Pistol was created by Craig Pearce and given a six-episode order from FX in January 2021, with Danny Boyle set to direct all six episodes.

Toby Wallace was cast to play Steve Jones, with Maisie Williams among the supporting cast, and Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Talulah Riley, and Iris Law joined the cast in March as filming began.

Some filming for the series took place in Hemel Hempstead.

Production designer Kave Quinn studied Julien Temple's documentary The Filth and the Fury and Andrew Marr's BBC docuseries The Making of Modern Britain to accurately portray 1970s London.

Director Danny Boyle let actors run through scenes and entire performances without using a traditional shot list, matching the energy of punk through techniques like split-screen editing, flashbacks, archival footage, freeze-frames, gaudy dreamscapes and slow-motion.

All concert footage and musical scenes were recorded live without overdubbing or studio effects, with the actors playing the Sex Pistols and Chrissie Hynde performing their own instruments and vocals.

Actors Toby Wallace (Jones), Jacob Slater (Cook) and Sydney Chandler (Hynde) were able to meet their real-life counterparts to prepare, while Anson Boon could not meet John Lydon due to his disavowal of the project, so he studied Rotten's stage presence and read his books instead.

John Lydon publicly criticized the series as 'the most disrespectful shit I've ever had to endure,' while former bandmates Steve Jones and Paul Cook sued him to allow Sex Pistols music to be used in the show; Lydon lost the legal battle in August 2021.

Bassist Glen Matlock said he was disappointed with his portrayal in the series, disputing the depiction of his departure from the band as being fired rather than leaving voluntarily.