Netflix and Shondaland acquired the rights to Anna Sorokin's life story and to Jessica Pressler's New York magazine article 'How Anna Delvey Tricked New York's Party People' in June 2018, with Shonda Rhimes attached as producer and writer alongside Betsy Beers.

Anna Sorokin was reportedly paid $320,000 for the rights to her story, money she used to pay restitution and legal fees.

Madeline Brewer was originally set to portray the title role of Anna Delvey but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts, leading to Julia Garner being cast instead.

Jennifer Esposito joined the cast in February 2020 to play the role of Talia, but she never actually appeared in the finished series; the part was ultimately played by Marika Dominczyk.

Principal photography began in October 2019 in New York and Los Angeles, with David Frankel directing and executive producing the first two episodes.

The series holds a 64% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 57/100 score on Metacritic, with critics praising Julia Garner's performance while criticizing the show's inconsistent tone.

Vogue critic Hayley Maitland pointed out that the series identified real person Rachel Deloache Williams by her full name, real employer, apartment location and alma mater, while depicting several fabricated details about her that did not match real events.

According to Samba TV, 1.6 million US households watched the series within its first four days of streaming, and it became one of Netflix's most-watched English-language series ever, racking up 511.92 million hours viewed in its first 28 days.