Much of what happens to Pete in the show happened to Pete Holmes in real life, such as being raised as an evangelical Christian, his wife leaving him after having an affair, and handing out flyers on MacDougal and 3rd to get stage time.
On The Pete Holmes Show, Judd Apatow was in a sketch where Pete pitched several ideas to him, one of them being the premise for Crashing.
In the pilot, much of the pep-talk that Artie gives to Pete at the pizza place was improvised after director Judd Apatow, told Artie to tell Pete the actual advice he would give to a newer, younger comedian in real life.
Pete Holmes was raised as an evangelical Christian, went to a Christian college, and was thinking of becoming a youth pastor.
On the show, Pete's character works as a warm-up comic for Rachael Ray. In real life, Pete was a warm-up comic for The Daily Show.