Boy Meets World was created for ABC's youth-oriented TGIF programming block by Michael Jacobs, who had previously produced Dinosaurs for the same block and was asked to create a new series aimed at a 12-to-14-year-old audience.

Jacobs noticed that other sitcoms tended to focus on the oldest child in a family, which inspired him to instead center Boy Meets World around a middle child, Cory Matthews.

Ben Savage was already under contract with ABC at age 11 when Jacobs decided to include him in the series, which was initially known internally as 'The Ben Savage Project'.

William Daniels was apprehensive about joining a sitcom and initially rejected the role of Mr. Feeny, only agreeing after the pilot was rewritten to ensure the character would not mock teachers, since Feeny was based on a mentor of Jacobs'.

Rider Strong's older brother Shiloh Strong was shortlisted to play Eric alongside Jason Marsden and Will Friedle, but Friedle ultimately got the part; a different actor had actually portrayed Eric in the unaired original pilot.

Danielle Fishel was not the original actress cast as Topanga but took over the role before the character's first episode aired, and Jacobs reportedly threatened to fire her during the filming week.

Rider Strong later described the atmosphere on set as 'damaging,' cultivated by creator Michael Jacobs who had very high expectations of the young cast, and director David Trainer said Jacobs used 'emotional manipulation' on them.

Network executives initially cut Shakespeare references from the pilot script for being too mature, and after the episode was poorly received at the table read, Jacobs rewrote the entire pilot overnight.

The decision to have Cory and Topanga marry was initially deemed 'irresponsible' by an ABC executive, but a favorable internet poll helped convince producers to approve the storyline.

Trina McGee-Davis said fan reaction to Angela and Shawn's interracial relationship was overwhelmingly positive, and she hoped the storyline could serve as an example of color blindness, contrasting with the less positive reception a similar relationship received on Ally McBeal at the time.

William Daniels' real-life wife, Bonnie Bartlett, joined the cast in later seasons in the recurring role of Dean Bolander, the university dean.

Fishel, Friedle and Strong launched a rewatch podcast called Pod Meets World in 2022; Ben Savage declined to participate, and in 2023 the trio revealed he had cut off all contact with them since 2020 without explanation.