"Debasement Tapes" was written by John Enbom and directed by supervising producer Dan Etheridge, marking Enbom's seventeenth and final writing credit for the show and Etheridge's first and only directing credit for the series. The episode guest stars actor Paul Rudd as former rock star Desmond Fellows. During casting of the character of Vinnie Van Lowe, Rudd was considered to play the part; however, the role was given instead to Ken Marino, who appears in the episode. Marino and Rudd are friends in real life. Rudd was a friend of Enbom and Etheridge, and he had been signed on to appear in the episode by the airing of "Spit & Eggs". They had lobbied Rudd to come on the show for several years. Thomas described the reason for Rudd not appearing earlier being that the crew were unable to find a good moment for the character's entry that worked with Rudd's schedule.