Creator Tony Vitale first pitched the show as a vehicle for Harvey Fierstein and Andrew Dice Clay in the early '90s, but he was shot down by executives who claimed a show with a gay lead wouldn't fly. The next thing he knew, Fierstein was on The Arsenio Hall Show (1989) talking about the project. In order to retain the rights, Vitale quickly turned it into a stage play, and the film version, Kiss Me, Guido (1997), followed a few years later. Still he couldn't get a network to touch the material as a weekly show. After Will & Grace (1998) became a hit, Vitale again pitched the story and finally got a greenlight for the series.
Josette Di Carlo was hired to play Frankie's mother before then-32-year-old Danny Nucci was cast as her son. Since DiCarlo wasn't significantly older than Nucci, she was ultimately replaced with then-50-year-old Camille Saviola. "I honestly wasn't given any explanation," said DiCarlo, "but during studio audience filming an exec approached me prior to my first scene and said 'YOU'RE Danny's mom?'. I think I knew trouble could ensue."
The Vern character was originally written to be played by a fat white guy. However, when Alec Mapa wandered in to audition for the show, he wowed creator Tony Vitale, who immediately knew this was the guy he wanted in the part. Vitale had trouble convincing others that Mapa was the right fit, so the actor was repeatedly called back to audition. Finally in the zero hour Mapa won the role the character was re-conceived to suit him.