Lead actor Adam Pålsson explained that setting the series in the present day rather than doing a straight prequel made more sense, as it allowed for the social commentary that is a strong element of Henning Mankell's original Wallander stories.

The choice to set Young Wallander in the modern day, rather than as a period prequel, was criticised in a number of reviews.

Although the story is set in Malmö, Sweden, the series was actually filmed in and around Vilnius, Lithuania.

Filming on the series was announced to have begun on 11 September 2019.

On Rotten Tomatoes, 64% of 14 critics' reviews for the first season were positive, with the consensus describing the show as 'dispiritingly unenlightening as a prequel and merely functional as a drama in its own right.'

The Telegraph's Chris Bennion gave the series just one star out of five, calling it 'surely the worst TV drama of the streaming era.'

The Guardian's Ellen E. Jones suggested a more traditional prequel set in 1970s Malmö—exploring the era of plane hijackings, radical politics, and ABBA's Eurovision win—might have made for a more interesting show.

The series was renewed for a second season, subtitled 'Killer's Shadow,' which premiered in February 2022, but there are no plans for a third series.