The rabbi has a personalized license plate that says TKNOLUM. This refers to the Hebrew phrase "Tikkun Olam" meaning "Repair the World".
Though the denomination of the synagogue at which Ben is the cantor is never stated outright, there are several signs that it is a member of the Reform denomination. The prayer books visible in several scenes are the "Mishkan T'filah-A Reform Siddur," which were published by the Central Conference of American Rabbis for use in Reform congregations around the world. Though Ben himself keeps kosher (usual for rabbis and other clergy regardless of the observance level of their congregants), it appears that his mother does not (at the climactic dinner. she serves Ranch dressing--a dairy food--with brisket, breaking the rule about mixing milk and meat that Ben was so assiduous about earlier in the movie). The location used for filming the synagogue scenes was Congregation Emanuel of the Hudson Valley in Kingston, New York, itself a Reform congregation and a member of the Union for Reform Judaism.
In a 2024 interview with Hammer to Nail, Nathan Silver spoke about how the cast came together: "It was written with Jason Schwartzman in mind. Luckily, when we reached out to him, I had a mutual friend who told Jason that we needed to work together and that we would hit it off. Jason listened to him! We had no idea who would play Carla. One night, while on my honeymoon, I had covid, and in a feverish dream Carol Kane came to me. I wrote to my producers and co-writer back home and everyone was extremely onboard. They could not believe we had not thought of her yet. She had always wanted to work with Jason. We got them on zoom together and their chemistry was immediately apparent.
They have a wonderful way with each other. It's like watching a slap-stick comedy live. We really wanted Robert Smigel for the role of the rabbi, we had no idea he would be willing to work on an indie like this film. We sent him an offer and one night I got a call and he said, 'This is Robert from TV.' I told him he was a hero of mine, and he really loved the script! He made it work with his schedule. Madeline Weinstein was a roommate of mine. We always wanted to work together and this seemed like the perfect project for her. One of our producers, Adam Kersh, also managed Dolly De Leon, and suggested her. I saw Triangle of Sadness (2022) and thought she would be perfect. I love Caroline Aaron from Lass es, Larry! (2000) and Woody Allen films. She really killed it. It was such a neat cast. It is always a miracle to shoot a movie but to bring all these people together, it truly meant the world to me, I could not imagine it with another cast."
Stephen Lack's first screen credit in 22 years.