The BBC intended the series to be the Moi Claude empereur (1976) of the 1980s. However, it was poorly received and negatively compared to Retour au château (1981), which was broadcast concurrently on ITV. The Cleopatras (1983) was similarly unsuccessful.
Broadcast after the death of Simon Lack who has a featured role.
The series takes place from July 25, 1492 to March 12, 1507.
In TV Hell (1992), the creator Mark Shivas said that he had seen the series as "Dallas (1978): 1492".
Anne-Louise Lambert researched the life of Lucrezia Borgia, noting: "There is no evidence that she even knew about her family's plans to kill anybody. She was just a little nobleman's daughter who did as she was told".