Writing credits include Kyle McCulloch, former "South Park" writer, and Jen Statsky, former "Parks and Recreation" and "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" writer. Former "Arrested Development" collaborators Max Winkler and Andrew Fleming directed episodes for "Lady Dynamite". Robert Cohen, Academy award-winner Jessica Yu and Ryan McFaul also directed episodes. The first season of "Lady Dynamite" has received widespread acclaim from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a rating of 94%, based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Maria Bamford's "Lady Dynamite" is a vibrant, subversive, sweet, meta-fictional ride - but also a courageous, boundary-busting and ultimately deep portrayal of a troubled psyche." On Metacritic, the season has a score of 85 out of 100, based on 15 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". The show has garnered attention because of its depiction of mental illness. "The New York Times" described the show as "[having] its own bizarre-sincere voice and its own dream logic" and "something else, in a good way: a journey to the center of Ms. Bamford's mind that dives through fantasy after loopy fantasy and emerges with something real." About the show's style, "The New York Times" noted that "The show's creators, Pam Brady ("South Park") and Mitch Hurwitz ("Arrested Development"), have constructed a multipurpose fun house; we jump about in time and flit from meta-show to memoir to hallucination." "Variety" described Bamford's performance saying that "the actress and comedian, whose presence has rarely been used as well as it is here, manages the neat trick of being both believably guileless and winningly sharp." "Variety" also praised the show's guest stars, stating: "the entire show gains a great deal of energy from a varied array of game guest actors, including Mira Sorvino, Patton Oswalt, Ana Gasteyer, Brandon Routh, and Bridget Everett, all of whom appear delighted to be in Bamford's playfully serious orbit." Critics have compared the series to "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt", "Community", "Review" and "BoJack Horseman" because of the way it uses meta-humor, absurdist humor and how it deals with mental health.