Animal Kingdom follows Joshua “J” Cody, a teenager who moves in with his estranged grandmother and discovers that the family supporting him is also a highly organized criminal enterprise. The American television series ran for six seasons on TNT from 2016 through 2022 and concluded with its sixth and final season.
This guide covers the principal cast, the Cody family relationships, important supporting characters, and the series’ two-timeline structure. It refers to the television drama—not David Michôd’s 2010 Australian film of the same name.
The principal cast of Animal Kingdom
The series centers on the Cody family, a Southern California crime clan whose loyalty is inseparable from manipulation, rivalry, and self-preservation. Netflix’s U.S. title page currently lists all six seasons and identifies the show as a TV-MA drama, with Ellen Barkin, Scott Speedman, Shawn Hatosy, Ben Robson, Jake Weary, Finn Cole, Daniella Alonso, Molly Gordon, Carolina Guerra, and Leila George among the cast. Netflix’s listing is U.S.-specific, so catalog availability can differ in other countries.
| Actor | Character | Family or story role | Character guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ellen Barkin | Janine “Smurf” Cody | Cody family matriarch | Smurf is the family’s strategist and controlling center. She presents herself as a legitimate businesswoman in a Southern California beach town while managing a tightly organized criminal operation. Her sons depend on her, resent her, and compete for her approval, often at the same time. |
| Shawn Hatosy | Andrew “Pope” Cody | Smurf’s eldest son | Pope is volatile, intimidating, and capable of extreme violence, but he is not simply a one-note criminal. He struggles with dangerous impulses while remaining intensely committed to protecting what he understands as his family. |
| Ben Robson | Craig Cody | Smurf’s middle son | Craig is an impulsive risk-taker drawn to adrenaline, drugs, and dangerous schemes. His appetite for immediate excitement can make him effective in a crisis and unreliable when a job requires patience or restraint. |
| Jake Weary | Deran Cody | Smurf’s youngest son | Deran is sharp-witted and eager to establish himself among his older brothers. He wants a life beyond the family business, yet repeatedly finds himself pulled back into its criminal and emotional orbit. |
| Finn Cole | Joshua “J” Cody | Smurf’s grandson and entry-point character | J enters the Cody household after his mother, Julia, dies from a heroin overdose. Initially an outsider, he learns how the family operates and develops ambitions of his own, including revenge connected to his mother and a determination to claim power within the family. |
| Scott Speedman | Barry “Baz” Blackwell | Senior member of the household and criminal operation | Baz is closely connected to Smurf and the Cody enterprise, but he is not one of her biological sons. That distinction gives him an ambiguous position inside the household and makes his standing within the family particularly important. |
The official TNT character material describes the show’s central tension well: Smurf’s criminal authority is reinforced by her ability to shift between apparent nurturing and calculated menace. The family’s conflicts are therefore not only about heists or money. They are also about who belongs, who receives protection, and who gets to define the family’s future. TNT’s character biographies provide the official descriptions of Smurf, Pope, Craig, Deran, and J.
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The Cody family relationship map
- Janine “Smurf” Cody is the mother of Andrew “Pope” Cody, Craig Cody, and Deran Cody.
- Pope is the twin brother of Julia Cody.
- Julia Cody is J’s mother, making J Smurf’s grandson and Pope’s nephew.
- Baz Blackwell belongs to the Cody household and criminal organization but is not Smurf’s biological son.
Those biological relationships are only part of the family structure. Smurf’s control, the brothers’ rivalry, J’s outsider status, and Baz’s uncertain position create a second, emotional family map. In Animal Kingdom, being related does not necessarily mean being trusted, and being outside the bloodline does not necessarily mean being excluded from power.
Important supporting and recurring characters
The show’s supporting cast changes in prominence as alliances, relationships, and criminal operations develop. These characters should not all be treated as permanent members of the central ensemble, but each helps illuminate a different side of the Cody world.
Daniella Alonso as Catherine Blackwell
Catherine is Baz’s wife and an important part of the early family and household dynamic. Through her connection to Baz, she also represents the pressure created when domestic life collides with the Codys’ criminal activities.
Molly Gordon as Nicky Belmont
Nicky is Craig’s girlfriend during the early seasons. Her relationship with Craig brings an outside perspective into his unstable lifestyle and exposes how difficult it is for anyone close to a Cody to remain separate from the family’s risks.
Carolina Guerra as Lucy
Lucy is connected to the criminal world surrounding the Codys and becomes especially significant during the show’s early expansion beyond the immediate family. Her presence adds another source of influence and competition to the family’s already precarious power structure.
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Emily Deschanel as Angela
Angela becomes important in the later story, when the Cody family is dealing with the consequences of earlier choices and changing internal loyalties. Her role is tied to the question of whether anyone can enter the family’s orbit without being changed by it.
Sohvi Rodriguez as Mia Trujillo
Mia is part of the show’s later criminal and romantic storylines. Her connection with J brings another ambitious and dangerous figure into his life as he becomes increasingly determined to operate on his own terms.
