This show's premise is very loosely based on the childhood experiences of writer, "It Gets Better" campaign co-creator, and one of "The Real O'Neals"'s executive producers, Dan Savage who, like Kenny, grew up as a gay kid in a devoutly Catholic Irish-American family; his father was a Chicago cop and his parents divorced.
In February 2016, the conservative activist group Catholic League ran an ad in The New York Times condemning ABC for planning to air "The Real O'Neals" on the basis of what the league's president, Bill Donohue, called Dan Savage's "maniacal hatred of Catholicism."
This is the second show centering on the life of a gay leading character in which Bebe Wood appears as a series regular; the first was "The New Normal."
ABC canceled the show after the second season.
This is the second sitcom starring Martha Plimpton in which her character has a son named Jimmy; the first was "Raising Hope" (2010).