Both actors mentioned while doing TV promos for the show that they had known each other since they were five.
The reason that Ryder (portrayed by Nick Robinson) was absent from episodes in Season 4 is that he was on location, filming his role as Zach in Jurassic World (2015).
Both Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence have competed in Dancing with the Stars (2005), Lawrence in 2006, Hart in 2009. He came in third, she placed sixth.
In Fast Times (2013), Mel, Melissa Joan Hart's character, outlines her "five-stage plan," wherein the last stage is about having children, with her chosen names being Mason, Braydon, and Tucker. These are the real-life names, in order, of Hart's actual children, Mason Wilkerson, Braydon Wilkerson, and Tucker Wilkerson, with husband Mark Wilkerson. Those children are also the grandchildren of series executive producer Paula Hart, Hart's mother.