Leila George as the younger Janine “Smurf” Cody
Leila George plays a younger version of Smurf in the flashback storyline introduced in the later seasons. She is not replacing Ellen Barkin in the present-day narrative; the two actors portray Smurf at different ages.
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Rigo Sanchez as Manny and Jon Beavers as Jake
Manny and Jake belong to the earlier history of Smurf’s criminal life. Their appearances help establish the people, loyalties, and methods that shaped the Cody organization before the main present-day storyline.
Why there are two versions of Smurf
Seasons five and six use a dual timeline. In the present-day storyline, the Cody brothers deal with the aftermath of Smurf’s death and the continuing consequences of her control over the family. The flashbacks move to 1984, when a 29-year-old Smurf is raising Pope and Julia and beginning to build the criminal life that will define the family.
Ellen Barkin plays the older, present-day Smurf, while Leila George plays the younger Smurf in the flashbacks. This is a deliberate storytelling device rather than a recasting mistake. The younger-Smurf material shows the family before it became the fully formed criminal dynasty seen in the main timeline, while the present-day plot examines what remains after Smurf’s authority is gone. TNT’s season-five announcement describes this structure and places the flashbacks alongside the brothers’ post-Smurf storyline. The official announcement also confirms that the sixth season would be the final season.
Animal Kingdom television series versus the 2010 film
The television drama is inspired by David Michôd’s award-winning Australian feature film, but it is not the same production and does not have the same cast. Jonathan Lisco developed the television adaptation, with Michôd and Liz Watts among the executive producers connected to the original film’s lineage. Warner Bros. Discovery’s series announcement identifies that television background.
The 2010 film stars Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, Guy Pearce, Jacki Weaver, Luke Ford, Sullivan Stapleton, and James Frecheville. Sony Pictures Classics’ film page lists the Australian movie’s cast. Those names should not be mixed with the television cast when searching for the Cody family series.
Spoiler-light guide to the series’ progression
The first season introduces J as he moves into Smurf’s seaside home and encounters a family that treats criminal work as both a livelihood and a measure of loyalty. His position is unusually complicated: he is young and inexperienced, but he is also close enough to the family’s bloodline to become strategically important.
As the series continues, the brothers’ different personalities produce competing approaches to survival. Pope’s volatility, Craig’s appetite for risk, and Deran’s wish for independence repeatedly pull the family in different directions. Baz’s non-biological status further complicates the question of who truly belongs, while J gradually shifts from observer to participant.
The sixth and final season brings the story to its conclusion. TNT framed the final run around the Cody boys confronting their past, a cold-case investigation, revenge, betrayal, and a broader family reckoning. It premiered on June 19, 2022. TNT’s final-season announcement confirms both the premiere date and the fact that this was the show’s concluding season. Because the series is complete, there is no current seventh season to list.
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For viewers in the United States, Netflix currently lists all six seasons. Streaming libraries can change by country and over time, so viewers outside the U.S. should check their local services. Prime Video’s title page also displays season-by-season digital purchase options and physical-format listings, although prices, sellers, editions, and stock are subject to change. Check the current Prime Video listing before buying.
For collectors who want the completed story in one physical package, a retailer listing describes an Animal Kingdom complete TV series DVD collection containing seasons one through six and 75 episodes. Confirm the seller, region, disc format, edition, price, and availability before ordering; those details are not permanent.
At a glance
- Series: Animal Kingdom, the American television drama.
- Run: Six seasons, 2016–2022.
- Central character: Joshua “J” Cody, played by Finn Cole.
- Family leader: Janine “Smurf” Cody, played by Ellen Barkin in the present-day timeline.
- Younger Smurf: Leila George in the 1984 flashbacks.
- Final season: Season six, which concluded the television series.
- Not the same as: David Michôd’s 2010 Australian film, whose cast is different.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many seasons of Animal Kingdom are there?
There are six seasons. Season six was the final season, and TNT premiered it on June 19, 2022.
Who is J Cody in Animal Kingdom?
Joshua “J” Cody, played by Finn Cole, is Smurf’s teenage grandson and the son of Julia Cody. After Julia dies, J moves into the Cody household and becomes the audience’s main entry point into the family.
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Is Baz one of Smurf’s sons?
No. Barry “Baz” Blackwell is a major member of the Cody household and criminal operation, but he is not one of Smurf’s biological sons. His ambiguous status is an important part of the family’s internal tensions.
Why do Ellen Barkin and Leila George both play Smurf?
They portray Smurf at different ages. Barkin plays the older, present-day Smurf, while George plays 29-year-old Smurf in the 1984 flashbacks used in seasons five and six.
Is the TV show Animal Kingdom the same as the 2010 movie?
No. The series is a television adaptation inspired by David Michôd’s Australian film, but it has a different cast, a longer story, and six television seasons.
The Bottom Line
Animal Kingdom is ultimately a story about power inside a family: Smurf’s control, the brothers’ rivalries, Baz’s uncertain belonging, and J’s transformation from outsider to contender. The six-season television story is complete, with the later flashbacks providing the history behind the Cody dynasty rather than introducing a separate version of the show.
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