Catalina's Spanish line actually say: "Excuse me, excuse me, sir. Look. I know this program does not make sense, because, as we have seen, I came after Y2K. But really, who notices such things?"
In an earlier episode Catalina mentioned that her mom was dead, because either her or her mom had to die. The backstory for that is learned here.
The hostage, played by Howie Mandel, is told to put a rubber glove over his head and blow it up like a balloon. This is a gag that Howie used in his stand-up routine in the eighties.
When Joy first enters her motel room, there is a note stuck to the mirror "I have been kidnapped. Southbound on Route 2 in blue Ford. Has pistol" Later, Frank and Paco are seen going down some highway with pistols and the kidnapped Howie Mandel, in a blue van (but it is a Dodge, and the FBI van they crash into is a Ford.)