Sterling K. Brown was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance in this episode.
The opening scene mirrors the opening scene in Rage (2005) where Stabler shortens one chair leg and turns up the thermostat in the interrogation room, just as Peralta does here.
This is the highest rated episode of the series.
This episode is a bottle episode.
The Season 5 episode "The Box" was written as a comic tribute to the famous episode "Three Men and Adena" from the show HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET, with the common factor being the presence of Andre Braugher in each. "The Box" involves a genuine battle of wills with a murder suspect but it's fundamentally a comedy story.