Eric Stoltz received the Caprica script while filming another movie and left it unread in his hotel room for several days; when a maid, secretly paid off by a Battlestar Galactica fan, stole it, he realized how passionate the fandom was and decided to finally read it.

Paula Malcomson originally auditioned for the role of Sister Clarice Willow, but director Jeffrey Reiner felt she would be better suited to play Amanda Graystone instead.

Sasha Roiz's role as Sam Adama was upgraded to full series regular on April 28, 2009.

The idea for Caprica originated during Battlestar Galactica's second season when Ronald D. Moore and David Eick began speculating about the universe before the Cylons existed, but it stayed in concept stage until screenwriter Remi Aubuchon, unaware of their idea, pitched an unrelated artificial intelligence film to Universal Pictures in 2006, which was then merged with Moore and Eick's prequel concept.

Ronald D. Moore deliberately designed Caprica to avoid repeating Battlestar Galactica's formula, shifting from a 'war in space' setting to an urban, corporate and family drama akin to a Greek tragedy, partly to attract viewers beyond Galactica's predominantly male audience.

Moore compared Caprica's tone to the 1980s prime-time soap opera Dallas, focusing on wealth, corporate intrigue, and conflict between two families rather than space warfare.

The series was filmed in and around Vancouver, with landmarks like Yaletown, the Vancouver Public Library, and SkyTrain's Granville Station standing in for Caprica City; the SkyTrain signage was rebadged with the same font but relabeled 'Caprica City'.

To enhance the futuristic look of Caprica City, several real Dubai skyscrapers, including the Emirates Towers and Khalifa Tower, along with the Dubai Metro, were digitally added into the Vancouver footage.

The Pyramid sports match scene used the same navy and green color scheme as Vancouver's real hockey team, the Canucks, for Caprica's fictional Buccaneers, and was likely filmed at Rogers Arena.

For the 'Little Tauron' neighborhood scenes filmed in Vancouver's Chinatown, some shop signs were changed to ancient and modern Greek (used as the Tauron language) while others kept their original Chinese lettering.

Todd Fancey, a longtime member of the indie band The New Pornographers, composed 'V-Club,' the rhythm-driven theme used for club scenes, which was prominently featured in the series' first preview clip.

Syfy canceled Caprica on October 27, 2010 due to low ratings and pulled the final five episodes from its broadcast schedule, though they continued airing as planned on Space in Canada and later aired in the U.S. in a burn-off marathon on January 4, 2011.