The series is based on John Hughes' 1985 film of the same name, but Hughes had no involvement whatsoever with the television adaptation.

The main cast was entirely recast from the film: John Mallory Asher took over from Anthony Michael Hall as Gary, Michael Manasseri replaced Ilan Mitchell-Smith as Wyatt, Vanessa Angel replaced Kelly LeBrock as Lisa, and Lee Tergesen replaced Bill Paxton as Chett.

Seth Green was one of the finalists considered for the role of Gary Wallace; he later made a guest appearance in the season 2 episode 'Lisa's Virus'.

Actor John Mallory Asher's real-life mother, Joyce Bulifant, played his character's mother, Emily, on the show.

The theme song was 'Weird Science' by Oingo Boingo, the same track used in the original film, though the band received no on-screen credit for the series.

Six completed episodes were left unaired when the show ended its USA Network run in 1997; these 'lost' episodes finally premiered on the Sci-Fi Channel in July 1998.

In the pilot episode, Gary justifies the idea of creating a computer-generated woman by claiming he 'saw it in a John Hughes movie,' a direct reference to the original film.

Staff writer Kari Lizer, who worked on the show, later went on to create the sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine.