When Lero attempts to buy a pair of tights, a Pierrot poster is seen hanging in the shop, which will also be prominently visible inside Lydia's dance rehearsal room at the school in later episodes, as well as in other school locations such as the auditorium.
The footage used for two of the actor's introductions in the opening sequence of the first season is taken from this episode. Erica Gimpel is one of several shots used from her performance of "Fame" and Albert Hague's is taken from the scene in which Bruno is forced to play the violin. Debbie Allen's monologue about "paying in sweat" is also from a scene in "Metamorphosis"
With the exception of one scene that was shot at a later date, Sherwood Carol Mayo Jenkins has red hair in this pilot, making her resemble her movie counterpart (played by Anne Meara) more closely. It was later decided to soften her look by lightening her hair color.
The original version of the pilot featured more scenes with Fran Drescher as Rhonda, including a sequence in which she was supposed to sing off-key. However, re shoots were demanded by the producers in order to make the story more streamlined. Most of the first act was added at this time, and Rhonda's scenes were cut out in favor of new ones featuring Julie's mother (played by Judy Farrell). In the end, about 75 % of the original version still remained.
According to Valerie Landsburg, she was up against Jennifer Grey and Fran Drescher for the part of Doris.