A house is constantly shown to the left, across the street (the Donahue's house) from the Hecks' home. This is the set house used in Ma sorcière bien aimée (1964). To the right of the Hecks' home is the house used for The Partridge Family (1970) .
The town of Orson, Indiana, is fictional, but based on the real-life Indiana town of Jasper.
The fountain that appears in a few episodes is the fountain from the opening credits of Friends.
The original pilot episode starred Ricki Lake as Frankie Heck. Most of the cast was replaced after that production, with Atticus Shaffer (Brick) being the only actor remaining.
According to co-creator and producer Eileen Heisler, Brick's personality quirks were inspired by those of her own son.