Central Park was originally developed by 20th Television for Fox Broadcasting Company, but after Fox passed on the project and Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox loomed, 20th Century Fox Television shopped it around, sparking a bidding war between Apple, Netflix, and Hulu.

On March 12, 2018, Apple gave the show a straight-to-series order for two seasons totaling twenty-six episodes, before it had even aired a single episode.

Kristen Bell, who is white, originally voiced the biracial protagonist Molly Tillerman in season one; in June 2020 she announced she would step down from the role so it could be recast with a person of color.

Creator Loren Bouchard initially defended casting Bell as Molly at a January 2020 TCA panel, saying they couldn't make Molly white or Bell mixed race, but he later apologized for that statement in June 2020.

Emmy Raver-Lampman was cast in July 2020 to take over the role of Molly Tillerman from Kristen Bell.

Kristen Bell returned to the series in season three, but in a new role as Abby Hunter, Paige's sister, rather than reprising Molly.

The first season alone features 46 original songs, with about four musical numbers per episode; Josh Gad joked he had to 'beg, plead and barter to get four songs an episode.'

Songwriters for the show included high-profile names such as Fiona Apple, Meghan Trainor, Cyndi Lauper, Alan Menken, Darren Criss, Sara Bareilles, Rufus Wainwright, and They Might Be Giants.

Songwriter Elyssa Samsel, who co-wrote music for the first two episodes, also plays the violin for character Birdie's solos.

The first season holds a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 47 reviews and a Metacritic score of 81, indicating universal acclaim, while the second season scored even higher with a 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating.