Netflix’s ‘Lost in Space’ Cast: Who’s Who, From Dr. Smith to the Robot

By Brett White @brettwhite

Published April 17, 2018, 8:00 a.m. ET

Photo: Netflix ; Illustration: Dillen Phelps

**Maureen Robinson**
**Played By:** Molly Parker
**Where You've Seen Her:** *Wormwood*, *Goliath*, *House of Cards*
**Who is Maureen?** The Robinson family matriarch, Maureen is a brilliant rocket scientist whose parenting style leans towards the pragmatic. She loves her whiteboard of chores and isn't afraid of a little adventure (especially if it's for science). But don't be fooled by her book-smart ways; Maureen also thinks with her heart, especially when it comes to her family.Courtesy of Netflix

**John Robinson**
**Played By:** Toby Stephens
**Where You've Seen Him:** *Black Sails*, *Vexed*
**Who is John?** This Marine grew estranged from his family due to numerous tours of duty, but the journey to colonize Alpha Centauri has brought him back home (at least metaphorically). He's protective of his kids, but he also trusts that they're old enough to handle whatever their strange new planet throws at them. In addition to surviving alien critters and harsh weather, John also has to figure out how to survive being in close quarters with his wife again.Courtesy of Netflix

**Will Robinson**
**Played By:** Maxwell Jenkins
**Where You've Seen Him:** *Sense8*, *Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping*
**Who is Will?** The youngest Robinson child, Will is a smart kid but perhaps not as brave as his big sister Judy. What he lacks in bravery, though, is more than made up by his impressive empathy. That trait that comes in hand when he befriends an intimidating alien robot and forms a bond that saves lives but jeopardizes the mission.Courtesy of Netflix

**Judy Robinson**
**Played By:** Taylor Russell
**Where You've Seen Her:** *Before I Fall*, *Dead of Summer*, *Falling Skies*
**Who is Judy?** Judy is the eldest Robinson child and also the most ready for action. Not only is she athletic and brave, she's also a highly-trained medical professional with enough know-how to keep her family patched up after their crash landing on a potentially hostile planet. But her first mission on the strange planet tests her mettle like nothing ever has, possibly pushing her past her limit.Courtesy of Netflix

**Penny Robinson**
**Played By:** Mina Sundwall
**Where You've Seen Her:** *Freeheld*, *Maggie's Plan*
**Who is Penny?** Middle child Penny is the sarcastic one of the bunch and possesses a passion for literature. While her parents and sister seek out action, Judy's more likely to call out how insane a situation is-but that doesn't mean she's also not ready, willing, and able to jump into the fray too. When her family is in trouble, Penny has got courage to spare (even if she doesn't always have the know-how).Courtesy of Netflix

**Don West**
**Played By:** Ignacio Serricchio
**Where You've Seen Him:** *Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce*, *Bones*, *Witches of East End*
**Who is Don?** Don starts out as a technician on board the space station Resolute, tasked with keeping the Jupiter away ships in shape on the journey to Alpha Centauri. But after calamity hits and the station is evacuated, Don takes on a nobler role as he shepherds survivors to safety (even if doing so goes against his mysterious, shady nature).Courtesy of Netflix

**Dr. Smith**
**Played By:** Parker Posey
**Where You've Seen Her:** *Search Party*, *Best in Show*, *Party Girl*
**Who is Dr. Smith?** Who *isn't* Dr. Smith? This manipulative con artist snuck onboard the Resolute, hoping for a fresh start amidst hundreds of new potential marks. What she got involved with instead was a high stakes game of survival on an alien world, giving her one ultimate goal: get back to the Resolute by any means necessary. There's no one she won't betray in order to survive.Courtesy of Netflix

**Robot**
**Played By:** Brian Steele
**Where You've Seen Him:** As various creatures in *Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues*, *Grimm*, *Terminator Salvation*
**Who is Robot?** This alien robot plays a pivotal role in *Lost in Space's* inciting incident-okay, it is the inciting incident. The robot's attack on the Resolute forces the colonizers to evacuate and land/crash on the uncharted planet below. The robot crashes as well, and forms an unexpected bond with Will Robinson after the kid helps save its life. The robot's ultimate mission, though, remains a mystery to Will and the Robinsons.Courtesy of Netflix

**Angela**
**Played By:** Sibongile Mlambo
**Where You've Seen Her:** *Siren*, *Teen Wolf*, *Black Sails*
**Who is Angela?** In addition to the main cast *Lost in Space* fans recognize as updates from the '60s series, the show features an extended cast of survivors. Among them is Angela, the first survivor Don and Dr. Smith encounter and rescue after crashing on the planet. We learn more about Angela as the season progresses (and she regains consciousness), and her actions have massive ramifications for everyone.Courtesy of Netflix

**Jess Harris**
**Played By:** Selma Blair
**Where You've Seen Her:** *American Crime Story, Anger Management, Cruel Intentions*
**Who is Jess?** And now we're in **SPOILER** territory, if you haven't seen episode 3 ("Infestation") yet. In a flashback, Blair guest stars as Jess Harris, the sister of June Harris-a.k.a. Dr. Smith. June, a total grifter, steals the identity of her wealthy sister Jess in order to take her spot on the Resolute. When last we see Jess, she's tied up in her mansion watching her sneaky sister set out for outer space.Courtesy of Netflix

**Dr. Z. Smith**
**Played By:** Bill Mumy
**Where You've Seen Him:** *Babylon 5*, *Lost in Space*, *The Twilight Zone*
**Who is Dr. Smith?** The first episode of *Lost in Space* contains a big Easter egg for fans of the original series-and it's also kind of a **SPOILER**. At the end of the episode, we meet the real Dr. Smith-a character played by Bill Mumy, the actor who played Will Robinson on the 1965 TV show. The episode ends with June Harris stealing Dr. Smith's identity and running away from the besieged Resolute in his Jupiter spaceship.Courtesy of Netflix

Where to Stream:

Lost in Space (2018)

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Over in the Netflix galaxy, a new version of the Space Family Robinson have gotten thoroughly lost somewhere outside our star system. If you’re a sci-fi-loving Netflix subscriber, chances are the streaming service’s reboot of the classic series Lost in Space has captured your imagination and taken over a lot of your time. If you spent your weekend watching all 10 hours of Season 1, who can blame you?

Lost in Space is truly an ensemble show, even more so than the 1965 TV series. This time around, every single member of theRobinson family gets the chance to pull their weight–and that means you have a lot more names to keep up with! This show ain’t just about the precocious Will Robinson, the dastardly Dr. Smith, and the rascally Robot. Judy, Penny, and mom Maureen get in on the action in a big way–and the core Robinson family accounts for just half of the Lost in Space cast!

In addition to new converts to the LiS canon needing clarification on the differences between Don and John and Penny and Judy, viewers of all ranks are definitely wondering where they’ve seen all these actors before. If that actor is Parker Posey, then you’ve definitely seen her in a dozen other things. So whether you’ve already gotten lost or have plans to get lost, here’s a mostly spoiler-free rundown of the cast of Netflix’s Lost in Space–mostly! Warning: beware the last two slides if you haven’t seen the first three episodes!

Where to stream Lost in Space