Partially inspired by stories told to Edward Burns by his father, who worked as a police officer in New York City for many years.
Edward Burns reunites with his Mob City (2013) co-star Neal McDonough. McDonough played a cop and Burns a criminal in that series, while on this show, the roles are reversed.
The Public Morals Division operates out of the fictional 12th Precinct. Ruben Santiago-Hudson had previously played that precinct's commanding officer for three seasons on Castle (2009).
Coincidentally, actor Peter Gerety was previously a regular in another unrelated series also titled "Public Morals" in 1996 playing Neil Fogerty.
Elizabeth Masucci told Allure magazine this was her big acting break even though she'd been appearing in films and TV shows since 2007. She explained why, "Because I'm working with [Ed Burns] and I'm a series regular--building a character on this TV show. Steven Spielberg is producing it. For me, it's this. I've done a lot of great things, but this is a job I'd want to do for ten years."