The series originated in Europe when actor Christopher Lambert, who had starred in the first two Highlander films, connected Highlander producers Peter Davis and Bill Panzer with Gaumont's president Christian Charret, leading Gaumont to buy the TV rights.

Gaumont Television took the unusual risk of producing the series entirely in English to break into international markets, marking the first time a French production company was creatively involved in a show intended for the American market.

The first season's budget was $26.1 million, with about 75% coming from overseas sales; the producers retained distribution rights, generating $800,000 per episode from international income alone, reportedly the top result of the 1992-1993 season.

To satisfy co-production quota agreements, each season was split into two production blocks: the first shot in Vancouver (standing in for the fictional Seacouver, Washington) and the second in Paris, using the Société Française de Production studios at Bry-sur-Marne.

Midway through production, the French government changed its quota rules and ruled that Highlander did not qualify as a French production, forcing broadcaster TF1 to withdraw; Gaumont then found a new partner, M6, which offered half of TF1's original funding.

The pilot episode was originally intended to be a third Highlander feature film functioning as a TV movie, but a low budget and Christopher Lambert's late agreement to reprise his role as Connor MacLeod forced the production to rewrite it as a one-hour pilot instead.

The show's fencing choreography was handled successively by three different swordmasters: Bob Anderson (who dubbed himself 'Master of Swords') on the Vancouver segments, Peter Diamond on the Paris segments, and from season three onward F. Braun McAsh, who also choreographed the fourth Highlander film, Endgame.

The opening theme of the series is Queen's song 'Princes of the Universe' from their 1986 album A Kind of Magic, while the incidental score was composed by Roger Bellon.

European VHS releases of the series featured approximately four minutes of additional footage per episode compared to the versions broadcast on American television.

A 17-minute low-budget reunion special was filmed in 2008 at producer Peter Davis' former beach home, starring Peter Wingfield, Elizabeth Gracen, and Jim Byrnes reprising their roles, with the actors volunteering their time.