Smart Guy was created by Danny Kallis and produced by de Passe Entertainment and Danny Kallis Productions in association with Walt Disney Television, airing on The WB from 1997 to 1999.

In September 2020, star Tahj Mowry confirmed that a revival of the show was in development.

Tahj Mowry and Omar Gooding are the only main cast members who did not appear in every episode; Mowry missed the season 3 episode 'Get a Job' while Gooding missed 'A Little Knowledge.'

Jason Weaver, Essence Atkins and John Marshall Jones appeared in every single episode of the series.

Although Essence Atkins played the teenage daughter of John Marshall Jones' character, the two actors are actually only ten years apart in age.

The series was taped at Sunset-Gower Studios in Hollywood, and the Henderson house and school sets changed layout across the three seasons, though Marcus and T.J.'s bedroom set remained the same throughout the entire run.

The establishing shot used for the fictional Piedmont High School was later reused as the establishing shot for John Adams High on Boy Meets World and also appeared on the Disney Channel series Cory in the House.

The theme song for seasons one and two was written and produced by Kristian Rex, who also composed the music for all of season two, while the season three theme was performed by Hami and featured cast member Omar Gooding.

The episode 'Don't Do That Thing You Do' was excluded from the Disney+ streaming release of the series due to music licensing issues.

The season three opening title sequence was designed to resemble a music video and was choreographed by Russell Clark, unlike the fully computer-animated opening used in the first two seasons.