Stumptown places a strong emphasis on its female lead, who checks multiple modern diversity boxes. While she’s a complex character, identity is arguably foregrounded, and the depiction sometimes flirts with “hyper-competence.” Secondary characters reflect broad representation, but overall, narrative sometimes takes a back seat to these choices.

Traditional institutions like the military and family are often depicted as dysfunctional or problematic. Masculinity is either sidelined or lampooned; male characters, especially, don’t fare particularly well in terms of competence or leadership. The show leans into modern values and reframes classic detective tropes to align with contemporary sensibilities.

There’s a noticeable lack of sincere traditional viewpoints, when present, they often exist through flawed, outdated, or antagonistic characters. The show rarely allows these perspectives to be explored with nuance, instead surrounding all main characters with fairly uniform, progressive attitudes.