The series is based on the book series of the same name by L. J. Smith, who announced in October 2010 that the CW had optioned it for television.

Kevin Williamson, creator of Dawson's Creek and co-creator of The Vampire Diaries, was attached to the project and worked on an original script written by Andrew Miller, sharing writing credit with him; Williamson put on hold another Vampire Diaries companion series he was directing in order to focus on The Secret Circle.

Liz Friedlander, who also directed episodes of The Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars, 90210 and One Tree Hill, was booked to direct the pilot.

The pilot received mixed reviews, scoring 55 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 20 critics, though critics praised director Liz Friedlander's visual style and the cast's performances.

Phoebe Tonkin's performance was particularly well received, earning her a spot on Variety's list of new faces to watch and a nod as one of E! Online's Breakout TV Stars of 2011.

Despite being the CW's third-highest rated show, the series was canceled in May 2012, with declining ratings in the second half of the season and the high costs of special effects and location shooting cited as reasons.

After cancellation, fans launched a formal campaign called 'Save The Circle,' which included letter-writing efforts targeting the CW, MTV, ABC Family, and Syfy, as well as donations to the Make-A-Wish Foundation in MTV's name that raised over $7,000.

A fan campaign aimed at ABC Family asked supporters to fund the delivery of 325,000 golden plastic coins to the network's headquarters, symbolizing a 'cloaking coin' from the episode 'Traitor' and representing the idea that the CW had 'cloaked' the show by canceling it.