When interviewing the victim's husband in his office at the studio, Grissom and Brass pick up an award and the husband says for them to be careful with it as it's an Emmy. Grissom says, "Is that what this is?!"; this is a reference to the show being nominated three years in a row for an Emmy and not winning.
The initial premise of this episode, with the difficult-to-work-with titular star, and supporting actress who outshines her, is supposed to mirror "Cybill" and Cybill Shepherd. Chuck Lorre, who wrote this episode, was the creator of "Cybill", and there were well known issues between him and Cybill Shepherd.
This episode is entitled "Two and a Half Deaths". Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones, who appear together in a brief cameo, are the stars of Two and a Half Men (2003).
Was written by the producers of Two and a Half Men (2003). Liz Vassey had appeared in The Last Thing You Want Is to Wind Up with a Hump (2003). The same week this episode aired, "Two and a Half Men" aired an episode called Fish in a Drawer (2008) that was written by writers of "CSI" and parodied its style.
Dietrich Bader played Katey Sagal's husband "Bud". Bud was the name of the son in "Married With Children" starring Katey Sagal.