The narrative explores grief, trauma, mental health ambiguity (including parallels to her grandmother's schizophrenia), family dynamics with her mother Camila (Constance Marie) and sister Becca (Angelique Cabral), and questions of reality versus perception. Casting features a predominantly Latina family alongside boyfriend Sam (Siddharth Dhananjay) and supporting roles like Tunde (Daveed Diggs), reflecting organic diversity for the setting without altering any pre-existing source material.

Creators Raphael Bob-Waksberg and Kate Purdy, coming from BoJack Horseman, described the project in interviews as driven by personal experiences with depression, anxiety, consciousness experiments, and philosophical questions about alternate realities, with no statements on activism or inclusion mandates. Reception highlights the rotoscoped animation and emotional depth on trauma without notable audience backlash or critic-audience gaps tied to ideology; mentions of representation, such as Hispanic female leads or Alma's hearing loss, appear incidental rather than focal. The premise relies on classic sci-fi mystery and psychological tropes of self-discovery and family secrets, not identity politics or systemic critiques as foundational elements.