 "Mr. Monk and the Man Who Shot Santa Claus" was co-written by Dan Schofield and Ben Gruber, and directed by Randall Zisk. After the airing of the ninth episode of the sixth season, "Mr. Monk Is Up All Night", on September 14, 2007, Monk broadcast entered a hiatus until January. The cast and staff, however, returned in August to work on the second half of the show's sixth season, which they called "Season 6.5". Hayley Helmreich, a series associate producer, remarked that it was difficult to have the "Christmas-y feeling" in August in Los Angeles. Helmreich also found difficulties to get a company that would agree to have their toys being thrown by "a not-so-nice Santa Claus".
