In the scene with Castillo and Ernesto at the coffee shop, Castillo laughs and holds an extended conversation in Spanish. This is the only scene in the series where Castillo laughs.
According to an interview with Jan Eliasberg, the original story was to be about the Catholic Church refusing aid for gay AIDS patients, but after a meeting between the Church and NBC, the story was altered to its broadcast form.
Rosanna DeSoto and Esai Morales also appeared as mother and son in La Bamba (1987) the same year as this episode. The star of that film was Lou Diamond Phillips, who was a guest star on the previous season of Miami Vice.
-This was one of the few 1980s shows to cover the AIDS epidemic. It was first reported in 1981 and few TV shows then would touch the controversial subject.
AIDS is a central theme of the show. The issue would eventually cut close to home as three of the guest stars from various seasons would die from the HIV virus, two of whom during the run of the show. This included, occasional show writer and "Esteban Calderone" actor Miguel Pinero who would die in 1988, Michael Carmine who would die in 1989, and "Noogie" actor Charlie Barnett who would die in 1996.