Multiple gay characters appear early, including a gay couple on honeymoon (Michael Bizier and Zack Cochran), the sheriff's gay son, and his ex-wife in a lesbian relationship, prompting audience complaints of 'gay agenda' and 'forced gay s**t' in user reviews and X posts. Casting includes Indigenous actors like Andrea Menard (Edna Cranebear), Joel Oulette, and Tom Jackson, alongside others like Amalia Williamson, reflecting the Nova Scotian setting but drawing some criticism for racial and gendered recasting of minor book characters, with one Reddit user decrying 'covert mammy' tropes.

Multi-racial couples are also noted by detractors. Changes from Robyn Carr's books include setting shift to Canada, some gender swaps, and character redesigns, but main leads Maggie (Morgan Kohan) and Cal (Chad Michael Murray) align with source material. No overt social justice lectures, systemic oppression narratives, or creator activism from showrunner Roma Roth; reception praises cozy escapism with minor backlash limited to conservative viewers annoyed by the LGBTQ+ inclusions, without widespread 'go woke go broke' discourse.