The season was produced by Fresh TV in association with the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network[2] and distributed by Cake Entertainment.

[5] In Canada, the first part premiered on Teletoon during their "Can't Miss Thursdays" time slot starting January 9, 2014,[6][7] while the second part of the season also premiered during their "Can't Miss Thursdays" time slot on Teletoon starting on September 4, 2014.

[3] Therefore, this part of the season takes place back at Camp Wawanakwa; in a single location once again, unlike Total Drama World Tour.

This half is an all-star season which features a return of fourteen contestants from both the first and second generation cast.

The theme for the season is "Heroes vs. Villains", meaning that competitors are separated into teams based on their past performance.

Cartoon Network's official synopsis describes the first part, Total Drama All-Stars as: Total Drama is back, but this time the team at Fresh TV have assembled the best loved and most hated contestants from seasons past to compete – Heroes vs. Villains style!

[14] This part features an entire new cast considered as the third generation of Total Drama characters and takes place at a brand new island, due to Camp Wawanakwa sinking into the ocean in the season finale of All Stars.

[16] Total Drama: Pahkitew Island was sponsored by the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, who helped with the Cree translations for the team names and various season references.

Given that the Cree word for "explode" is Pahkitew, it's no wonder that host Chris McLean chose this new island to put a fresh collection of victims – er, contestants – through the most grueling challenges yet.

Once again teen freaks, geeks, egos, and cowards smash, crash, and bash their way through the season with one goal in mind: winning that one million dollar prize.

For Total Drama All-Stars, the original island used in the first season is featured, where the producers say it is located somewhere in Muskoka, Ontario.

On January 28, 2013, Cartoon Network confirmed that the new season title will be Total Drama All-Stars for Part 1.

[13] Two days later on January 30, both Christian Potenza and Drew Nelson confirmed the title for Episode 4 which is "Food Fright".

[7] On August 19, 2013, Cartoon Network released the first official trailer for Total Drama All-Stars along with a new website that reveals all the characters.

Lindsay and Jo's eliminations were leaked via episode scripts and trailers before the season started airing.

[64] Scarlett's final design along with one second of the fully animated first episode was also leaked on Instagram by her Venezuelan Spanish voice actor.

[85] On March 21, 2014, the entire cast design was revealed by Fresh TV along with new promotions for the season.

On June 16, Cartoon Network posted the Pahkitew Island website, along with the audition tapes for Sugar, Samey, Amy, Leonard, and Max.

[15] On June 23, the audition tapes of Beardo, Rodney, Ella, Topher, and Dave were released.

[93] Total Drama All-Stars was the #1 telecast on Cartoon Network with the highest ratings for the week of the season premiere.

However, there was some criticism regarding the stereotypes of the new cast, with many criticising the new contestants for being unrealistic and, as with All-Stars, for the lack of closure to certain character arcs in-tandem with Chris McLean's aforementioned derailment.

[96] The finale of All-Stars gained some infamy when it broadcast due to the sequence showing the eliminated contestants in balloons floating towards the sun and Alejandro and Heather being chased by Fang, causing audiences to believe that they were being killed off from Total Drama.