Despite the political overtones, the show itself was more a broad lampoon of American sitcoms, including jokes, a laugh track, and stock characters such as klutzy secretary Princess (Kristen Miller), know-it-all maid Maggie (Marcia Wallace), and supposedly helpful next door neighbor Larry (John D'Aquino).

"[3] The series centers on the fictitious personal life of President George W. Bush, played by Timothy Bottoms.

Episodes dealt (with deliberate heavy-handedness) with the topics of abortion, gun control, the war on drugs, drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and the death penalty.

's irresistibly gimmicky premise—a workplace sitcom centering on Bush and his wife Laura—represents a perverse act of extended misdirection.

According to their DVD commentary, they were "95% certain that Gore would win" and began developing the series under the title Everybody Loves Al.

The show was pitched to HBO, Fox, NBC, CBS, ABC, FX and MTV, who all turned down the series.

[5] The duo signed a deal with Comedy Central to produce a live-action sitcom, titled Family First, scheduled to debut on February 28, 2001.

[6] They threw a party the night of the election with the writers, with intentions to begin writing the following Monday and shooting the show in January 2001 with the inauguration.

The episode features Felix the Fetus, made and operated by the Chiodo Brothers, who later worked with Parker and Stone on Team America: World Police (2004).

was filmed at Sony Pictures Studios, the first time Parker and Stone shot a show on a production lot.

Casting was relatively simple; Parker and Stone came across a photo of Timothy Bottoms in Variety for a play he was doing in Santa Barbara.

features the first utterance of the word "Lemmiwinks", which Parker and the writers intended to be a parody of The Lord of the Rings.

[16] During the production of "Fare Thee Welfare", the series finale, producers knew the end was near as it would be very expensive.

[10] Although the show received a fair amount of publicity and critical notice, according to Stone and Parker, the budget was too high, "about $1 million an episode.

"[18] Comedy Central officially axed the series in August 2001, as a cost-cutting move; Stone was quoted as saying "A super-expensive show on a small cable network...the economics of it were just not going to work.

"[13][19] There was talk of a spin-off feature film for the series entitled George W. Bush and the Secret of the Glass Tiger.

The concept extended the series' bait and switch gag: it would have to do with a Chinese invasion foiled by the President.

While producing That's My Bush!, Parker and Stone found the three act structure provided a better story, and South Park has continued to use it in recent years.