AMC greenlit the series after the success of The Walking Dead, ordering 10 episodes in March 2016 based on Dan Simmons's novel The Terror, a fictionalized account of the real lost Franklin expedition of 1845-1848.

The show is an anthology, with each season telling a stand-alone story with a different cast and mostly different crew, set in a unique historical backdrop featuring supernatural elements.

For the first season, showrunners specifically sought an Inuk woman between 16 and 30 years old to play Lady Silence, a major character.

George Takei, who plays community elder Yamato-san in season two, also served in a consulting role to ensure the historical accuracy of the Japanese American internment camp storyline.

Most of the scenes depicting the ice in the first season were created using CGI rather than practical sets.

A third season was under discussion as early as January 2020, when AMC president Sarah Barnett expressed interest in renewing the show, though it wasn't officially announced until February 2024.

The third season, subtitled Devil in Silver, is based on Victor LaValle's 2012 novel of the same name, with LaValle co-writing the season alongside Chris Cantwell.

Production on the second season, Infamy, began on January 14, 2019, in Vancouver, with Josef Kubota Wladyka directing the first two episodes.