The series originated as a feature film idea by co-creators Jonathan Steinberg and Josh Schaer, conceived as a post-apocalyptic character drama in the vein of The Day After, Threads, and Testament, before being reworked into a TV series treatment.

Writer Stephen Chbosky, hired by director Jon Turteltaub to pen the pilot, pushed to add a greater feminine element to the story, saying they could use 'some girls, a little kissing, and some laughs.'

The September 11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina were major influences on the show's development, with co-creator Steinberg noting 9/11 showed the 'best of people' while Katrina showed the 'worst of people', and Katrina providing 'lots of inspiration' for the premise.

Although set in northwestern Kansas, most of the series was filmed on a studio backlot in Van Nuys, California, with additional filming at the Warner Bros. Ranch in Burbank, in Fillmore (for New Bern scenes), in Pasadena in front of city hall (for Cheyenne scenes), at Santa Anita race track, in Canada, and along Alamitos Bay in Long Beach.

After CBS cancelled the show following season one, fans launched a campaign and mailed just over 20 tons of peanuts to CBS headquarters, referencing Jake Green's use of General McAuliffe's 'Nuts!' line from the Battle of the Bulge; proceeds were donated to charities including tornado-rebuilding efforts in Greensburg, Kansas.

CBS acknowledged that the fan campaign to save Jericho was the largest the network had seen using digital means to protest a cancellation, with CEO Leslie Moonves personally filtering emails from fans.

Each episode's opening title sequence includes a hidden audio message in Morse code related to that episode, broadcast at 15 words per minute; the Season 1 and Season 2 DVD menus also contain Morse code messages thanking fans for 'making TV history.'

Two different endings were reportedly filmed for the final episode: one a cliffhanger meant to lead into a third season, and the other providing closure for fans, since CBS was uncertain until the last moment whether the show would be renewed again.

After the TV series ended, the story continued in comic book form: Devil's Due Publishing (later IDW) released a six-issue Season 3 continuation starting in 2009, followed by a five-issue Season 4 series in 2012, both overseen by the original TV writing staff.

In 2017, actor Skeet Ulrich revealed that a potential third season had been developed for Netflix with producer Karim Zreik, on the condition that the story time-jump five years into a more devolved world, but the deal fell through because CBS would not sell the rights.