The episode was inspired by popular reality television shows, most notably "Survivor". The "Can I trust Jim ..." line was a direct reference to the show and was a "last-second addition" according to Daniels. In addition, Randall Einhorn, the cameraman for the episode, was a cameraman for "Survivor". When the episode was being written, many of the cast and crew feared that it would bear too many stylistic resemblances to "Curb Your Enthusiasm". Daniels later defended the show, saying that the show was different because of "the fact that they are on TV and they know they are being filmed. know they're on camera." During the writing of the episode, Daniels made the writers spend actual time on the set, most notably in Michael's office. Mindy Kaling later noted that she "hated it."