Dr. Algernon Edwards is partially based on Louis T. Wright (1891-1952), a brilliant African-American surgeon who was active in the New York NAACP in the first half of the 20th century. Both Wright and the fictional Edwards studied at Harvard Medical School and graduated at the top of their class. Wright became Harlem Hospital's first African-American surgeon in 1921, two decades after this show takes place.
Dr. Thackery is largely based on William Stewart Halsted (1852-1922), an innovative turn-of-the-century physician who was also a cocaine and morphine addict.
During a one-on-one conversation with an unnamed co-producer, Clive Owen mentioned he was considering a plan to take a leaf from both the famous Dr. William Halstead (on whom his character is supposedly based) and his own character from the series, Dr. John Thackey and sample a dose of heroin as a means to better understand the effects of the drug, so as to improve his performance in the forthcoming second season, which deals largely with Thackery's burgeoning heroin addiction, resulting, ironically, from the drugs use in his treatment to overcome cocaine addiction. The co-producer was so alarmed by Owen's statement (and apparent plan) he contacted senior and executive producers who staged an "intervention" in which Owen was confronted about the statement.
Cocaine was made illegal in the United States in 1922. Heroin was made illegal in 1924.
Dr. Stanley B. Burns, an expert on medical history and vintage photography, serves as a technical adviser on this show.