The series is an adaptation by Catherine Moulton of the 2020 novel Playdate by Alex Dahl, and was originally titled Playdate during production before being renamed The Stolen Girl.

The project was announced in June 2023 as a five-part series commissioned by Disney+ UK, making it the platform's second original series after Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes.

It was produced by Quay Street Productions, part of ITV Studios, in collaboration with Brightstar.

Filming began in Manchester in June 2023 and also took place at Blackpool Airport, Cheadle Hulme School, and The Glass House in Fulwood Park, Liverpool.

The fictional town of Eyton in the series was actually filmed in the old mill town of Marsden, located in West Yorkshire.

The show was released on Disney+ internationally and on both Freeform and Hulu in the US on 16 April 2025, while its UK free-to-air broadcast on ITV1 didn't air until March 2026 during prime-time Wednesday slots.

In December 2025, Disney announced that The Stolen Girl was among the most-watched international original series released on Disney+ that year.

The Guardian's Lucy Mangan gave the series three stars, calling it an 'enjoyably preposterous thriller' that offers 'five hours of a pretty good time' despite being instantly forgettable.