It won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Makeup for a Series.
Billy Drago's back gave out during filming, causing him much pain. He attributed this to using a genuine voodoo chant in one of the scenes. Ironically, his back improved dramatically once shooting wrapped.
"Theef" was dedicated to Rick Jacobson, president and chief operating officer of Twentieth Television and a well-liked veteran of the syndication biz. He died Sunday at Tarzana Hospital after a long battle with cancer. He was 48. An article about him appeared in "Variety" on March 6, 2000.
Billy Drago had been on the production team's guest star wish list for some time. Coincidentally Drago was already familiar with folk magic and voodoo as he had relatives in the Appalachians who practised such things.
The name of the reporter covering the flesh-eating disease story is John Gillnitz. This long-running in-joke is a combination of the names of the writers John Shiban, Vince Gilligan, and Frank Spotnitz.