The series is based on Benjamin Woolley's book 'The King's Assassin' and was created by D. C. Moore, exploring the romance between James VI and I and George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham.

Julianne Moore was announced to lead the series as Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham, in October 2022, followed by Nicholas Galitzine joining in January 2023 to play her son George Villiers.

Principal photography began in England in January 2023, starting in London, with Oliver Hermanus serving as the lead director alongside Alex Winckler and Florian Cossen.

Knole in Kent was shut down for filming in late January and early February 2023, while Ham House in Richmond was used to represent a London palace from 22 to 26 May 2023.

Filming also took place at Old Hunstanton Beach in Norfolk in early June 2023.

The title sequence, created by Peter Anderson Studio, blends scenes from the drama depicted as Jacobean-era oil paintings with real period artworks, including Artemisia Gentileschi's 'Judith Slaying Holofernes' and Frans Snyders' 'Still Life with Dead Game, Fruits, and Vegetables'.

AMC Networks was originally set to distribute the series in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and India, but later dropped the project; Starz ultimately released it in the US and Canada while Foxtel picked it up for Australia.

The series received highly favorable reviews, holding a 96% positive score on Rotten Tomatoes from 49 reviews and a Metacritic score of 73/100, with The Guardian's Joel Golby awarding it 5 stars.