The Following originated from a draft outline Kevin Williamson wrote for Scream 3 after being approached by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in 1999; when the studio hired another writer to focus on comedy and reduce violence in the aftermath of the Columbine High School massacre, Williamson's notes were largely discarded.

Williamson later reworked his discarded Scream 3 draft into a television pitch, stripping out all references to the Scream franchise, and it became the basis for The Following.

Williamson chose to pitch the show to Fox specifically because it was the home of his favorite series, 24, and he conceived protagonist Ryan Hardy as a character comparable to Jack Bauer who 'will die saving the moment.'

Kevin Bacon was cast as Ryan Hardy after Williamson told his agent he wanted 'a tough guy with a boyish side' like Bacon, only to learn that Bacon had spent four years searching for a TV project he wanted to do.

Jeananne Goossen originally played FBI agent Jennifer Mason in the pilot episode, but the character was reworked and replaced in later episodes by Agent Debra Parker, played by Annie Parisse.

The lighthouse scenes in the first season finale were filmed at the real Fire Island Lighthouse in Fire Island, New York.

To get violent scenes past Fox's Standards and Practices department, Williamson used tactics like sending a direct email to Fox Entertainment chairman Kevin Reilly, after which approval for graphic content came within 15 minutes.

The series premiere was watched by a total of 20.34 million viewers when including other digital sources.