"The Rickshank Rickdemption" was written by staff team member Mike McMahan.[1] Elements of the episode were loosely inspired by the film The Shawshank Redemption and features the series' trademark dark humor, nihilism, and multiverse-based plot line.[2] In a segment for the Den of Geek website, series creator Dan Harmon said "The Rickshank Rickdemption" would resolve the conflicts that originated from the second season.[1] According to Harmon: "I don't think anybody wants to do a third season that simply spends a whole bunch of episodes dealing with a situation that we created at the end of the second season, so I think that's a non-spoiler way of saying things should be okay pretty quickly".[1] The episode marks the reappearance of several former key plot developments, including the Cronenberg universe, the Citadel of Ricks, and Birdperson.[3]