Thomas Kretschmann, who plays Van Helsing in the series, had previously played Dracula himself in the 2012 Italian horror film Dracula 3D.

The series originated from co-creator Cole Haddon's feature spec script Hyde, another monster reinvention that made it onto the Black List, which led to the Dracula project being born in February 2011.

Director Gore Verbinski was attached to the project at one point but ultimately passed on it before NBC bought the pilot script on September 27.

In 2023, co-creator Cole Haddon wrote a retrospective essay series titled The Horror of Dracula, revealing that an unidentified producer meddled with key creative decisions during development, nearly causing him to quit the show several times.

The essay series about the show's troubled production drew praise from other television professionals for its honesty, including showrunners Mickey Fisher and Steven S. DeKnight.

The series was filmed in Budapest rather than in the story's setting of Victorian London.

Prior to the series premiere, NBC released an animated web companion titled Dracula Rising, serving as a prequel depicting the titular character's origin story.

Despite receiving a straight-to-series order for ten episodes, the show was cancelled after just one season.