The limited series unfolds in real time over four hour-long episodes, with a single camera shot chronicling Jamie's arrest, police investigating at his school, his tense interview with a court-appointed psychologist, and his family coping with the fallout.

They are eventually told that, while messages between Jamie and Katie appeared to be friendly, the emojis actually suggested that Katie was mocking Jamie for being an incel—meaning involuntary celibate, which is connected to the rise of misogynistic culture, particularly among young men.