The miniseries is adapted from the 1991 biography Simply Halston by Steven Gaines, and was first put into development by Legendary Television and Killer Films in January 2019 with Daniel Minahan directing and Sharr White writing.

Ryan Murphy revealed in September 2019 that he had joined the project as an executive producer and that Netflix had ordered the series under his overall deal with the streaming platform.

Ewan McGregor was attached to star as fashion designer Halston from the earliest development stage of the project in January 2019.

Ryan Murphy announced most of the supporting cast, including Krysta Rodriguez as Liza Minnelli and Rory Culkin as Joel Schumacher, via an Instagram post in February 2020 that was later deleted.

The series received mixed reviews, holding a 67% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 54 critics and a Metacritic score of 50 out of 100 based on 20 reviews.

Critics praised Ewan McGregor's charismatic performance and the show's vibrant recreation of the fashion era, but felt the treatment of Halston's inner life was superficial.