The show and its main character were specifically designed around actress Tia Carrere, tailored to her skills and interests, with the intention of creating a light-hearted adventure series.

Producers described Christien Anholt's character Nigel as a 'younger Hugh Grant', and Anholt himself compared Sydney Fox to a female Indiana Jones with his character serving as her English sidekick.

The series was primarily filmed in and around Toronto, using local locations to stand in for places around the world, though the final six episodes of the first season were shot on location in France.

The 'Trinity College' campus scenes were filmed at the St. George campus of the University of Toronto, prominently featuring Victoria College and the Soldiers' Tower near Hart House.

For the episode 'Antianeirai', ship scenes were filmed aboard the HMCS Haida, the last Tribal Class destroyer in the world, berthed at Ontario Place in Toronto; all signage was covered with Russian words and any markings revealing its Canadian or Western origin were disguised, including covering the ship's red maple leaf with a bird design.

Tia Carrere frequently performed her own martial arts stunts for the show.

All three seasons were filmed in widescreen 16:9 but were mainly broadcast in pan-and-scan 4:3 format, as was common for Fireworks Entertainment productions from 2000; the widescreen versions later became available on Netflix in the Nordic countries starting in 2012.

The series fulfilled its initial contract of three seasons and 66 episodes between 1999 and 2002, after which the contract was not renewed.