The series was developed by Leah Remini following the 2015 publication of her memoir Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, after several former Scientologists contacted her in the wake of the book's release.

Remini shot a teaser based on the story of one family and approached producers for backing, reportedly telling Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman: 'Don't be pussies. If you're going to be pussies, you're not the right producers for this.'

Producer Eli Holzman said he and Aaron Saidman huddled after Remini's challenge and asked themselves, 'Are we pussies?', deciding they were not and taking on the project.

The first season was mostly filmed over the summer of 2016, and an extra 'Ask Me Anything' episode was filmed in just one week in reaction to the ratings success of the opening episode.

As pre-broadcast publicity, Remini hosted a Reddit 'Ask Me Anything' that received nearly 20,000 comments, prompting two similarly themed special episodes to be added to the schedule.

The Church of Scientology issued a 530-word statement attacking Remini before broadcast, created a website to discredit the series, and had its lawyers try to force A&E to abandon the planned broadcast.

When Remini appeared on Conan to promote the show, the Church sent host Conan O'Brien a personal letter seeking to discredit her, something O'Brien said had never happened before in his 24 years of hosting late-night talk shows.

The show's premiere drew 2.1 million viewers, A&E's best premiere since Big Smo in 2014, and substantially exceeded the 1.65 million who watched the premiere of HBO's Going Clear in March 2015.

An Indian Scientologist started a Change.org petition calling on A&E to cancel the show, while the Church-linked group Scientologists Taking Action Against Discrimination (STAND) circulated letters urging advertisers to disown the series.