Ed Wuncler III and Gin Rummy are based on George W. Bush and Donald Rumsfeld. Ed wears a medallion that says "W" which is Bush's nickname and "Rummy" is Rumsfeld's nickname. In the first episode, Ed Wuncler I says of his grandson, "In 30 years that boy will be the President of the United States... and he'll still be a fucking idiot."
The music that plays when Uncle Ruckus appears is a variation of John Williams' "Jabba's Theme" from Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).
Although Reginald Hudlin helped develop the series, his involvement with the show ended in July 2005 (four months before its premiere) when he was named President of Entertainment for the B.E.T (Black Entertainment Television) network (the channel that he and McGruder have often lampooned).
The controversial nature of the comic strip (as well as Aaron McGruder's insistence on maintaining creative control) lead to several failed attempts to get this series going since 1999. McGruder initially developed "The Boondocks" as a television series before turning it into a strip. Some of the would-be homes of the series included HBO and MTV. In 2003, the FOX network ordered a pilot with the prospect of picking up the series. They eventually passed, only to have the series taken up by Adult Swim.