Alphas was originally developed under the title Section 8 by Zak Penn and Michael Karnow starting in 2006, and was shopped around to networks for years before finding a home.

ABC initially picked up the series in late 2007 with a six-episode order, but the project was derailed by complications from the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike.

After nearly two more years of pitching the show, Syfy finally placed a pilot order in August 2009, with Jack Bender attached as director and Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun as executive producers.

Casting for the series began in August 2010, and the pilot was filmed in Toronto, Canada.

Veteran Sci-Fi Channel producer Ira Steven Behr was brought on as executive producer and showrunner when Syfy officially ordered the series in December 2010.

The series ended on an unresolved cliffhanger after Syfy announced in January 2013 that it would not return for a third season, following earlier reports that it had already been canceled.

The unresolved cliffhanger ending of Alphas was referenced in The Big Bang Theory episode 'The Closure Alternative,' where it causes character Sheldon Cooper distress about lacking narrative closure.

The pilot episode drew 2.5 million total viewers, making it Syfy's most-watched series debut in two years, though ratings dropped to 1.16 million viewers by the season one finale.