There is an in-joke about adding Drake to the group because Joon kept making the group reschedule meetups, then not showing up. This was written as a friendly dig on Kenan Thompson, who played Joon in "High Top Fade Out" (2009), but was unable to appear in this episode due to scheduling conflicts.
This appendicitis story line was written in because at the time James Roday Rodriguez was hospitalized with his own appendix problems in real life.
The tattoo parlor featured artwork by Vancouver based pop surrealist painter and comic illustrator Camilla d'Errico. Featured artwork included "Feeding Fenzy," "Octopus," and "Sharkbite."
Cheech Marin's Character, Deacon Jones, is a nod to National Football League player David "Deacon" Jones. Member of the Football Hall of Fame and the Los Angeles Rams "fearsome Foursome".