The series is based on the Boom! Studios graphic novel Butterfly, created by Arash Amel and written by Marguerite Bennett, whose first issue was published in September 2014.

As early as 2013, Amel and Stephen Christy explored a TV adaptation with a French studio, which envisioned setting the story in France with two American leads shot in Europe; the option later expired without production.

In 2016, the project was optioned to a UK broadcaster with a pilot set in London and Dark co-creator Baran bo Odar attached to direct, but a major restructuring at the broadcaster in 2018 caused the rights to revert.

In 2019, Christy pitched the comic to Daniel Dae Kim, who changed the original American/European setting to South Korea with an international cast in order to explore Asian American themes.

It took six years from the first meeting with Amazon Studios in 2019 to the show's 2025 premiere, with the writing process interrupted by the six-month 2023 writers' strike.

Daniel Dae Kim was originally not meant to star in the series, only produce it; once he signed on to act, the show's focus shifted from being centered solely on Rebecca to being equally focused on Rebecca and David.

In a 2025 interview, Daniel Dae Kim criticized strict nationality-based casting for Asian roles in Hollywood as an 'overcorrection,' arguing that ethnic-based limitations shouldn't apply to a broad Asian American experience, and noting this scrutiny isn't as common for other ethnicities.

Filming took place entirely on location in South Korea across 20 cities, primarily Seoul with additional scenes in Busan and Andong, from February to June 2024.

Aside from the American director, director of photography, and camera operator, the entire production crew was Korean.

The production worked with local film commissions to film a major fight scene inside an active train station.

Daniel Dae Kim performed all of his own stunts except for one sequence involving his character rappelling down from a rooftop.

The soundtrack was produced by Michael Giacchino and composed by Curtis Green and Min He, with Green composing the series' main title theme.

Despite reaching #1 on Amazon's US top 10 chart, #2 on Amazon's global top 10 chart, and #6 on the Nielsen US TV chart in its debut week, Amazon canceled Butterfly after just one season in October 2025, ending on a cliffhanger.