In his 2002 autobiography "I Like it Better when You're Funny", Charles Grodin recalls that during filming, Jerry Van Dyke asked him several times if he thought the show felt like it was going to be a hit. Around the third time, Grodin countered with "Well, what do you think?", to which Van Dyke replied "It doesn't matter what I think, because I've never been in a hit."
Show was pitched as, "What Police Squad! (1982) was to Dragnet 1967 (1967), that's what Fresno is to Dallas (1978).
Although this mini-series plays it for laughs, the raisin industry is in fact known for being competitive, with a small number of players fighting over limited market shares. The New York Times reported, for example, that the wildly successful "California Raisins" commercial campaign ended in part because of squabbles over licensing and profits.