Wentworth was developed by Lara Radulovich and David Hannam as a contemporary reimagining of the 1979–1986 soap opera Prisoner, based on Reg Watson's original concept, and was explicitly stated by Foxtel not to be a straight remake.

The idea for an 'Underbelly-style remake of Prisoner' was first proposed by television critic Michael Idato, who subsequently became a series consultant, while Kerry Tucker acted as a consultant on authenticity.

It was initially reported that no original Prisoner cast members would appear in season one, but Anne Charleston, who had small roles in the original series, made a cameo as Liz Birdsworth's mother-in-law.

Sigrid Thornton, who had played Ros Coulson in the original Prisoner, joined Wentworth in season four not to reprise that role but to play a different Prisoner-based character, Sonia Stevens, originally portrayed by Tina Bursill; Bursill herself later joined Wentworth's eighth season as Eve Wilder, a role originally played by Lynda Stoner.

Several other Wentworth characters were reinterpretations of original Prisoner roles, including Leah Purcell as Rita Connors (originally Glenda Linscott) and Susie Porter as Marie Winter (originally Maggie Millar).

The first three seasons were filmed on a purpose-built set in the suburb of Clayton, Victoria, employing around 300 cast and crew, since Foxtel confirmed the show would not be shot at the original ATV-10 studios in Nunawading where Prisoner was filmed.

After season three, it was announced that the property used for filming had been sold and the set would be demolished, forcing production to find a new location; from season four onward, filming moved to Newport, Victoria.

Production on the second part of the final eighth season was suspended in March 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak, before filming resumed and wrapped on 4 September 2020.

The original instrumental theme was composed by rock musician Richard Pleasance; from season two, a lyrical version titled 'You Don't Know Me' was performed by the band Pleasantville with vocals by Pleasance's wife Michelle, before the lyrics were dropped again for the updated theme in season eight.

The first episode of Wentworth drew 244,000 viewers, making it the most watched Australian drama series premiere in Foxtel history, while its UK premiere attracted 1.67 million viewers, a 10.3% audience share.

Around 2016, Foxtel considered cancelling the show due to falling viewership caused by audiences illegally streaming new episodes via pirate websites shortly after the Australian premiere.