Character Barry Braunstein works for the law firm of Jacob & Epstein. This is a reference to Jacob Epstein, who served as a writer and executive story editor for this series.
Co-creator Terry Louise Fisher departs the series after this episode due to a dispute with Steven Bochco about who would lead the writer's room moving forward.
The title refers to the French fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast" first published by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve in 1740.