The series is a British ITV adaptation of Georges Simenon's novels featuring detective Jules Maigret, with the title role played by Rowan Atkinson, known primarily for comedic roles.

Rowan Atkinson said he had been a devourer of the Maigret novels for many years and was excited to play such an intriguing character working in Paris during a fascinating period of its history.

Although the story is set in 1950s Paris, filming for the series mainly took place on location in Budapest and Szentendre, Hungary, which stood in for the French capital.

The first episode aired on 28 March 2016, while the second episode did not air until Christmas Day, 2016, several months later.

After the popularity of the first episode, ITV commissioned two further episodes as a second series before the second episode had even aired, with production taking place between November 2016 and February 2017.

Despite the initial popularity leading to a second series, it was reported in 2018 that the series had been cancelled after only four episodes total.

The series eventually premiered in the United States on 31 August 2019 on the Ovation network.