The series was based on the 1980 film of the same name and followed students and faculty at New York City's High School of Performing Arts.

Although the show was set in New York City, most interior scenes were actually filmed in Hollywood, California, with exterior location shots done in New York in all seasons except the third.

Four actors reprised their roles from the original 1980 film: Lee Curreri (Bruno Martelli), Gene Anthony Ray (Leroy Johnson), Albert Hague (Benjamin Shorofsky), and Debbie Allen (Lydia Grant), whose small movie role was greatly expanded for the series.

Several film characters were recast with different actors for TV, including Coco Hernandez (Irene Cara in the film, Erica Gimpel in the series) and Montgomery McNeil, whose character was no longer written as gay when P.R. Paul took over the role from Paul McCrane.

The character Danny Amatullo, played by Carlo Imperato, was a new addition for the series and his surname was taken from associate producer Tony Amatullo.

Despite being cancelled by NBC after two seasons due to lackluster ratings (despite strong reviews), MGM revived the show for first-run syndication in 1983 through a special arrangement with LBS Communications, allowing it to run four more seasons.

Producing the TV series allowed MGM to retain the intellectual property rights to the Fame franchise, separate from the film rights, which passed to Turner Entertainment and later Warner Bros.

The show's theme song, originally a hit for Irene Cara, was re-recorded for the series and sung by co-star Erica Gimpel; even after Gimpel left the show midway through season three, her vocals continued to be used for two more seasons before being replaced by a rock version sung by new cast member Loretta Chandler for the final two seasons.

The song 'I Still Believe in Me,' performed by Erica Gimpel and Debbie Allen, was nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Original Song and was co-written by Gary Portnoy, who later co-wrote and sang the theme from Cheers.

The series became especially popular in the United Kingdom, spawning hit singles credited to 'The Kids from Fame' such as 'Hi-Fidelity' and 'Starmaker,' which both reached the UK Top 10, as well as live concert tours by the cast.

In 2008, Channel 4 in the UK aired a reunion special called Bring Back...Fame, hosted by Justin Lee Collins, which tracked down and reunited several original cast members including Debbie Allen, Erica Gimpel, and Carlo Imperato.