The nurses in season six are based on two real life nurses, Gwendolyn Graham and Cathy Wood. The two were convicted for the murder of 5 elderly patients at the Alpine Manor Nursing Home in Walker, MI in the 1980's. They were using the initials to spell out M-U-R-D-E, identical to the nurses in season six. The two are still imprisoned, with Wood to be released in 2021.
Frances Conroy (Mama Polk ) and Kathy Bates (Thomasin 'The Butcher' White) worked together previously on Six Feet Under (2001), Conroy as part of the main cast, and Bates as director and later guest cast.