CBS was advancing diversity initiatives around the show's 2018 premiere, but this feels incidental and background rather than narrative-driving. The storytelling remains a straightforward procedural focused on high-stakes cases like bombings, kidnappings, and family crimes, with suspenseful plots and character development unburdened by explicit social justice themes, identity politics lectures, or systemic critiques.

Reviews praise its entertainment value, emotional authenticity, and reworking of cop show formulas without political intrusion. No creator interviews reveal activist intent, and while the broader franchise later draws 'woke' complaints, Season 1 evades specific backlash, allowing pure escapist enjoyment without ideological compromise.