Annabella Sciorra reprises her role of Carolyn Barek, first (& last) seen in season 5 of Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001) as Mike Logan's (Chris Noth) partner. Coincidentally, in her debut episode Diamond Dogs (2005) (S05E02), Peter Scanavino also appeared.
The episode's title appears to be derived from the hunting and fishing phrase "catch and release", but it is written more vulgarly to reference the episode.