The show was originally slated to be named Mission: Uncomfortable when truTV announced it on April 12, 2011, eight months before its debut.

The concept of feeding each other lines via an earpiece was inspired by talk show host David Letterman feeding lines to neighboring storeowner Rupert Jee on Late Show with David Letterman.

Quinn and Vulcano have said that when they pitched the pilot episode to truTV, it was recorded on their iPhones.

Before creating Impractical Jokers, the four friends filmed a pilot in 2008 for a scripted sitcom for Spike TV that never went to series, and in 2007 their comedy troupe The Tenderloins won the $100,000 grand prize on NBC's It's Your Show competition.

At the time they pitched the idea to truTV, James Murray was already VP of Development for NorthSouth Productions, the company that has produced the series since its inception.

Joe Gatto announced on Instagram on December 31, 2021, that he was leaving the show after nine seasons; truTV and HBO Max subsequently removed several episodes featuring him in compromising situations from their platforms.

On February 6, 2023, the borough of Staten Island officially declared the first Monday of every February 'Impractical Jokers Day' in honor of the show's tenth season.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the cast created the spin-off Impractical Jokers: Dinner Party, filmed as a video group chat, with its theme song being 'Uzi (Pinky Ring)' by Wu-Tang Clan.

A feature-length film based on the show was directed by Chris Henchy and produced by Funny or Die, with production beginning at the end of April 2018 and the film released on February 21, 2020.