Production
"The Bubble" was written by series creator, executive producer and lead actress Tina Fey. The director of this episode was Tricia Brock. This was Fey's sixteenth writing credit, and Brock's first directed episode. "The Bubble" originally aired on NBC in the United States on March 19, 2009.
When actor Jon Hamm hosted the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) in October 2008, negotiations took place with the show's producers for him to guest star on 30 Rock. In December 2008, it was confirmed Hamm would appear as a love interest for Fey's character, Liz Lemon. It was also announced by NBC that Hamm would star in a three episode arc; he made his debut in the February 5, 2009, episode "Generalissimo", and made a second appearance in "St. Valentine's Day". "The Bubble" was Hamm's final appearance as Drew on 30 Rock, though Hamm made appearances on the show's fourth season episodes "Anna Howard Shaw Day" and "Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land".
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Fey said that when the writing staff is developing a script, "We'll have an actor in mind and we'll keep referring to them. Like for this we said, 'Then Hamm comes in, blah blah blah.'" She believed that there was no possibility of getting Hamm though: "we were lucky with the timing because Mad Men was on hiatus and he was hosting SNL. So I called over there and asked them, 'Hey, is that guy funny? Tell me the truth.' And they were like, 'Yes, he's really funny.' By Saturday I knew they were right."
All of Liz and Drew's scenes were filmed on January 15, 2009, in the Upper West Side. Fashion designer Calvin Klein, playing himself, made a cameo in this episode. Klein is the father of Marci Klein, an executive producer on 30 Rock. This episode was actor Bobb'e J. Thompson's second appearance as Tracy's son, Tracy Jr., on the show. Thompson first guest starred in the episode "Gavin Volure". "The Bubble" was Today show co-host Meredith Vieira's third guest appearance as herself, having appeared in the episodes "Greenzo" and "Larry King".
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