There are a couple of hidden references to Moonrise Kingdom, star Jared Gilman's breakout film, sprinkled throughout the set for Ben's dorm room. These include a boy scout compass, a Garbage Pail Kids-inspired parody poster, and even one of the raccoon caps used on the actual Moonrise Kingdom set.
This project was Green's thesis film at The School of Visual Arts. Green's thesis advisor was his wonderful teacher Todd Stephens, writer-director of the SXSW 2021 official selection Swan Song which was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards (Best Male Lead for star Udo Kier and Best Original Screenplay for Stephens). Alongside his Swan Song casting director Eve Battaglia, Stephens guided Green and producer Mickel Cannon in crafting their initial offer to Gilman.
Several crew members sent in selfies to be used for the various dating app profiles Ben (Jared Gilman) swipes through. These include costume designer and makeup artist Kerri Wheelock, production designer Shannon Miller, and cinematographer Veronica Lupo.
Director David J. Green's uncle Daniel Green, best known for his appearances as the Vanilla Clown on truTV's Impractical Jokers, cameos as the scantily clad priest Father McNally. This blink-and-you'll-miss-it role is named after the director's lifelong mentor, John McNally. While Daniel performed the character on set, David did the voiceover in post-production.
Constantine Ladikos, another longtime mentor of Green's, first introduced him to the work of Tennessee Luke through YouTube clips of the Tim and Eric Chrimbus Special. A mannequin head that Ladikos gifted Green can be seen behind Tennessee in the post-credits scene as a tribute to him.