Events are based off the 2016 Orange County Men's Central Jail escape. On 22 January, three inmates of the Orange County Men's Central Jail in Santa Ana, California, escaped from the jail's maximum-security unit by climbing through the plumbing pipes and ascending to the roof. They stole a utility van and a taxi in Los Angeles, taking the taxi driver hostage, and drove to San Jose. One inmate, Bac Duong, went along with the hostage driver back to Southern California and surrendered to police in Santa Ana on January 29. The other two inmates, Hossein Nayeri and Jonathan Tieu, were arrested in San Francisco on January 30. Multiple people were arrested for allegedly aiding the inmates to escape, including a jail teacher.
Vietnamese American singer Thai Hien, who is local to Orange County, lent her vocals for an original song that played in the beginning of the film and at the end credits. Thai Hien was a known musical artist in Vietnam in the 1970s having been part of the group The Dreamers while her father, Pham Duy, was one of three legendary Vietnamese composers and songwriters of the 20th century.