Actress, Writer, and Producer Mindy Kaling wrote the role of Katherine Newbury specifically for Dame Emma Thompson.
There are multiple mentions of Katherine Newbury (Dame Emma Thompson) publicly discussing her clinical depression. In real life, Thompson had publicly discussed her depression following her split from Sir Kenneth Branagh.
A poster for director Nisha Ganatra's first movie, Chutney Popcorn (1999), can be seen on a wall in Molly's room.
Molly watches a video of Katherine Newbury's old stand up routine online. The style of Katherine's outfit, bright colors and large earrings, is reminiscent of female British stand up comic Victoria Wood of the 1980s/90s.