Fred Berry left the series after the first season when the production company refused to give him a salary increase. Berry's request for more money echoed events that took place during production of What's Happening!! (1976) when Berry (along with Ernest Thomas) requested a raise. Producers of the original series begrudgingly gave the cast a raise during the second season. During production of the third season in 1979, Berry again led the cast in demanding a raise citing the series' consistently good ratings. The cast was not only denied the raise, but ABC decided to cancel the series after a contentious meeting between the cast and the production company. Rather than deal with a similar issue, Berry and the producers of What's Happening Now! opted to part ways. Rerun's whereabouts were never addressed on the show after Berry's departure.
The whereabouts of several minor characters on the original series are never mentioned in this revival: Rob, who founded the diner, Marvin, a former school mate of the gang, Big Earl and Little Earl, and the college basketball player "The Snake".
The role of Maurice Warfield, a character that was introduced in the series' third and final season, was Martin Lawrence's first professional acting job. Before winning the role, Lawrence had been performing his stand up act in clubs. After the series was canceled, Lawrence struggled to find acting jobs and was broke. In a 1991 interview, Lawrence said that Shirley Hemphill, who also began her career as a stand up comedian in the 1970s and was supportive to other up and coming comics, reached out to him after the show was canceled. When Lawrence admitted he was struggling, Hemphill gave him career advice and sent Lawrence $500 so he would not have to get a roommate.
The video game console at the diner is of The Three Stooges.
According to Ernest Thomas, he became so anxious during production on the pilot that he lost his voice. Muhammad Ali was a fan of the original series and visited the set. Thomas said that he was so excited to meet Ali that his voice came back.