L.A.'s Finest is a spin-off of the Bad Boys film franchise, built around Gabrielle Union reprising her role as Sydney 'Syd' Burnett, a character she originated in Bad Boys II (2003).

The project was originally developed at NBC, which gave it a pilot production commitment and then an official drama pilot order in early 2018, but NBC ultimately passed on the pilot in May 2018 and declined to pick it up to series.

After NBC passed, Sony Pictures Television negotiated with Charter Communications, which gave the show a series order for Spectrum, making L.A.'s Finest the first original scripted television series produced by the Spectrum cable provider under its new Spectrum Originals banner.

The character Marcus Burnett, Syd's brother from the Bad Boys films (played by Martin Lawrence), appears in a younger version portrayed by Krystian Alexander Lyttle in a guest appearance.

Principal photography on the pilot began in early April 2018 in Los Angeles, California.

On February 21, 2019, showrunner and executive producer Brandon Sonnier was seriously injured during the filming of a car stunt at the Port of Los Angeles when the vehicle accidentally crashed into the video village area of the set, resulting in a partial amputation of his right leg; co-creator Brandon Margolis sustained minor injuries in the same incident.

The premiere of the second season, originally set for June 8, 2020, was postponed to a later unspecified date in response to the ongoing protests over police brutality that year, before eventually being scheduled for September 9, 2020.

The series holds a low approval rating of 24% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 17 reviews and was ranked 9th on TVLine's list of The 10 Worst Shows of 2019.