Shit My Dad Says is aTwitter feed started byJustin Halpern who was then a semi-employed comedy writer.[1] It consists of quotations made by Halpern's father, Sam, regarding various subjects.[2] Halpern started the account on August 3, 2009 soon after moving fromLos Angeles back to his parents' house inSan Diego. He intended it only as a storage site for his father's salty comments, but a friend posted a link to it. ComedianRob Corddry then tweeted the link and that really "jump-started it" according to Halpern.[3] In less than a month the page was mentioned byThe Daily Show, a popular San Francisco blog calledLaughing Squid, and actressKristen Bell.[4] As of February 2024[update] the feed has 2.1 million followers. The account has largely been inactive since 2014 with only two tweets since then and none after 2017.
In September 2009 Halpern found an agent and started sifting through book deals.[4] He signed an agreement with HarperCollins in October 2009.[2] The book based on the feed, titledSh*t My Dad Says, was co-written with Halpern's longtime writing partner Patrick Schumacker[5] and was released on May 4, 2010.[6] During its first week the book reached #8 onThe New York Times Best Seller list for hardcover nonfiction.[1][7] For six weeks after its release the book was #1 on the bestseller list.[8]
In November 2009 CBS announced that it was developing atelevision sitcom based on the Twitter feed which would starWilliam Shatner.[2][9] The series, officially titled$#*! My Dad Says (spoken asBleep My Dad Says), wasgreen-lighted by CBS in May 2010 and began airing on CBS on Thursday nights.[10]
On May 15, 2011 CBS announced that it had canceled$#*! My Dad Says[11] despite winning thePeople's Choice Award for Best New Comedy.
In 2011,Cartoon Network'sMAD aired a parody promo for the TV adaptation,$h*! My Dad Says, called, "Meep! My Dad Says!" It is a crossover between $h*! My Dad Says andLooney Tunes which features the Road Runner playing the role of the dad. His classic "Meep! Meeps!" are used to imitate censorbleeps, with black bars being placed over his mouth when he speaks.