A show about a lesbian couple raising adopted kids met with resistance among all the traditional TV outlets until a meeting with Jennifer Lopez's production company. Lopez fell in love with the concept and was instrumental in getting the show to screen. She was drawn to it as she had a lesbian aunt who was discriminated against and denied having children of her own.
Showrunners Bradley Bredeweg and Peter Paige are both openly gay and wanted to create a TV series that reflected the changing face of the "normal" family.
The English teacher Mr. Timothy is teaching about the novella The Metamorphosis (1915) by Franz Kafka. The story begins with a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking to find himself transformed into a monstrous vermin.
Inspired by a childhood friend of showrunner Bradley Bredeweg who was raised in the foster system and had real struggles with it. Bredeweg and his co-showrunner Peter Paige wanted to show the failings of the system.