Joe Pesci was originally to portray Pete's paternal grandfather but was changed to his mother's father to preserve Pesci's Italian heritage.
Real-life friends of Pete Davidson playing themselves include John Mulaney, Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly), James A DeSimone (aka Crillz), Derek, and Dave.
Pete Davidson's real life assistant Alex is the basis for the character Evan, and does appear in episode 6 in Pete's basement.
According to showrunner Judah Miller, other title ideas included "The Pete is On", "The Pete of the Moment", and "Can't Stand the Pete".