It was based on the Twitter feed Shit My Dad Says, created by Justin Halpern and consisting of quotations from his father, Sam.

When Henry, a struggling writer and blogger, can no longer afford his rent, he is forced to move back in with Ed, which creates new problems in their tricky father–son relationship.

Henry is ultimately hired, but is forced to continue living with Ed in order to have readily available material via his father's unsolicited rants, hence the title $#*!

In November 2009, CBS announced that it was developing a television pilot based on the Twitter feed, which would be written by Halpern and Patrick Schumacker.

My Dad Says features childish jokes, abysmal writing, and the half-baked stunt casting of William Shatner.

[39] The title of the broadcast series was modified from the source material in order to comply with Federal Communications Commission regulations on the use of profane language during prime time.

On May 19, 2010, CBS announced the show's official name and 8:30 pm time slot at its upfront presentation of the fall 2010 schedule.

"[45] In addition, Bill Gorman from TVbytheNumbers wrote that the PTC protest was just giving the show more publicity, which he expected would boost ratings.