Development on the series began in June 2017 when Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, previously partners on Sherlock, reunited to write the episodes, with the BBC officially commissioning it in October 2018.

The writers deliberately made Dracula the hero and central character of his own story rather than a shadowy villain, aiming for an adaptation that was both faithful and faithless to the original novel, similar to their approach on Sherlock.

Claes Bang was cast as the title character in November 2018, with the rest of the main cast, including John Heffernan, Dolly Wells, Joanna Scanlan, Morfydd Clark and Lujza Richter, joining in February 2019.

Filming began on 4 March 2019 and wrapped on 1 August 2019, taking place at Orava Castle, Banská Štiavnica and Zuberec in Slovakia, as well as at Bray Studios in Berkshire.

Bray Studios, one of the filming locations, was historically the home base of Hammer Film Productions from the 1950s, the studio famed for its own classic Dracula horror films.

Writer Steven Moffat clarified that despite a scene implying Dracula and Harker have sex, the character should not be described as bisexual, joking that he is 'bi-homicidal' since he kills his victims rather than dating them, actually drinking their blood instead.

To promote the premiere, BBC Creative and Talon Outdoor built billboards in London and Birmingham with wooden stakes that cast the shadow of Dracula after sunset, accompanied by a case reading 'In case of vampires – break glass'; the campaign later won several advertising awards.

A companion documentary, In Search of Dracula, featuring Mark Gatiss exploring the legacy of the Count, aired on BBC Two on 3 January 2020 alongside the drama series.