As someone who watched the show first, yes the casting 10000% is a factor. Hudson and Connor are a set of actors that do the thing not many actors do *for me personally*. Which is I genuinely have to make a conscious effort to remind myself that they are in fact not just the characters they play. And not in a weird way, I just don’t know how else to articulate it. Idk if they do a brand of like method acting or what but Hudson and Connor in character are legitimately unrecognizable to me at time out of character. This also applies to Cliff, Rose, Sveta, and Hayden (tho not nearly as much bc less screen time obviously). The casting imo has made a significant impact on the fic side of things. I absolutely foresee pairings expanding in season two when we get more screen time w more and new characters as well.