According to Sarah Snook, series creator Jesse Armstrong was primarily influenced by Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in approaching the episode's Shiv-Tom material, drawing upon the premise of an unhappily married couple having to "maintain a good front" to guests at a party.
According to a Vanity Fair article, Alexander Skarsgård "was particularly proud that one of his ad-libs made the final edit. After Greg tries to make his best impression on Matsson, he walks away, saying 'Good to see you.' Skarsgård replies, 'Good to see you too, Gary.' "