In the opening scene, as Mariska Hargitay leaves her apartment with Brooke Shields, a book written by Linda Fairstein called "Silent Mercy" is partially obscured on her book stand. Fairstein is a former Assistant District Attorney turned author, who prosecuted sex crimes in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
This is the first episode in which SVU handles a homicide since the politically charged season 18 finale.
When Carisi says "OD'ing can be pretty hard on a body, nothing like a shot of Narcan to fix that, huh?" to Tommy he is referring to naloxone, a opioid antagonist which is used to reverse opioid overdoses, Narcan is the brand name.
Was originally supposed to air November 1st, but NBC pushed back the episode November 8th due to the World Series.
The rock song that plays at the beginning of the episode is "Breathe Out" by Fumble. The band didn't know their song had been licensed for the show until almost a year later, according to their social media posts.