Trivia / The OA

• The Cast Show Off: Sharon Van Etten gets a chance to employ her impressive singing voice when Rachel sings to the rest of the NDE group.
• Dawson Casting: While not too extreme, Patrick Gibson and and Brandon Perea were 21, while Brendan Meyer was 22 when the first season aired. Averted with Ian Alexander, who was 15.
• Dueling Shows: The show has drawn plenty of comparisons to Stranger Things, which premiered earlier that year, even though they have substantial differences despite their vaguely similar premises (group of youths investigating weird phenomena in a small town). The writers appear to have been aware of the similarities from the get-go, as Jesse's sister is seen watching the first episode when we first meet her.
• Fake American:
  • English actor Riz Ahmed as the American FBI therapist Elias Rahim.
  • Irish actor Patrick Gibson as Steve Winchell.
  • Canadian actor Brendan Meyer as Jesse.
  • English actor Jason Isaacs as the evil American scientist Hap.
  • South African actress Alice Krige as the OA's adoptive mother, Nancy.
  • In Season 2, English actor Kingsley Ben-Adir plays Karim Washington.
• Fake Nationality:
  • Spanish Paz Vega plays Renata, a Cuban.
• Queer Character, Queer Actor: Buck Vu is a transgender boy and so is Ian Alexander, the actor who plays him.