The series was written and created by Dominic Mitchell and began airing on BBC Three on 17 March 2013, with its first series consisting of three one-hour episodes.

In January 2015, BBC Three announced that In the Flesh would not be renewed for a third series due to budget cuts made ahead of the channel's final year as a linear broadcaster.

Although the show is set in the fictional village of Roarton, Lancashire, it was actually filmed in Marsden, West Yorkshire.

The series launched with 668,000 viewers for its first episode, the highest audience of all its episodes, before viewership declined to 392,000 for the second episode and rose slightly to 525,000 for the season finale.

In the Flesh won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Mini-Series in May 2014, and creator Dominic Mitchell won the BAFTA for Best Writer - Drama at the British Academy Television Craft Awards on 27 April 2014.

The series was also nominated for the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding TV Movie or Limited Series.

Critics frequently compared the show to previous BBC Three series The Fades and Being Human, and praised its premise as a fresh, reflective take on the zombie genre despite some early reservations about its use of familiar zombie tropes.