At a cost of $10 million (USD) an episode to produce, The Get Down (2016) has joined Friends (1994) and Game of Thrones (2011) in a 3-way tie for the 2nd largest budget in TV history. Urgences (1994) holds the record for highest budget per episode at a whopping $13 million (USD).
Daveed Diggs portrays the character Ezekiel "Book" Figuero as an adult and a mainstream rapper in the mid 1990s. Although Diggs is a rapper himself, Nas dubbed his voice during his rapping scenes.
Many lines spoken throughout the show's run and some cut-in sequences were taken directly from Wild Style (1982), a dramatized film that is widely regarded as the first hip hop motion picture.
Much of the graffiti art on the subway cars is based on and copied from real artwork found on New York City I.R.T. cars from the 1970s and 1980s.
While filming one of the intimate scenes, Herizen F. Guardiola didn't want to kiss Justice Smith on the lips, stating that he was a complete stranger and she did not want to make out with someone she doesn't know. In later episodes, Guardiola became more accustomed to the idea of kissing her co-stars on camera. However, she made it a point to get to know something personal about that person first before locking lips with them.