Gaal Dornick, a male mathematician and narrator figure in the source material, is gender-swapped and race-swapped into a Black woman portrayed by Lou Llobell; Salvor Hardin, originally male, is similarly recast as a Black woman/non-binary character played by Leah Harvey. These casting decisions replace core source figures with identity-driven versions rather than introducing new characters, directly altering the foundation of the story's premise and foregrounding the changes in key art and marketing. Showrunner David S.

Goyer explicitly described the intent to center Black women, assemble a majority-women-and-people-of-color writers' room, and update the story to 'reflect the audience of today' through these flips, rather than organic new characters. The adaptation choices drew audience backlash labeling the project 'woke,' highlighting how the swaps and creator statements prioritize demographic representation over fidelity to the original material and compromise the entertainment value of the series.