The series is based on the Gimlet Media podcast of the same name, marking it as one of the notable podcast-to-television adaptations.

Universal Cable Productions won the rights to the podcast for Sam Esmail to develop, reportedly outbidding several other interested parties, including Sony Pictures Television (with Michelle MacLaren), 20th Century Fox Television (with Matt Reeves and Michael De Luca), and TriStar Pictures, which had considered a feature film version with George Clooney's Smoke House Pictures banner.

Amazon Video gave the production a two-season straight-to-series order in July 2017 before a single episode had aired.

Julia Roberts was cast in her first leading TV role as Heidi Bergman, and while she remained an executive producer for season two, she did not reprise her role since the second season featured a new story and characters.

Sam Esmail directed every episode of the first season, but did not direct any episodes of the second season, which was instead helmed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez.

Principal photography began in February 2018 at the Universal Studios backlot in Los Angeles, making Homecoming the first project to shoot in Universal's newly constructed production facilities.

Exteriors of the Homecoming facility, along with interior shots of the facility lobby and Geist headquarters, were filmed at the former corporate headquarters of Toyota in Torrance, California.

The series held its world premiere at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, where the first four episodes screened as part of the festival's Primetime series.

Season one earned widespread critical acclaim with a 98% Rotten Tomatoes rating, while season two received more mixed reviews with a 60% rating, with critics noting it struggled to escape the shadow of the first season.