Notable moments include Devereaux hiding in the rafters as the faculty vote on his dismissal, and his threat to kill a duck in the campus pond each day until his department receives a budget.

The novel discusses flirtations between faculty and students, satirizes academic scholarship and stardom, and portrays love and health in the season of grace.

[4] Tom De Haven of The New York Times praised Russo's use of humor and dialogue, writing,The novel's greatest pleasures derive not from any blazing impatience to see what happens next, but from pitch-perfect dialogue, persuasive characterization and a rich progression of scenes, most of them crackling with an impudent, screwball energy.

[9] In September 2022, Diedrich Bader, Sara Amini, Cedric Yarbrough and Suzanne Cryer joined the cast.

[10] In January 2023, the series was renamed Lucky Hank from the original title of Straight Man and also revealed to premiere on March 19, 2023.