Author C.J. Sansom granted the rights to his first Matthew Shardlake novel, Dissolution, to producer Stevie Lee in 2003, who initially planned to make a film starring Kenneth Branagh.

In 2007 the BBC optioned the novels with Branagh still attached, but the broadcaster prioritised its production of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall instead, and Branagh moved on to Wallander; later talks with ITV also did not lead to a production.

In January 2023, Disney+ finally greenlit the adaptation, produced by The Forge (part of Banijay), as a four-episode series directed by Justin Chadwick from a script by Stephen Butchard.

Author C.J. Sansom died on 27 April 2024, just four days before the series premiered on Disney+.

Principal photography began by March 2023 with filming taking place across Hungary, Romania and Austria.

For the monastery setting, the production used Hunedoara Castle in Transylvania, Romania, and Kreuzenstein Castle outside Vienna, Austria.

The series was cancelled after just one season in January 2025.

The series received generally favorable reviews, holding a 79% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 70 out of 100.