Toxic Town is based on the real-life 2009 Corby poisonings case and the subsequent environmental court case, which has been dubbed in some quarters as 'the British Erin Brockovich'.

Writer Jack Thorne said the series would focus on 'these funny, brave, incredible women and the way they scrapped for their children'.

The four-part series was commissioned by Netflix in August 2023 and is produced by Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones' production company Broke & Bones, with Minkie Spiro directing and Amy Trigg co-writing the third episode.

The main cast, including Jodie Whittaker, Aimee Lou Wood, Robert Carlyle, Rory Kinnear, Toby Eden, and Brendan Coyle, was confirmed in August 2023, with Claudia Jessie, Joe Dempsie, and Michael Socha joining the following month, and Lauren Lyle joining in December 2023.

Production began under an Equity union contract, which meant the show fell outside the scope of the 2023 actors' strike.

Principal photography started in September 2023, with filming taking place in several English locations including Breightmet in Bolton, Stockport, Runcorn (The Heath Business and Technical Park), Holmfirth, Liverpool, and Sale.

On Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 18 critics' reviews were positive with an average rating of 7.7/10, while Metacritic gave the series a score of 84 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating 'universal acclaim'.