Total Drama Action was created by the same team behind the Teletoon series 6teen, and unlike previous seasons, Teletoon did not air new episodes of it every week.

The premise for the season stems from a 14-way tie in the previous competition, prompting host Chris McLean to invite all 14 tied contestants back for a new season set at an abandoned movie studio lot in Toronto, Ontario, with challenges themed around movie genres.

The confessional outhouse from Total Drama Island was replaced by a makeup trailer for this season, reflecting the movie studio setting.

The competition included a storyline where contestant Izzy was reinstated after a voting irregularity involving her alter-ego 'E-Scope,' and later Courtney was added to the game after successfully suing the show for not originally qualifying.

As with Total Drama Island, two alternate endings were produced for the finale, each showing a different finalist (Duncan or Beth) as the winner, and viewers were prompted to vote for their preferred ending on the show's website.

The winner shown differs by country: Duncan is depicted as the winner in Canada, Denmark, Latin America, Norway, the Philippines, and the United States, while Beth is shown as the winner in Australia, Brazil, the UK, and many other countries.

Unlike Total Drama Island, the alternate ending for Total Drama Action was made available as a webcast on the show's website immediately after the finale aired.

Total Drama Action received generally positive reviews and a 7.6 rating on Metacritic from fans, though critics generally felt it did not live up to its predecessor, Total Drama Island, while praising its character development for previously minor characters.

Total Drama Action has only been officially released on DVD in Australia, with the first half released in November 2011 and the second half in July 2012.