The series was originally titled Sugarloaf and was initially set to take place in the Tampa Bay metro area before being reworked into the Florida Everglades setting.

The Glades was filmed in a former carpet warehouse in Pembroke Park, Florida, as well as in the Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale metro area, making it one of only three series at the time, alongside Burn Notice and Retired at 35, to be filmed exclusively in Florida.

Matt Passmore was the first actor cast in the series, followed by Kiele Sanchez, Uriah Shelton, and Carlos Gómez.

The Glades debuted with 3.6 million viewers, breaking A&E's records for the most-watched and highest-rated original drama series telecast at the time, according to Nielsen Fast Nationals numbers.

The show received an initial Metacritic score of 64 out of 100 and was renewed for a fourth season after a 5% increase in viewership.

A&E abruptly canceled the series after four seasons, ending on a cliffhanger with lead character Jim Longworth being shot minutes before his wedding.

Creator Clifton Campbell later revealed that the unproduced fifth season would have centered on the question 'Who shot Jim Longworth?' and that the character would have survived, adding that the cancellation took the whole team by surprise.