Many sets used in scenes inside the house were also used in Step by Step (1991) and Family Matters (1989).
During the first two seasons, series star Valerie Harper fought with Lorimar producers over creative direction of her namesake series. Harper was subsequently fired at the end of the second season and replaced by Sandy Duncan in 1987 for the third season. In 1988, comedian Roseanne Barr had a similar disagreement about the direction of her namesake series, Roseanne (1988), with co-creator, producer and writer Matt Williams. Barr however won her fight; she remained with the series for its entire initial run while Williams was let go before the end of Roseanne's first season. Barr later joked about the situation by changing the name on her dressing room door to "Sandy Duncan".
Brandon Tartikoff wrote that when Valerie Harper left the show and the title was changed to "The Hogan Family", the staff privately called it "Throw Momma from the Series". According to the scriptwriters, Valerie's character lost her life in an automobile wreck.
Because of casting changes, the name of the show was changed twice during its run. It was originally simply called "Valerie," to capitalize on the fact Valerie Harper was the star of the show. After she left at the end of the second season, the title was changed to "Valerie's Family," even though Harper was no longer on the show, due in part to the hope she might return. For the fourth season through the end of the sixth, it was called "The Hogan Family".
Lorimar producers wanted to keep the name as "Valerie" even after Valerie got fired; but Valerie Harper would not let them. She sued them and blocked this through the courts.