Across its seasons, the series deliberately reimagines classic characters through race and ethnicity swaps—such as George Fayne as Asian-American George Fan, Ned Nickerson as Black mechanic Nick, and Bess Marvin as lesbian Bess Turani Marvin—alongside showrunners' explicit prioritization of a multi-ethnic cast and writers' room to reflect modern diversity. These changes drive subplots, including foregrounded sapphic arcs for Bess (with human partners and a possessing ghost), Nick's race-tinged backstory elements, and additional LGBTQ+ threads like non-binary dating, all integrated into the mysteries with positive framing.

While the narrative focus stays on sleuthing and emotional resolutions, the cumulative casting mandates and identity-focused storytelling create an intrusive progressive layer on the source material. This results in the show's overall woke score of 7/10.