It focuses on Sister Bertrille, a young, idealistic novice nun who discovers she can fly, whose order teaches largely underprivileged and orphaned children and assists the poor of a diverse Hispanic community (a rare setting for American network television of the era).

In the hour-long series pilot, Chicago native Elsie Ethrington arrives in San Juan from New York City after her arrest for having been involved in a free speech protest; she then adopts the name of Sister Bertrille.

On other such series of the period, there were elaborate, often frantic attempts to hide and keep secret the special powers, a constant dilemma on Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie and My Favorite Martian.

One memorable episode (without a laugh track) featured only two actors, Sally Field and actor/director Henry Jaglom, trapped in a cave, in an often-bitter exchange.

Field recalled hanging from a crane and being humiliated by a parade of episodic television directors, one of whom grabbed her shoulders and moved her into position as if she were a prop.

[4] Field commented that she has great affection for her young Gidget persona and was proud of her work on that show, but confirmed she did not enjoy her time on The Flying Nun, due to regular jokes from comedians, unflattering spoofs, and negative press that ridiculed the premise, which she took to mean herself.

In an effort to prevent religious criticism, the National Catholic Office for Radio and Television (NCORT) served as a series adviser, with on-screen credit.

Due to the generally positive portrayal of the nuns' religious and social activities, the series was rarely criticized by Catholic authorities and was favorably received by many.

The San Juan convent courtyard exterior was the rear area of a house façade at the Warner Brothers Ranch's suburban street/backlot in Burbank, California, along Hollywood Way north of West Oak Street.

[7] The series changed comedic gears in its second season with more slapstick and broad humor, focusing on bungling police Captain Gaspar Fomento (played by Vito Scotti) as well as occasional incongruous flying scenes for Field.

Under the supervision of Lester Sill, several foremost composers of the era contributed to series, including Carole Bayer Sager, Howard Greenfield, Jack Keller, Ernie Freeman and Dominic Frontiere.

In addition to the album, two additional singles were released by Colgems Records: the soundtrack of Sally Field, Marge Redmond and Madeleine Sherwood of Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley's "Gonna Build a Mountain" from the second season episode "Sister Socko in San Tanco" and Sally Field singing "Golden Days", a song not heard on the series.

In 1968, Abbe Lane guest starred in the second season episode "The Organ Transplant" and performed "The Look of Love" from the feature film Casino Royale (1967).

During its first two seasons, The Flying Nun aired on Thursday nights at 8:00pm EST, where the series competed in the ratings with Daniel Boone on NBC and Cimarron Strip on CBS.

Despite the show being an easy target for critics, Marge Redmond was nominated for an Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Sister Jacqueline during the 1967–68 season.

[27] On August 27, 2013, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment had acquired the rights to various television series from the Sony Pictures library, including The Flying Nun.