Many Miami Vice episodes were loosely based on actual crimes that occurred in Miami over the years. A possible inspiration for "Heart of Darkness" was an undercover FBI investigation into publishers and distributors of adult films and magazines code named Operation MIPORN (short for Miami pornography), which involved special agents Patrick Livingston and Bruce Ellavsky posing as Miami pornography distributors. The sting operation, which commenced in the summer of 1977, was initially targeted as a six-month probe with a modest budget of $25,000 but eventually developed into an extremely dangerous, 2 ½-year investigation of the Mafia's involvement in the pornography industry which cost taxpayers $400,000. Operation MIPORN culminated in the arrests of 53 people on February 14, 1980, including numerous influential organized crime figures. However, agent Livingston was arrested for shoplifting from a Louisville, Kentucky department store in November 1981. He gave police the name "Pat Salamone", his undercover alias, and it later became apparent that he was experiencing psychiatric problems involving an inability to distinguish between his real and undercover identities. In a formal letter to his superiors, Livingston said his years as an undercover agent made it difficult for him to discern the difference between his role as investigator and the "the faster life style of fine wine, good food and total unresponsibility" he had begun to enjoy.
This episode marks the first appearance of Julio Oscar Mechoso as Lester Kosko, a Metro-Dade electronics expert who helps the team with their surveillance tech. Kosko would go on to appear in five further season 1 episodes before the character was phased out in favor of having Switek and Zito handle all of the unit's surveillance equipment.
The end credits feature clips taken from the episode itself instead of the usual stock footage of Miami landmarks used in virtually every other episode of the series. Among the footage is an alternate angle of the bridge jump stunt not actually seen during the episode proper. This is one of only four episodes from the series not to feature the usual stock footage during its credits, the others being Down for the Count: Part II (1987), Leap of Faith (1989) and the series finale Freefall (1989).
This episode is arguably a loose interpretation of the novella from which it takes its name, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. In both cases, the principle supporting character (Kurtz in the novel and Artie in this episode) has used questionable methods to accomplish the aims of a large organization that employed them, and has rooted himself successfully in a new culture, before ultimately being killed. The novella was famously adapted as Apocalypse Now (1979). Artie's angry rebuke to Crockett in the episode, "Don't question my methods!" parallels Kurtz' questioning, "Are my methods unsound?" in the book and film. Coincidentally, Ed O'Neill is friends with John Milius, who wrote the screenplay for Apocalypse Now.