Three months before this episode aired, the reality series Cops (1989) premiered on FOX, doing exactly what Eric Terry is doing in this episode, the difference being the FOX series mainly followed patrol cars, only rarely getting involved with undercover work. That first episode was based in Broward County, which is next to Miami-Dade County.
This episode contains the only Monty Python joke in the series, when Izzy says that Jorge worked at a hospital called "Pine Valley, or Pine Sol, or pining for the fjords." The famous Monty Python "dead parrot" sketch featured a pet store owner attempting to claim that a dead parrot was still alive, but "pining for the fjords."
Another South Beach hotel, The Clevelander (visible when Tubbs and Switek speak to Aguila in the street), was renovated after the show went off the air and is now one of the largest luxury hotels in South Beach.
Singer/songwriter Mickey Zetts was uncredited for his appearance as the drug dealer peddling crank on the playground.