CGI effect sequences were done by Industrial Light & Magic or ILM, the same company that created the computer effects of the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World film series. According to paleontologist Bhart-Anjan Bhullar, a scientific consultant who worked with the ILM team, some of the animal models seen in the series could have been based on those seen in the Jurassic World films, albeit heavily updated to resemble real prehistoric animals rather than movie monsters. Bhullar suggested that ILM was aware that the Jurassic films had a mixed reputation among paleontology enthusiasts because the creatures seen in the films were not designed to be scientific (such as the oversized, scaly "raptors" that hark back to 1970s and 1980s depictions), so they tried to "get it right" with this series, and there was a lot of back and forth between the scientists and animators. Nevertheless, online paleo-communities have noted that some of the CGI animals presented in the series are still not up to 2020s scientific standards and feature odd mistakes like inaccurate skull shapes and body proportions. A few mistakes can be chalked up to science advancing while the series was being developed: the armored fish Dunkleosteus is shown with a long, slender body, though a 2023 study argued it would have been significantly shorter and more robust in life.
The series sparked a lot of controversy in online paleontology discussions, with many vocal paleontology enthusiasts comparing it unfavorably to the Apple TV documentary series Prehistoric Planet (2022), and some people even suggesting that this series was only a "quick cash grab" by Netflix. Though the two series have broad similarities, their formats are different: Prehistoric Planet (2022) was more scientific and speculative, featuring depictions of Late Cretaceous fauna mostly up to date to post-2010s scientific thinking and avoiding antiquated media tropes, such as dinosaurs roaring like movie monsters. This series on the other hand is more in line with pre-2010s scientific theories, with more conservative and less speculative ideas, focusing instead on a dramatized narrative that simplifies the development of evolutionary lineages for casual viewers. It is untrue that this series was made to cash in on Prehistoric Planet (2022), as both shows had been in development for over half a decade independently of each other. This also partially explains the outdated scientific tropes present in this series.
The series presents the old idea that Tyrannosaurus families hunted together as a pack, proposing that young animals would take part in the hunt to help the adults. This was a common hypothesis in the late 90s and 2000s, but it has no concrete evidence and many scientists have long considered it unlikely, though it has not been fully discredited either. The body proportions of young and adult Tyrannosaurus were markedly different, with the young being more lean and agile, better suited to go after different prey than the robust and more powerful adults. Tyrannosaurs in general hunting together is possible, just not the very young ones seen in the series.