Time Squad was created by Dave Wasson, who had previously animated short films for Nickelodeon's Oh Yeah! Cartoons, including Max & His Special Problem, which earned him a Daytime Emmy Award for production design in 1999.

Creator Dave Wasson described the show's approach to history as 'a C-average student's approach—a CliffsNotes version of what historical characters did and giving it a twist,' explaining that the writers started with what a historical figure actually did and then found the most outlandish way he could have gone wrong instead.

The series was greenlit at a February 21, 2001 Cartoon Network press conference alongside Samurai Jack, Grim & Evil, and Justice League, as part of a $500 million investment granted to the network for original programming through 2005.

Time Squad was the first Cartoon Network original series to be produced entirely by Cartoon Network Studios, after the studio stopped being a division of Hanna-Barbera following William Hanna's death in 2001.

The show is notably the final Cartoon Network original series to premiere during Betty Cohen's tenure as network head; she resigned soon after due to creative disagreements with Turner Broadcasting System head Jamie Kellner and was replaced by Jim Samples just ten days after Time Squad's premiere.

The series' music was composed by Michael Tavera, who later scored other Cartoon Network and Disney animated shows including ¡Mucha Lucha!, Lilo & Stitch: The Series, Yin Yang Yo!, and The Secret Saturdays.

Entertainment Weekly gave the series a B rating, describing it as 'fast and snappy,' while the Houston Chronicle also rated it a B, noting it offered 'more laughs than lessons.'

Cartoon Network partnered with Subway to release five Time Squad-themed toys in Subway Kids Paks between September 30 and November 17, 2002.