[5] DiMarco cited the inspiration for the series to be conversations with friends while attending Gallaudet about a reality television show reflecting their unique college experience.

[6] Variety reported one of the producers, Naimah Holmes, sharing "that it was a challenge for the creative team to find students who were willing to both spare their time and be vulnerable in front of the camera".

[11] TV Guide's Megan Vick said Deaf U is "an immediately engaging series thanks to the excellent casting" and compared the docuseries to Netflix's Cheer and Love on the Spectrum.

The critic summarized, "The hook of Deaf U is obviously the inside look at how a community has created a rich and dynamic culture with an identity that the outside world has often only considered a disability, and the show delivers on that front.

Barnhart said, "I think the program's overarching interest in its subjects' sex lives — rather than their academic pursuits and life goals — will strike many as the exact opposite of a deep or layered treatment."

The critic said, "'Deaf U' deftly explores these gossipy coming-of-age challenges - how to be true to yourself without hurting others, how to bring something new into your life, like hearing aids or cochlear implants, without being judged by those who see such changes as turning away from your identity as a Deaf person."

Deggans said he was generally cynical about docuseries as reductionist and concluded, "But if the moments shown in 'Deaf U' are true, it's a fascinating look at a community rarely seen with such depth and humanity on television.