Of the many actors who auditioned for the Luka Delchev role, some were American and some were from the Balkan region. John Ales, who is a Los Angeles native, sent in an audition video that truly impressed the executive producers. His Serbian accent was so authentic, he tricked some producers into thinking he was Serbian.
Episode 206 was directed by Laura Innes. The dinner table scene in this episode is one of two central dinner table scenes in Season 2 and is a favorite of the creative team.
What the executive producers loved about John Ales's audition video was that he was crazy and scary as Luka and that he also demonstrated an unexpected humor. This comedic edge gave John's performance dimension that was missing from most other auditions the team had seen.
Show creatives wanted Maggie to have an effect on every character in the family. Her impact on Carly was especially important.
In Season 2, show creatives thought it would be interesting to investigate Taylor's sense of pride in his abilities. The character has failed to achieve his dreams and has ended up as a cop in a small town. When we meet him in Season 1, he's beginning to doubt that he's any good at police work, having failed the detective's exam several times. In Season 2, Taylor ends up violating every code that he's pledged to uphold as a police officer, but, according to the writers, he's also demonstrated how intelligent, resourceful and calm-under-pressure he is.