The show was commissioned by Rhian Roberts, written by Timothy X Atack, produced and directed by Becky Ripley, with theme music by Bonobo, and sound design by Graham Wild.

Atack cites his experiences working in the BBC Archives of natural history sounds, and specifically a Digital Audio Tape of a Sumatran rainforest recorded by Sue Western, as an inspiration for the show's premise.

Pan, a sound archivist working in the "heavy data" section at the Department of Convocation is tasked with cataloguing or deleting the remaining audio files from "The Slow Times" and she is good at her job—clearing 40 to 50 terabytes a week.

These automaton-like police exist to serve the "Law of Progress" and view the audio that Pan has uncovered as "The Rupture", which has the potential to spread a "deadly virus" throughout the city.

The story ends with Pan travelling toward a radio tower to broadcast the audio file titled "Forest 404" and share the knowledge of nature and its loss with the world.

Writing in The Observer, Sean O'Hagan asserted that the show was "conceptually bumpy" and contained some "jarring moments" and plot contrivances that broke his suspension of disbelief.

[8] Whereas Torri Yearwood recommended the show in The Tech, calling the story "beautifully believable" and praising the series for its worldbuilding and character development.

In the South China Morning Post, Suji Owen argued that the show's use of companion episodes deepened the themes and ideas throughout the series.

[13] While Sam Fritz at the Mississippi Valley Conservancy remarked that the companion episodes allowed the show to "transcend other mediums" and provide context for the plot while grounding the narrative in reality.

Praising the show's use of binaural technology, Sarah Hemming expressed in the Financial Times that she felt the "richly textured soundscape" was best appreciated with headphones.

[10] Writing on the website Stuff, Katy Atkin recommended the show calling it "a masterpiece in sound design" and asserted that it intensified the story.

If the audio did not contain wildlife sounds, the motivation to protect the soundscape decreased, which indicates that a decline in the quality of the environmental noise also leds to less conservationist behaviors.