Jerry Orbach, who plays Detective Lenny Briscoe, was present at the table of Joseph "Crazy" Gallo, the Mafia crime family Boss, when he was murdered at Umberto's Clam House. Orbach refused to cooperate with police, even though he was an eyewitness to the murder of Joseph 'Crazy Joey' Gallo, right up until his death.
"Payback" is also the title of the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) series premiere Payback (1999).
In the opening scene Briscoe and Green are questioning two horse stable workers. When one confirmed there was no-one else around, just the horses, waiting to be fed, Briscoe replied 'I don't suppose any of them are named Mr Ed'. Mister Ed (1961) was a 1961 US comedy series about a talking horse.
Dan Ziskie has played six different roles over the course of the series:
- Episode 5.19 Cruel and Unusual (1995) - George Jeffries.
- Episode 7.6 Double Blind (1996) - Fred Sawyer.
- Episode 9.11 Ramparts (1999) - Captain Gene Sayres.
- Episode 11.23 Judge Dread (2001) - State Police Investigator.
- Episode 14.12 Payback (2004) - Joshua Kramer.
- Episode 16.12 Family Friend (2006) - Captain Tom Baden.