In the scene where O'Casey calls Olive out of the classroom when she is supervising detention he recites some poetry to her. These are the first five lines from Robert Frost's poem "Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood". O'Casey does not remember the poem perfectly and makes two mistakes.
This marks the third time that Frances McDormand and Richard Jenkins have worked together, following North Country (2005) and Burn After Reading (2008).
When this aired, HBO showed the first two episodes back-to-back with the third and fourth episodes showing back-to-back the following night.
The town of Crosby, Maine, is a fictional creation.