How In The Hell Did 'Lexx' Ever Get Made?

It was 20 freaking years ago almost, but that show was so fucking weird and tacky that it is a mystery beyond even that of Donald Trump how the fuck that thing got made.  Was it really that cheap to produce?  Were the Canadians and the Krauts that hard up for entertainment?  In the USA that show was on with Farscape and that might have been the high point of American basic cable until the Trump candidacy.