The film stars Rachel Sennott as Danielle, a directionless young bisexual Jewish woman who attends a shiva with her parents, Joel (Fred Melamed) and Debbie (Polly Draper).

Other attendees include her successful ex-girlfriend Maya (Molly Gordon), and her sugar daddy Max (Danny Deferrari) with his wife Kim (Dianna Agron) and their screaming baby.

The events of the film take place almost entirely in real time and at one location as Danielle explores her romantic and career prospects under the intense watch of her family, friends, and judgmental neighbors.

Shiva Baby received positive reviews from critics, who praised Seligman's screenplay and direction, cast performances, musical score, representation of bisexuality and Jewish culture, and for effectively conveying anxiety-inducing claustrophobia.

College senior Danielle and her sugar daddy Max have sex before she hurries to a shiva observance with her parents, Joel and Debbie.

Within the house, members of the local extended Jewish community compare her to her ex-girlfriend Maya, who is adored by the neighbors and heading to law school.

Overwhelmed by prying neighbors, Danielle is further affected by the arrival of Max's seemingly perfect but non-Jewish wife, Kim, and their baby, Rose.

Danielle's anxiety grows when she encounters Kim with her parents again, having a measured conversation in which she behaves erratically and hints that Max uses the couple's vacant SoHo apartment as a bachelor pad.

[15] Seligman said that financing Shiva Baby was "probably the hardest thing" she and the producers would do;[16] she sought funding for the feature for a year[13] and received some offers from organizations that requested more creative control over the film in return, which she was unwilling to give.

He said that the competitive filmmaking market in New York helped them work with a small budget, as they could negotiate large discounts on gear rental.

The short film had been based on a fictional scenario combining Seligman's "uncomfortable and funny" experience of shivas, and the community of women she knew who were sugar babies at NYU.

[24] Karina Solórzano for the Los Cabos International Film Festival wrote that Shiva Baby has "the same elements as some of Woody Allen's most popular films – including the Jewish family and multiple lovers – but Seligman has her own vision and offers something different", and that it "follows the contrarian path promoted by [...] Disobedience, [but] this is not the central point of the plot; Seligman does not treat the [queer] protagonists as exceptional or disobedient".

[31] Casting had been challenging; the film focuses on both queer and Jewish culture, so Seligman and the producers wanted to find actors who would "feel authentic to the material".

[23] Due to the low budget, they looked to only cast actors based in New York City,[30] with the exception of Fred Melamed, whom the production flew out from Los Angeles.

[40] Seligman chose the house on Argyle Road [commons] because of its dark wood interior and stained-glass windows providing a Yentl-like glow.

[31] The shoot was initially planned for summer 2018, which was postponed to 2019; Seligman then wanted to push it again, to 2020, to have more time to raise money, but Sennott "set a timebomb".

[39] Director of photography Maria Rusche used an Arri Alexa XT camera to shoot in fullscreen 2K resolution and Apple ProRes 4444 format, with Kowa anamorphic lenses as well as a 10:1 Cooke Cinetal zoom lens.

[41] Seligman and Rusche initially considered shooting Shiva Baby like a romantic comedy, but "the anxiety hook was what [they] found to set the tone for most of the process".

[9] Rusche discussed her equipment choices with IndieWire's Chris O'Falt, explaining that to capture the claustrophobia and anxiety in the film in the way they wanted, they needed to have Danielle surrounded by people but still allow the principal cast to play off each other.

[41] Seligman was uncertain if they wanted to use a score for the film when going into production,[42] as they were aiming for realism, but chose to do so to divert focus from background chatter and represent Danielle's emotions.

[28] Seligman wanted it to have strings to reflect Klezmer music, without being overpowering, a "sweet spot" that they said composer Ariel Marx achieved.

[44] IndieWire's Jude Dry wrote that the "tense string score ratchets up the tension, though this technique loses its bite after a few too many uses",[45] while Katie Rife of The A.V.

[48] Shiva Baby was slated to premiere at the 2020 South by Southwest (SXSW); following the festival's cancellation in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead screened digitally in April 2020.

[56] Utopia shopped the film to various streaming platforms: it was made available in Spain on Filmin,[57] and in several countries on Mubi from June 11, 2021 for Pride Month.

[64] The poster was designed by High Council,[65] with Nylon noting that it captures the film's style; "Sennott dressed to the nines in Jewish deli couture is nothing short of pure camp.

[59] According to Seligman, Utopia targeted their marketing at the young queer female audience by producing content like the red band trailer.

The website's critics consensus reads: "A ruefully funny calling card for debuting director Emma Seligman, Shiva Baby transcends its sitcom setup with strong performances and satisfying insights.

[94] For The Film Stage, Zhuo-Ning Su compared the ensemble to that of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, calling them a "group of comedic genius".

[45][93][99][100] Shiva Baby has received many awards and nominations, particularly for Seligman's writing and directing as their feature film debut, and lead actress Sennott.

[103] It also won a National Board of Review Award for 2021,[104] and production designer Cheyenne Ford was selected to the 2021 BAFTA Breakthrough US cohort thanks to her work on the film.