The storyline involving Kramer (Michael Richards) objecting to being a character in "the show about nothing" mirrors Larry David's experience when his neighbor, Kenny Kramer, initially objected to having a character named after him in the Seinfeld series.
This episode begins the season-long story arc about Jerry and George (Jason Alexander) developing "a show about nothing" for NBC. This is based on Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David's experiences in developing the series. Jason Alexander was initially disappointed in the storyline and considered it "self-aggrandized." Russell Dalrymple, played by Bob Balaban is based on Warren Littlefield. Balaban played Littlefield in The Late Shift (1996).
The character 'Crazy' Joe Davola, played by Peter Crombie, is named after an ABC Executive Producer, Joe Davola.
Originally broadcast as a one hour special (including commercials) along with the following episode, The Ticket (1992).
The scene where one of the NBC execs says he really liked Jerry's (Jerry Seinfeld) bit about a parakeet flying into a mirror, is mirrored in episode 3.4, The Dog (1991), as Jerry actually does this bit over the end credits.