The series debuted in 2022 with the short film "The Backrooms (Found Footage)" which has over 64 million views as of January 2025.

He was in between projects and was inspired to create a found-footage style animation of the Backrooms after rediscovering a render he had saved some time prior.

Parsons was vaguely aware of the Backrooms in terms of the original image and caption he saw on Instagram two years prior.

In an interview, he stated: "I came across the original image on my computer ... and I just thought, huh, it would be interesting to see if I could go to my 3D software, Blender, and try to recreate a scene in this environment,".

[5] In an interview with ABC News, Parsons' described the series as "a slow burn story focusing on both the politics of Async and the United States government, as well as the otherworldly, confusing functions of the Complex, or the Backrooms.

In an interview with Vice Magazine, Parsons described the Backrooms as a manifestation of poorly remembered noncommittal memories, like old family photos from the 1990s and 2000s: "The flash is always on, the lighting is gross looking, there's yellow walls, the white balance is all off.

[6] Otaku USA categorized it as analog horror,[7] while Dread Central and Nerdist compared it favorably to the 2019 video game Control.

Roberto Patino is set to write the screenplay, while James Wan, Michael Clear from Atomic Monster, Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen, and Dan Levine from 21 Laps Entertainment, Peter Chernin from Chernin Entertainment are set to produce.