[1] A spin-off of Kim's Convenience, the series centres on Shannon Ross (Nicole Power) as she embarks on a new career in Hamilton as executive director of an animal shelter.

[2] The cast also includes Frank Cox-O'Connell, Tina Jung, Nikki Duval, Kevin Vidal, Tony Nappo, Paula Boudreau, Emily Piggford and Leah Doz.

[6] John Doyle of The Globe and Mail noted the complexities of the situation, explaining that since all of the other major characters in Kim's Convenience were drawn from Ins Choi's original theatrical play, and Shannon was the only character who had been newly created specifically for the television series, she was the only character who was the intellectual property of the show's producers and thus the only one who could be spun off without Choi's participation.

[7] Doyle favourably reviewed the first episodes of the series, writing that "The sheer energy of Strays is admirable.

It's gags galore and it can be fiendishly clever contrivance, often anchored in the style of that theatrical staple, the British bedroom farce.