Steve Coogan states in his autobiography that he and Rob Brydon both initially disliked the pitch for the series, but went along with it anyway due to their friendship with Michael Winterbottom.

The dialogue is largely improvised.

Michael Winterbottom came up with the idea for the series after working with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon on Tristram Shandy (2005). He was specifically inspired by the opening scene, where the two actors, playing fictionalized versions of themselves, make fun of each other in a completely ad-libbed conversation.