Just before Shawn's garden date with Melinda, Gus reminds him that he has a girlfriend, to which Shawn responds,"In real life, not on TV." Likely a nod to the fact that James Roday and Maggie Lawson had an off-set relationship while on-set for the first four and a half seasons their characters were not together.
Greg Grunberg's character is trying to figure out which shows have had success on NBC. He can only think of Friends (1994). Greg Grunburg, was on NBC's Heroes (2006) which lasted for four seasons before being canceled.
Mike "The Miz" Mizanin guests as Mario in this episode. He is one of the more notable WWE wrestlers to have appeared on the show, along with John Cena who played Juliet's brother. James Roday also appeard on WWE Raw close to the original air date of this episode as promotion
Melinda and Danny's dance is a nod to She's All That (1999), which Dulé Hill played Preston in. Rachael Leigh Cook and Freddie Prinze Jr. also has roles on Psych. The dance scene is similar to the ending from the film and the song "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None the Richer is playing in the background which is one of the most notable songs from the film's soundtrack.
When Gus is oiling his head, he tells Shawn, "Melinda likes her men to shine." He previously used that same line with a very similar name, Berlinda, in S2Ep15, Black and Tan: A Crime of Fashion.