The show was created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock after NBC executives asked them to develop a series specifically for Ellie Kemper, having noticed both an 'innocence' and a 'strength' in her face.

An early concept had Kemper's character waking up from a coma, but this idea was scrapped in favor of the cult survivor storyline that became the show's premise.

Ellie Kemper has said her inspiration for portraying Kimmy Schmidt was the real-life recovery of kidnapping survivor Elizabeth Smart.

The series was originally developed for NBC under the working title 'Tooken' before NBC sold it to Netflix, partly because the network reportedly lacked confidence in airing comedies.

Megan Dodds was originally cast as Jacqueline Voorhees before being replaced by Jane Krakowski.

The show's theme song 'Unbreakable' was produced by The Gregory Brothers and written by Jeff Richmond as a tribute to the Brothers' YouTube series Songify the News, specifically parodying the mannerisms of Antoine Dodson from the viral 'Bed Intruder Song'.

The show's opening title artwork was created by a team at design studio Pentagram that included feminist artist Deva Pardue.

Despite widespread critical acclaim, the show faced backlash over its portrayal of Native Americans and a Vietnamese character, with Vulture and BuzzFeed criticizing a Native American subplot as offensive and poorly handled; Tina Fey responded by declining to apologize, saying she was 'opting out' of a culture that demands apologies.