The show was created by Ilene Chaiken, Michele Abbott, and Kathy Greenberg, with Chaiken serving as primary creator, executive producer, writer, and director.

The original code-name for The L Word during development was 'Earthlings,' a rarely used slang term for lesbians.

Originally, the series was to be centered around the character Kit Porter, with 'The Chart' tattooed on her back; the idea for the chart itself emerged from writers discussing their own real-life friends' romantic entanglements and sketching a beta version on paper.

The series was filmed at Coast Mountain Films Studio in Vancouver, British Columbia, as well as on location in Los Angeles, California.

In season 4, the character Alice launches 'The Chart' as a social networking website, and a real-world parallel site, OurChart.com, was actually created, allowing fans to make profiles and read blogs about the show; it ran from season four until season six before redirecting to Showtime's official site.

Ahead of season three, the fan fiction site FanLib.com ran a contest in which a fan-submitted L Word story was incorporated into an actual scene of a third-season episode.

All three of actress Leisha Hailey's real-life bands were referenced in the show: The Murmurs' song played in season one, Shane wore a Gush band t-shirt in season two, and Uh Huh Her songs and merchandise appeared in seasons five and six.

The band Betty wrote and performed the show's theme song, first introduced in season two, and made numerous on-screen appearances throughout the series.

After the series finale, Showtime released seven short 'interrogation tape' videos of characters being questioned about Jenny's murder, along with a two-part interview with creator Ilene Chaiken, who revealed that Alice went to jail for the murder but was not necessarily guilty.

Showtime shot a pilot in December 2008 for a spin-off called The Farm, set in a women's prison and starring Famke Janssen, Melissa Leo, Laurie Metcalf, and Leisha Hailey reprising her Alice Pieszecki role, but the network declined to pick it up for a full series in April 2009.

Reception grew increasingly negative as the series progressed, with The New York Times calling the final season a 'Sapphic Playboy fantasia,' and the decision to end the series as an unresolved murder mystery was met with significant criticism.

Ossie Davis received a posthumous Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Bette and Kit Porter's father, Melvin, in the second season.