My High School Diary is an American web-exclusive teen sitcom/comedy-drama created by Emily Halpern & Sarah Haskins. The show was produced by ABC Signature for Hulu. Executive producers include Trish Sie, who is also director of the show, along with Michelle Manning, executive producer of Andi Mack. Jon Liebman, Marc Gurvitz, and Cynthia Pett were executive producers for Brillstein Entertainment Partners. It first aired on Hulu from April 2, 2016 and ended on June 20, 2020.
Plot[]
The series is set in Oakland and focuses on Olivia Powers, a teenage girl attending the fictional Westpark High School. She writes her experiences with school and everyday life in her diary, which she refers to as her "OJ" (Olivia's Journal).
Characters[]
Main characters[]
Olivia Powers (Riele Downs) - The main protagonist and the series' narrator. She is a spunky, African-American girl with a down-to-earth personality and caring nature. She writes her experiences in her diary, and wants to be a journalist when she leaves school. She lives with her mother, younger brother and stepfather.
Kate Powers (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) - Olivia's mother. She is divorced from her husband, and is a caring, headstrong woman. She works as a banker and enjoys martial arts, as it helps her destress.
Dylan Powers (Caleel Harris) - Olivia's younger brother. He shares a room with her, and often invites his friends over to play video games.
Joe Charles (Jimmy Jean-Louis) - Olivia's stepfather and Kate's boyfriend, later husband. He is kind, caring if somewhat goofy. He works at a night school teaching adult education classes. He is also skilled at cooking.
Elisa Fernandez (Maria Quezada) - Olivia's best friend since daycare. She is of Mexican-American descent, and is bubbly, feisty and energetic. She lives with her extended family, and is a fan of gymnastics and soccer.
Tom Caruso (Joshua Rush) - Olivia's best friend, having known him since elementary school. He is shy, softspoken but overall a kind, caring and loyal friend. He is of Italian-American descent, and was raised by his single mother after his father walked out on him.
Jacob Ming (Lance Lim) - Olivia and Elisa's best friend. He is spunky, goofy and fun-loving and is a skilled rapper. He is of Chinese-American descent, and lives with his extended family.
Westpark High students and faculty []
Shay Torrance (Alisha Newton) - Captain of the cheer squad. She is a bossy, driven girl who has a frenemy relationship with Olivia.
Danny Taylor (Quinn Lord) - Bully. He frequently targets Tom, targeting his dress sense and steals his lunch money.
Zahir Moussa (Tenzing Norgay-Trainor) - A classmate of Olivia's and Jacob's friend on the basketball team. He is of Arab descent (his parents were born in Morocco), and he claims to be "better than Shaq" at basketball.
Jessica Michalchuk (Jordyn Jones) - Head of Westpark's drama club. She enjoys musical theatre, with her three favourite musicals being Hairspray, Lion King and Grease.
Gabriella Rivera (Lola Consuelos) - Head of the school soccer team. She has a spunky, driven nature and isn't afraid to speak her mind. She is a closeted lesbian, having a crush on Elisa, but keeps it a secret from her conservative Mexican-American family, before she eventually comes out to them.
Charlie Hudson (Max Charles)- Member of the school's gaming club. He enjoys playing RPGs, such as World of Warcraft.
Toby Yearwood (Jeremy Ray Taylor) - Charlie's friend and member of the gaming club. He often turns up to school dressed as various superheroes and video game characters, including Iron Man, Thor and Batman.
Sam Saunders (Rowan Blanchard) - Head of the Westpark Environmental Society. She is a pesciterean, and loves animals and is a supporter of animal rights. She is mixed-race; her mother is Syrian and her father is Irish.
Ravi Nair (Roni Akurati) - Member of the soccer club. He is of Indian descent and is obsessed with gaming.
Anthony Harding (Nicholas Pinnock) - Home room teacher. He is strict but fair.
Carrie Channing (Amy Acker) - Science teacher. She is a vegetarian, and likes animals.
Robyn Jennings (Lauren Ash) - Sports teacher. She is abrasive, loud and strict, but has a softer, kinder side.
Ethan Chow (Brian Tee) - English teacher. He is of Chinese heritage and likes Shakespeare.
Recurring characters[]
Robert Fernandez (Adam Rodriguez) - Elisa's father. His family hails from Guadalajara, Mexico, and works at a community centre, teaching guitar. He is somewhat neurotic but overall has a good heart and will do anything for his family.
Nina Fernandez (Camille Guaty) - Elisa's mother. Like her husband, her family hails from Guadalajara, and it is revealed that she has Native American ancestry, which her grandmother kept a secret from her. She has an effusive, caring personality and works as a keeper at the Oakland Zoo.
Mia Fernandez (Alison Fernandez) - Elisa's younger sister. She is conniving, spoiled and likes to get her own way, and will usually only help Elisa and her friends with their problems if there is a reward for her. Despite this, she loves her sister and cares about here.
Elena Fuentes (Adriana Barraza) - Maria's grandmother and Nina's mother, who the former nicknames "Abuela" or "Go-Go". Like her daughter and granddaughter, she has a spunky nature and free-spirited attitude. She was born in Guadalajara, and likes cooking and music.
Angela Caruso (Silvia Colloca) - Tom's single mother. Her family hail from Turin, Italy and she is skilled at cooking. She has a spunky personality and cares deeply for her son; it is revealed that their favourite song is "You'll Be In My Heart" by Phil Collins from the movie Tarzan. She teaches martial arts at the community centre.
Phil Caruso (Chris Diamontopoulos) - Tom's estranged father. His family hail from Naples, Italy, and he walked out on Tom when he was two years old, and is first introduced when he turns up at his son's birthday. After cutting him out of his life at first, Tom decides to stay in contact with him when it is revealed he and his girlfriend are having a baby; his girlfriend later has a baby girl called Isla.
Jessica Santana (Pia Miller) - Tom's stepmother and Phil's girlfriend. She is of Colombian descent, and was a friend of Angela's when she used to volunteer at the community centre as a teenager. She becomes pregnant with Phil's child, and later gives birth to their daughter Isla; afterwards, she and Phil split up, with the latter moving to Dallas, and the former moving to San Francisco.
Evan Rogers (Jaheem Toombs) - Olivia's on-off, later ex-boyfriend boyfriend. He loves music-particularly rap, country and indie rock-and lives with his father and stepmother. The two break up when he kisses Elisa at a party. He later moves to Los Angeles with his family.
Sean Rogers (Mekhi Phifer) - Evan's father. He works as a university lecturer in history. He is firm but fair and is a part-time musician in a local band.
Deni Williams (Lesley-Ann Brandt) - Evan's stepmother. She works as a childminder and is mixed-race; her father is Barbadian, and her mother is Indian. She has a bubbly nature, and is also a skilled artist.
Jessica Proudwolf (Auli'i Cravalho) - A Native American girl who befriends Elisa. She makes her first appearance when she and her family have dinner with Elisa, when the latter discovers she has Native ancestry.
Lewis (Lonnie Chavis, Jr.) - A young boy who Olivia and her family foster, and later adopt.