The series is based on the non-fiction book 'Under the Sabers: The Unwritten Code of Army Wives' by Tanya Biank. Creator Katherine Fugate initially received the book intending to adapt it as a film, planning it to begin and end with a murder, before pitching it as a series to ABC and then Lifetime.

Fugate emphasized wanting the show to accurately portray army wives, calling their story 'the last untold story' about how they maintain relationships and often act as single mothers.

The cast and crew visited real army installations at Fort Bragg and Fort Belvoir and spoke with actual army wives to research the show.

The U.S. Department of Defense lent Black Hawk helicopters and Humvees for use in production.

Filming took place on a sound stage off Dorchester Road in North Charleston, as well as at the former Charleston Naval Shipyard, Charleston Field, and around the city of Charleston, including the Unitarian Church and the waterfront.

Each script was overseen by two Army advisers, and author Tanya Biank served as a military consultant on every episode alongside Lt. Colonel Todd Breassealle, who provided insight into military life.

Cast member Brian McNamara, who played Michael Holden, also directed several webisodes and two full episodes of the series, including installments of seasons five and six.

The show went through several showrunners: Samantha Corbin-Miller was replaced by Jeff Melvoin before the premiere, then Dee Johnson, then Nick Thiel, before Melvoin returned in 2009 and stayed as showrunner; creator Katherine Fugate left the show in 2008 to pursue new projects.

A backdoor pilot for a potential spin-off centered on Pamela Moran (Brigid Brannagh) as a police detective, titled 'Murder in Charleston,' aired as the seventeenth episode of season four in August 2010, but Lifetime ultimately did not pick up the spin-off.

Army Wives had the largest series premiere in Lifetime's 23-year history and the network's largest viewership in the 10 pm to 11 pm time slot since December 2007.

The second season received promotional attention from then-presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain during the 2008 election.

In France, the series was retitled 'American Wives' when first broadcast on the Monégasque channel TMC in 2008.