Will Forte wanted to have an even bigger beard than the one he grew to play Phil Miller in the pilot, in order to show that his character had surrendered to despair after the worldwide virus left him as (as far as he knew) the only person left on Earth. But after the beard he grew caused him personal discomfort ranging from an inability to put his head on a pillow and sleep to nearly being thrown off his bicycle due to the wind pulling on it, Forte had the beard cut to a scraggly but much smaller size for filming.
Will Forte said in a 2020 interview that he was uncomfortable with how many things in the show ended up being reflected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but noted that he was pleased with a storyline where (early in the humanity-erasing fictional pandemic) a character repeatedly wore a protective mask and told other people to do the same.
Will Forte's real mother, Patti Forte, plays his character's mother, Patti Miller (seen in flashbacks).
The series was intended to air on a cable network. Will Forte, Phil Lord, and Christopher Miller were concerned that the strange and adult-oriented material would be a target of "watering down" and editing on network TV. They were surprised first when Fox expressed interest in the show, then not only ordered it to series but told them to do what they wanted as long as they avoided foul language.
Closing music is the introductory riff from Lily Allen's "Knock 'Em Out."