Homecoming

Season 1 has a diverse cast, including Stephan James as a main lead. Season 2 shifts the casting to be much more focused on identity. It features an interracial lesbian couple played by Janelle Monáe and Hong Chau. The show places these minority actors in the most prominent roles. The director noted that he wanted to bring a queer lens to the project. Because the show features clear and prominent LGBTQ+ representation in the lead roles, the score is high.

The dialogue is mostly focused on the mystery and the thriller plot. It does not contain loud activist speeches. However, Season 2 includes subtle dialogue about race and gender. There are conversations about how people treat minority women in corporate spaces and how the police view disheveled black women. It also critiques the idea of the corporate female climber. These elements are noticeable but not preachy.

Season 1 does not focus on identity themes. However, Season 2 puts a lesbian relationship between two women of color at the center of the story. Their romantic connection and mutual support drive the entire plot and corporate con. The director explained that he used their queer relationship to give a new shape of wish fulfillment to the thriller genre. This heavy focus on LGBTQ+ themes in the main plot carries a strong weight.

The show critiques the military-industrial complex and corporate greed. In Season 2, this expands into a critique of modern power structures and gender dynamics. The series mocks the "girlboss" trope by showing how the female leads use corrupt corporate systems. It also portrays the main male executive, Colin, as arrogant, entitled, and highly incompetent. Traditional authority figures are shown as deeply flawed.

The show is based on a fiction podcast. The TV adaptation makes several demographic changes to the original characters. Walter Cruz is changed from Hispanic to black. Audrey Temple is changed from a minor white character to an Asian-American lead. Season 2 also invents a brand-new lesbian romance that was not in the podcast. These changes reflect representation priorities, though they did not cause huge controversy.

Anti-woke backlash against the show was extremely quiet. The series did not spark any major campaigns, boycotts, or viral outrage. A few viewers on platforms like Reddit noted mild frustration with the heavy shift toward a lesbian romance in Season 2. However, these complaints were small and fringe. The general public mostly treated the series as a standard psychological thriller.

The creative team has a mixed track record. Creators Sam Esmail, Micah Bloomberg, and Eli Horowitz have low to moderate scores. However, Season 2 director Kyle Patrick Alvarez has a high score of 83 due to his career in queer filmmaking and LGBTQ+ advocacy. Writer Shannon Houston also has a high score of 71. Producers Patrick Macmanus and Alex Blumberg also have a history of pushing for diversity and progressive causes.