathy (Stockard Channing), and a whole house that had been left to her by her birth mother.

Becca and Rosaline have to reckon with these revelations while also dredging up their own grievances with each other and their own lives.

Some of the British stars of MaryLand might be super familiar to you, whether you’ve seen Suranne Jones star in Gentleman Jack or Eve Best appear in House of the Dragon or Season 6 of The Crown. Still others, like Hugh Quarshie or Andrew Knott, might feel recognizable, but you can’t quite remember where you’ve seen them before. Here’s everything you need to know about the cast of MaryLand on Masterpiece on PBS…

MaryLand Cast Guide: Who’s Who in the Masterpiece on PBS Show

Curious about who’s in the MaryLand cast? Determined where you’ve seen the actors before? Here’s everything you need to know about the cast of PBS’s MaryLand:

• Suranne Jones as Becca: Suranne Jones is perhaps best known for playing historical lesbian Anne Lister in HBO’s Gentleman Jack. She’s also appeared in Coronation Street, Doctor Who, Scott & Bailey, and Doctor Foster. Jones co-created MaryLand with writer Anne-Marie O’Connor and plays the younger sister, Becca.
• Eve Best as Rosaline: Eve Best is a celebrated British stage actress who has recently become a prestige TV favorite. She plays Rhaenys Targaryen in House of the Dragon and was Carole Middleton in The Crown‘s final season. Best plays Rosaline, the self-made, single, older sister in MaryLand.
• Stockard Channing as Cathy: Stockard Channing is an Oscar-nominated actress famous for playing Rizzo in the 1978 musical film Grease and First Lady Abbey Bartlet in The West Wing. In MaryLand, she plays Cathy, an American immigrant to the Isle of Man who was close with Becca and Rosaline’s mother before she died.
• Hugh Quarshie as Pete: Hugh Quarshie is a Ghanaian-born actor renowned for his long history with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He’s appeared in basically all of your favorite British television shows, but I personally recognize him as Queen Amidala’s chief of security, Captain Panaka in Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace. He plays Pete, Mary’s secret, devoted lover in MaryLand.
• George Costigan as Richard: George Costigan is yet another beloved stage and TV actor who has popped up in, like, every British show you can think of. However, he’s appeared in two Sally Wainwright classics: Happy Valley and Gentleman Jack. Costigan plays Richard, aka Becca and Rosaline’s clueless dad.
• Dean Lennox Kelly as Jacob: Dean Lennox Kelly is probably best known for playing Kev Ball in the original British version of Shameless, but he’s also recently appeared in Masterpiece Channel’s Jamestown and played villain Pekka Rollins in Netflix’s Shadow and Bone. In MaryLand, he is a local cab driver who becomes Becca’s love interest.
• Andrew Knott as Jim: This might only matter to me, but Andrew Knott played Dickon in the 1993 version of The Secret Garden!!! He’s also appeared in Gavin & Stacey and Where The Heart Is. Knott plays Jim, Becca’s seemingly oblivious husband, in MaryLand.
• Rhiannon Clements as Lauren: Rhiannon Clements is a stage and screen actress known for her work on Hollyoaks and for joining the new season of Vera as DC Stephanie Duncan. She was born with a foreshortened left arm, which is something her MaryLand character, Lauren, also has. Lauren is Becca’s older daughter.
• Yasmin Davies as Molly: MaryLand marks one of Yasmin Davies’s first onscreen roles. She plays Molly, Becca’s younger, far more rebellious daughter.