The show ran for four seasons on HBO and was commissioned following the success of the 1993 comedy special Tracey Ullman Takes on New York.

Each episode focuses on a specific subject in which Ullman and her cast of characters comment or experience through a series of sketches and monologues.

In 2003, the character Ruby Romaine was spun-off into the HBO television special, Tracey Ullman in the Trailer Tales.

In 1990, Ullman's husband Allan McKeown, a founding member of the Meridian Broadcasting consortium, placed a bid for the ITV television franchise in South East England.

Ullman, who had just ended four seasons of her eponymous Fox series, had just given birth to their second child and was quite content staying at home.

In September 1991, McKeown was elated when he was informed that his bid was successful; he was subsequently responsible for all of Meridian's comedy programming.

I had an extraordinary run at FOX in the late '80s with the Tracey Ullman Show, and couldn't imagine putting forth that amount of energy again.

The show's success led to American cable television network HBO becoming interested in having Ullman do a special for them.

[7] Characters created for her previous two HBO comedy specials were carried over for the series: gay airline steward Trevor Ayliss, British Conservative MP wife Virginia Bugge, British magazine editor Janie Pillsworth, Long Island housewife Fern Rosenthal, and faded Hollywood actress Linda Granger.

However, every season featured one or two episodes which deviated from the show's regular format in favor of a single storyline (e.g., "Vegas", "Hollywood", "Road Rage", "The End of the World").

In February 1998, Ullman revealed that some viewers were still unaware that she was playing all the characters, "We still get letters asking, 'Can I have a picture of Tracey and the rest of the cast?

'"[11] Famed caricaturist Al Hirschfeld's artistic rendering of Ullman surrounded her characters was used to promote the show's third season.

ad campaign, along with three of her Tracey Takes On... characters, Kay Clark, Linda Granger, and Hope Finch.

This little British spinster – she's so courageous, and to think she's sort of on national television in America is rather thrilling to me when I used to witness her in the local bank in my village.

The characters Fern and Harry Rosenthal and Linda Granger were created for Tracey Ullman Takes on New York.

She sat behind me at matinees of Cats and Les Misérables, not too shy to shout out to the performers, 'Speak up, darling, we can't hear you!'"

"[20] The characters Trevor Ayliss, Virginia and Timothy Bugge, and Janie Pillsworth, along with her mother Jackie, were originally created for the 1993 special Tracey Ullman: A Class Act.

Trevor was based on a real British Airways steward and an observation Ullman made about crewmen who would "butch up" when leaving the galley.

Critics immediately took note of the character’s uncanny resemblance to real-life attorney Leslie Abramson, who defended Lyle and Erik Menendez.

HBO defended the character, saying, "Tracey Ullman is a brilliant satirist and comedienne, and all of her work is in the spirit of fun and good humor.

However, she acknowledged, "Asian people don't necessarily see themselves in mainstream television and certainly not comic situations and after Mickey Rooney [as Mr. Yunioshi] in Breakfast at Tiffany's, I can understand why they're a little gun-shy.

"[19] The controversy later become comic fodder in season four when Ruby Romaine announces that she was behind Mickey Rooney's look in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Mrs. Noh Nang Ning was retired after season three; Ullman had been complaining for years that the character's makeup felt like being buried alive.

[2] In fact, people of color, including Asian Americans, made up the show's largest fan base; Ullman commented, "It's such a diverse audience that I get.

"[26] The character Chic was based on a real New York City cab driver who once drove writer Allen Zipper to LaGuardia Airport.

The character was also partially based on a man she knew as a teenager in London, who worked in a restaurant and used the come-on line: "Hey, darling, you like sex?

The series was nominated for 30 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning 7, including 1 in 1997 for Outstanding Music, Comedy and Variety Show.

While it claims to be "complete", the set's episodes are heavily edited, some to only three to five minutes in length; "Religion" is missing entirely.

Seasons 1 through 4 were released for purchase through iTunes and Amazon Video-on-Demand service in the United States in 2009, but are currently unavailable in either store.