The show was reportedly inspired by John Owen Lowe's habit of trolling his father Rob Lowe on social media.

John Owen Lowe described the series as being about a father-son dynamic seen through a specific lens: a father who loves being the center of attention and a son who feels the exact opposite.

Netflix picked up the series straight-to-series without a traditional pilot process.

The series stars real-life father and son Rob Lowe and John Owen Lowe, who also both serve as executive producers alongside Victor Fresco.

Production on the second season was initially shut down in May 2023 due to the Hollywood writers' strike before being officially renewed later that year.

For season 2, Andrew Gurland took over as showrunner from Victor Fresco, who had run the first season; filming took place in Los Angeles and wrapped in early February 2024.

The series holds a 67% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 68/100 on Metacritic, indicating generally favorable reviews.

Despite decent reviews, Netflix canceled Unstable in October 2024 after two seasons.