The series was announced by Netflix on April 22, 2019 as a new Korean original production produced by Studio 329, with the main cast confirmed at the same time.

The show was written by Jin Han-sae, the son of famed screenwriter Song Ji-na.

Director Kim Jin-min cast his own wife, actress Kim Yeo-jin, to star in the series as a police officer investigating youth crime.

Filming took place mostly in Seoul and wrapped on August 6, 2019.

The series was released just months after South Korea's Nth room case scandal broke, and director Kim Jin-min said he felt he had to address such societal issues with depth and responsibility, hoping the show could open discussion on this uncomfortable reality.

On the day of release, some cast and crew members took part in a special live-streamed class on Netflix Korea's YouTube and V Live channels with South Korea's first criminal profiler Kwon Il-yong, criminologist Park Mi-rang, and Seo Min-soo from the Police Human Resources Development Institute, discussing the reality of youth crime.

Extracurricular ranked as the ninth most-watched South Korean series on Netflix in 2020.

Critic John Serba of Decider praised the show as 'good, funny stuff' despite finding the debut episode's near-miss ending not entirely satisfying, noting it wouldn't stop viewers from binging the series.