Sissy Spacek's real-life daughter Schuyler Fisk plays the younger version of her mother's character Ruth Deaver. She can be seen in episode one and also in old photos of the Deaver family.
A picture of Warden Norton (Bob Gunton) from Die Verurteilten (1994) can be seen hanging from the wall in Shawshank prison.
When Henry steps backwards into his steps in the snow, it is a reference to Danny Torrence doing the same to escape his father in The Shining.
In the opening scene, the warden is listening to 100.3 FM. WKIT in Bangor, Maine. This is a classic rock station owned by Stephen King, along with WZON, which is also referenced in many of King's works.
Some filming took place at West Virginia State Penitentiary in Moundsville, West Virginia. The penitentiary once housed 2,400 violent criminals with 85 executions taking place on the property, along with murder, rape, and suicides. The 142-year-old penitentiary is considered by some to be one of the most haunted sites in the state.