When explaining the 1990s, Homer says that "Tracey Ullman was entertaining America with songs, sketches and crudely drawn filler material". The Simpsons began as a series of short fillers on The Tracey Ullman Show (1987) and ran from '87 to '89 when it was developed into a half hour show.
This is the last episode in which Doris Grau has a speaking role as Lunchlady Doris, although this episode aired nearly two years after her death. It would also mark the final time the character would speak until The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer (2006) when she was voiced by Tress MacNeille.
While Brockman introduces his piece on the heat wave, the graphic shows a dog tugging off his bathing suit, just like in the famous Coppertone Ad (commercial).
The episode was written with a small staff that consisted of Al Jean, Mike Reiss and David M. Stern, among others. According to Reiss, the final episode contained 80-90% of Jean's original script.
The pastel drawing of Krusty was drawn entirely by Dominic Polcino, who revealed it was the only piece of original artwork created solely by him that was featured in an episode. He created the pastel drawing with this in mind. It was an easy episode for Polcino to direct due to the lack of crowds and being a "grounded episode".