Many characters are named after real life contemporaries of Emily Dickinson in Amherst. For example, Abby and Abiah are inspired by real people but, contrary to the 'mean girls antagonist' personas portrayed they were both close friends with Emily and remained life-long correspondents with her.
A number of scholars, notably Martha Nell Smith, have argued that Emily Dickinson had a romantic relationship with her close friend Susan Huntington Gilbert, who ended up marrying Dickinson's brother, Austin, though that lesbian relationship has never been confirmed. Showrunner Alena Smith took that theory and decided to flesh it out in this series. She also told The Hollywood Reporter that she expects pushback from both the gay and straight communities, saying, "It's funny because I think there are going to be people who think the representation of Emily and Sue in this show is not queer enough just as much as the opposite."
The real-life Dickinson never found fame in her lifetime, and it remains unclear how much she actually sought to be known though her writing. What's even less clear is how much can be understood about Dickinson through her writing. Fewer than a dozen of her poems were published while she was alive, all of them under a pseudonym. It wasn't until her sister Lavinia discovered a cache of her sister's writing after her death that Dickinson's work was widely published for the first time. Many of her poems weren't even shared with friends or family, suggesting at least some ambivalence about putting her writing up for mass consumption.
In several episodes some of the dialogue is based on real statements found in letters by, or referring to, Emily Dickinson.
This is Hailee Steinfeld's first regular role on a television series.