The episode was first announced at the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con International in San Diego, California, on July 26, 2008.[2][3] It was written by series regular Wellesley Wild and directed by Greg Colton[4] shortly after the conclusion of the seventh production season, which consisted entirely of held-over episodes due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike.[5][6] "Road to the Multiverse" is the fifth episode of the "Road to" hallmarks of the series, which have aired in various seasons of the show, and the second to be directed by Colton. The episodes are a parody of the seven Road to... comedy films starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour.[7] Though it was not originally intended to be a "Road to" episode, Greg Colton convinced series creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane and "Spies Reminiscent of Us" director Cyndi Tang to change the episode's title from "Sliders",[1] parodying the science fiction television series Sliders.[2] Colton's suggestion of the new title "Road to the Multiverse" was accepted, as was altering the premise of "Spies Reminiscent of Us", the season's original "Road to" episode.[8] Executive producer and former Star Trek: Enterprise writer[9] David A. Goodman, a fan of science fiction and the series Sliders, played a key role in the episode's original development. The production staff of Family Guy, including Wellesley Wild, watched an episode of Sliders before writing the show.[10] Series regulars Peter Shin and James Purdum served as supervising directors, with Andrew Goldberg and Alex Carter working as staff writers for the episode.[4] Composer Walter Murphy, who has worked on the series since its inception, returned to compose the music for "Road to the Multiverse".[4][11] Ron Jones and MacFarlane also contributed to the music and lyrics featured in the episode.[11]