Frank's arc dives into local politics with opportunistic rants about reverse racism, diversity hires, and 'real Americans' versus minority candidates (gay Hispanic and Black woman), framed negatively but criticized for sloppy execution that risks validating bigoted views amid ideological minefields. Carl's unexpected cop career on the South Side addresses police brutality, race relations, and community policing in a mostly positive light, spawning ironic 'All Cops Are Carl' memes but decried as forced and overly topical.

Additional themes like gentrification, single motherhood for Deb, and out-of-context dialogue calling out racism, sexism, and homophobia pepper episodes, alongside COVID references. While the show's gritty family dysfunction persists, audience reception highlights significant backlash, with numerous Reddit threads labeling Season 11 'too woke,' 'virtue signaling,' 'preachy leftist politics,' and unrealistically political for the South Side setting, accusing writers of prioritizing current events and PC corrections over character consistency and chaos.