Life in general can be very unexpected. But, for our main character Lux, her world turns upside down when she is about to turn 16. In the pilot episode of Life Unexpected, each of the main character’s wedge their way into our hearts.

Lux, played by Britt Robertson, is a pretty no nonsense fifteen year old who has bounced around foster homes since she was born. Having enough of all the creepy old men and cold hearted foster parents, she goes on a quest to find her birth parents so she can be emancipated and live on her own.

As fate has it, her father Baze, isn’t much of a well rounded role model. Baze, played by Kristoffer Polaha, lives the life of a party frat boy. His goals in life include: being champion of beer pong, flip cup, and all the while maintaining his bar.

Life changes unexpectedly for him when Lux comes knocking at his door.  As much as he seems startled by her presence, he realizes that he should do just one thing and give her what she is after. So he signs her emancipation papers and tells Lux who her mother is. 

Nothing can be more surprising for Lux when Baze tells her that  her mother is Cate Cassidy.  Basically Cate is Lux’s life salvation. Lux has listened to Cate’s morning radio talk show since she was little and it has been the one consistent thing in her life.

Cate’s character is an over achiever played by Shiri Appleby. Back when she was fifteen, she was a bright and shining student with high aspirations in life. As fortune has it, a night of heated teeny bopper puppy love turned into an unplanned pregnancy and eventually she had to put Lux into an orphanage. Present day Cate’s life is finally coming together – she has a popular radio show and a new love interest. 

Her love interest is also her co-host on her morning show.  Ryan Thomas played by Kerr Smith is completely in love with Cate. They have had a thing going now for quite sometime and although they get along great, there still is a wall between them. Hoping to change this, Ryan proposes. Cate at first is taken aback, but after Ryan’s brilliantly romantic quasi proposal, Cate happily accepts.

Of course, as the show’s title states life is surprising. When Cate realizes that her daughter’s life has been so hard she immediately feels guilty. There is nothing she can offer her now accept what she wants: her signature.

At the court hearing, Lux is outright astonished that the judge not only denies her request for emancipation, but puts her under shared custody of her birth parents. This sets the beginning to a whole new world for each of them.