The group is at Greendale Community College in Greendale, Colorado. Here are the main characters of the story.
Beck Oliver, a suspended lawyer who enrolls at Greendale after his firm discovers that he falsely claimed to have a bachelor's degree. Beck often acts as the de facto leader of the group.
Tori Vega, the youngest of the group, a compulsive over-achiever, relentlessly organized and comparatively innocent. Despite this, Tori ends up at Greendale instead of an Ivy League school because she developed an Adderall addiction while studying for finals. This led to a major breakdown and a stay in a rehabilitation clinic, as well as being disinherited by her parents. Tori was extremely unpopular in high-school, to the extent that even the teachers hated her and crossing guards lured her into traffic.
Jade West, a former anarchist activist who traveled around the world after dropping out of high school, but now trying to get her life back on track. At first, Jade puts up a facade, appearing intelligent and cool. However, as the group gets to know her and her defenses are stripped away, the flaws in her personality become more obvious.
Robbie Shiparo, a pop-culture-obsessed film student with an encyclopaedic knowledge of TV shows and movies. Robbie has trouble interacting with others. On occasion, Robbie has displayed coping mechanisms to things he cannot deal with, such as seeing everything as a claymation adventure, or being convinced he is Batman. Robbie often interprets the group's everyday adventures by comparing them to TV tropes or clichés.
Cat Valentine, a silly, self-conscious, enncentric young woman going to school to start a brownie business. Cat is seen as the "innocent voice of reason" of the group and often uses this to manipulate them by being passive-aggressive and appealing to their sense of guilt.
Andre Harris, a former high school star quarterback who lost his scholarship to a top-tier university when he hurt his shoulder doing a keg flip. Andre went to the same high school as Tori, but never spoke to her. Andre starts out obsessed with being cool, but due to his friendship with Robbie, he lets his guard down and embraces his nerdy, childish side.
Erin Sikowitz, a millionaire who enrolls at Greendale due to boredom. Erin is often seen as the least liked member of the group due to his self-importance, incoherence and casual bigotry. Despite his apparent arrogance, Erin is aware of his place in the group, and he often attempts to appear cooler, fit in, and make others like him more.
"Señor" Sinjin Van Cleef, normally called "Van Cleef". An extremely unhinged man, originally the group's Spanish teacher until the school discovers his incompetence and lack of teaching qualification. He goes on to become a student and later a security officer for the school. Van Cleef's insanity and loose grip on reality often lead him to take extreme action for no apparent reason.
Dean Spencer Shay, the dean of Greendale, who desperately wants his school to be more like a real university, and goes to excessive lengths to appear politically correct. Although his sexual orientation is left ambiguous, he is an avid cross dresser who has occasionally displayed an attraction to Dalmatian suits. Dean Shay considers the group to be his favorite students and has an obsessive crush on Beck.
Professor Trina Vega, Tori's older sister, a teacher at Greendale who teaches' Jade's psychology class. She went to college and had no friends. She is desperate to hang out with Tori's friends because much like Tori, she never had friends in high school.