The series is set at the Elite Way School, a prestigious private boarding high school near Mexico City (In Rebelde Way it was a middle school). The school's faculty and the parents often have their own subplots as well. One feature of the show is the random use of English words and phrases, commonly used by fresas.

One of the series' major plot lines revolves around a group of students forming a pop band. The actors, who play the members of this band, are also in a real band, abbreviated as RBD to distinguish it from the show. RBD performs most of the music used on the show, and has been extremely successful in its own right, becoming one of the highest-grossing acts in Mexico and touring internationally.

The term "rebelde" was item number eight on the 2006 Google Zeitgeist.

In the United States on Univision the show ended on December 15, 2006.