In the opening segment of the first season, clips of the silent film Metropolis are used, Geno Cuddy is a silent film lover and historian and has cited Metropolis as being his favorite.
The reason Geno Cuddy wears a cowboy hat is in tribute to Don Imus, host of Imus in the Morning, which Cuddy has cited as the origins of Geno in the Evening. He also wears it as a tribute to retired Nascar driver Richard Petty, who was his father's favorite race-car driver.