The opening credits for each episode, as read first by executive producer Lou Scheimer (using his then uncredited pseudonym Erik Gunden), then by the voice of Terry Lester, who portrayed Jonah, summarized the show's backstory:

JONAH'S VOICE: Ark II Log, Entry #1: I, Jonah, Ruth, Samuel, and Adam are fully aware of the dangers we will face as we venture into unknown, maybe even hostile, areas. But we’re determined to bring the promise of a new civilization to our people and to our planet.

In "The Launch of Ark II", the documentary filmed for the release of the DVD set, Lou Scheimer and others mention that the program was filmed during the summer of 1976 predominantly on location at Paramount Ranch (what is now Malibu Creek State Park). The show had a racially mixed cast, starring Terry Lester as Ark II's commander Jonah, Jean Marie Hon as Ruth, José Flores as Samuel, and a chimpanzee playing Adam. The show's premise was inspired by the story of Noah's Ark, and the characters were given names taken from the Hebrew Bible. The show's setting was in the post-apocalyptic 25th century (specifically, 2476), after Earth's civilizations were decimated by the effects of waste and pollution, falling back to a level comparable to the Dark Ages. Surviving scientists pooled their knowledge and resources, training three young people (and the chimp, who was capable of speech) to search for remnants of humanity, reintroducing lost ideas as they traveled the barren landscape in the high-tech Ark II.

The series is best-remembered for its titular vehicle: a futuristic six-wheeled combination RV and mobile laboratory. The vehicle was built from a fiberglass body on a garbage/dump truck chassis by the Brubaker Group. It is sometimes incorrectly reported that the Ark II was built by Dean Jeffries, who constructed various fantastic vehicles for science-fiction films and television. These include the Landmaster for the film Damnation Alley, with which the Ark II is sometimes confused. The front end of the Ark II prop was later re-used as the nose portion of the Seeker spacecraft in the Filmation series Space Academy.

In addition, the series also featured futuristic inventions such as a jetpack called the Jet Jumper, and the Ark Roamer, a smaller, 4-wheeled all-terrain vehicle built by Brubaker from a modified Brubaker Box (a kit car using a Volkswagen Beetle chassis).

The series featured memorable guest stars, including Jonathan Harris, Malachi Throne, and Robby the Robot (as the title character built by Samuel in the episode "The Robot"). Also, a young Helen Hunt appears in the episode, "Omega." Actor Daniel Selby auditioned for the role of Samuel, but Jose Flores ended up winning the role.

BCI Eclipse LLC (Under license from Entertainment Rights) released Ark II: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 on November 7, 2006. The 4 disc set includes many special features. Episodes are presented in production order.

As of 2009, this release has been discontinued and is out of print as BCI Eclipse ceased operations.