This episode marks the fourth appearance of Harcourt Fenton "Harry" Mudd (Rainn Wilson) after Mudd's Women (1966), I, Mudd (1967) and Mudd's Passion (1973). In all of his previous appearances, he was played by Roger C. Carmel.
This episode marks the first use of the word "fuck" in the "Star Trek" franchise.
The list of most decorated Captains in Starfleet history contains many old and current names from Star Trek lore: Jonathan Archer was Captain of the first Starship Enterprise (NX-01) and one of the founding fathers of the Federation; Robert April was the first Captain of the USS Enterprise (NC-1701), Christopher Pike the second and current one. Matthew Decker is the current captain of the USS Constellation (Enterprise's sister ship). Finally, Philippa Georgiou was Captain of the destroyed USS Shenzhou in the pilot episode.
Harry Mudd mentions in the Klingon prison cell that he promised Stella he would return to her. In the episode "I, Mudd" of the original series, in which he rules over a planet of androids, Mudd produced an android version of Stella, who was locked in a see-through cell and, when activated, would scream endlessly at him from behind glass until shut off.
This is the first episode to feature Harry Mudd that doesn't include the word "Mudd" in the episode's title.