The episode was written by George Meyer and directed by David Silverman. Voice actor Greg Berg guest starred as Rory, one of the homeless people at the soup kitchen. The episode features cultural references to Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the poets Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and Edgar Allan Poe. Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from critics. It acquired a Nielsen rating of 11.9, and was the third highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.