Development On November 7, 2018, it was announced that
the CW was developing a
reboot of the
2004 series The 4400. Taylor Elmore and Craig Sweeney were attached to develop, co-write, and serve as executive producers of the pilot under their overall deals with
CBS Studios, with Elmore also announced as the potential
showrunner. The project was subsequently moved to the next season's development cycle on February 8, 2019, with the project being redeveloped for the 2020–21 television season as it was reported that scripts were not ready in time. On February 9, 2021, it was announced that the project had been given a straight-to-series order. The new iteration was developed by Ariana Jackson. Jackson and
Anna Fricke were attached to serve as executive producers on the series alongside Laura Terry. It was also announced that Jackson would write the series. On March 19, 2021, it was announced that Erica Watson was attached to direct the
pilot episode of the series. On June 15, 2021, it was announced that the series was scheduled to premiere on October 25, 2021. In November 2021, it was reported that
Scott Peters, the original series co-creator, would direct the twelfth episode.
Casting On March 30, 2021, Joseph David-Jones and Khailah Johnson were cast in main roles. On April 7, 2021,
Brittany Adebumola, Jaye Ladymore, and Amarr Wooten joined the main cast. On May 24, 2021, TL Thompson, Cory Jeacoma, Ireon Roach, Derrick A. King, and Autumn Best were added to the main cast. On October 14, 2021,
Kausar Mohammed, Wilder Yari, and
Theo Germaine joined the cast in recurring roles. On November 22, 2021,
Patrick John Flueger, who starred in the original series, was cast to guest star in the twelfth episode.
Filming Filming on the first episode began on June 7, 2021, and was expected to last until June 24. The rest of the series was scheduled to be filmed from July 26 to December 7.
Principal photography for the series took place in
Chicago. ==Reception==