This is the first episode written by Daniel Furlong and Zach Posner. Furlong reached out of fellow
Oneida County native and executive producer
John Frink for a job and was eventually promoted to writer's assistant on the show. Executive producer
Matt Selman had an idea for an episode about Moe and offered Furlong and his writing partner Posner the job to develop the script. It was then handed over to the writer's room for refinement. Furlong added some references from where he grew up such as Utica Wild Thighs being a parody of
Buffalo Wild Wings. Selman described the episode as a Shakespearean drama about a mattress store empire. In February 2018,
Entertainment Weekly reported that
Ray Liotta was cast as Moe's father, Morty, who is a cunning evil version of Moe. Liotta stated that the experience was fun, and he was able to reunite with producer
David Mirkin, who directed Liotta in the 2001 film
Heartbreakers.
Debi Mazar was cast as Moe's sister Minnie. ==Cultural references==