The series is based on Christopher Titus's stand-up act and his one-man show 'Norman Rockwell is Bleeding', which was loosely based on his real-life dysfunctional family.

Titus began performing comedy at 18 and his act evolved to focus on his family, particularly his father's heart attacks and his mother's mental illness.

A Fox executive's assistant happened to be in the audience during one of Titus's shows and brought his bosses to see it, which led to the Fox deal.

Steve Carell auditioned for the role of Tommy but lost the part to David Shatraw, while Zack Ward, who also auditioned for Tommy, was instead cast as Titus's brother Dave.

Stacy Keach was cast as Titus's father Ken after Christopher Titus admitted that Keach intimidated him during auditions.

Before his death, Christopher Titus's real father gave Stacy Keach tips on how to better portray him on screen.

The 'Live Story' segments of each episode were shot in real time like a play, with minimal takes, after being extensively rehearsed throughout the week and filmed on Fridays.

The show's unique shooting style, allowing actors to maintain comedic timing, meant it never needed to use a laugh track despite being filmed before a studio audience.

A two-part episode made shortly after the September 11 attacks, in which the government mistakes Titus's family for terrorists due to a series of misunderstandings, was censored by Fox.

The episode 'The Intervention' was almost banned by censors for seemingly glorifying alcoholism, forcing Titus to read the script line-by-line to the Fox president over the phone to convince him it was funny.

Titus claimed the show was cancelled after he refused a network request to split up Titus and Erin's relationship, similar to a move made on Dharma & Greg that had boosted that show's ratings.

A planned revival series, meant to pick up eight years later with Titus divorced and his father dead, was confirmed around 2010 but was ultimately shut down in 2014 due to legal issues with 20th Century Fox and limited funding.

In 2020, a reunion special called 'Titus Family' was shot in just a few days during the COVID-19 pandemic and featured Titus's real-life wife Rachel Bradley joining the cast.