Christina Applegate announced in 2021 that she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and eventually shared that she will not be acting on camera again in 2023, in an interview with Vanity Fair. However, she was open to voiceover work, which contributed to the choice to revive Um Amor de Família (1987) as an animated series.
One of the many reasons that an animated series was chosen as a reboot instead of a live-action show was the flexibility of animated production.