The show's lead scriptwriter, Alice Chegaray-Breugnot, explained that Morgane's character was inspired by a form of autism called Asperger's syndrome, though she deliberately avoided giving the character a sole passion for numbers, a common trope in such portrayals.

The first season was filmed between November 2019 and November 2020 in the Hauts-de-France region, in and around the Lille metropolitan area, including Lambersart, Lille, Ronchin, Roubaix, Tourcoing, Villeneuve-d'Ascq, Wattignies, and Dunkirk.

The former Sciences Po Lille building in the Moulins district was used as the set for the police station between late 2019 and August 2020.

Filming for later seasons continued across numerous towns in northern France, including Armentières, Frelinghien, Cysoing, Bousbecque, Loos, Mouvaux, Croix, Hazebrouck and Morbecque, reflecting the production's deep ties to the Hauts-de-France region.

HPI broke the audience record for a French series launch on TF1, previously held by Clem since 2010, and its first episode surpassed the record set by RIS police scientifique in 2006.

The third episode of season 1 surpassed 10 million viewers, a milestone not reached by a French TV series since a 2007 episode of Joséphine, ange gardien.

Season 1 was sold to 90 countries and gathered over 175 million views worldwide, with later seasons expanding sales to over 107 countries and spawning seven international adaptations.

Following its international success, ABC Signature acquired American adaptation rights in September 2022, casting Kaitlin Olson as the lead and Daniel Sunjata as the detective counterpart; the resulting series, High Potential, was delayed to autumn 2024 due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.