It is based on author Kerry Greenwood's historical mystery novels, and it was created by Deb Cox and Fiona Eagger.
The series revolves around the personal and professional life of Phryne Fisher (Essie Davis), a glamorous private detective in 1920s Melbourne.
Three series have been broadcast, and a feature film titled Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears was released in February 2020.
"[9] Cox and Eagger then came across Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher murder mystery series and were drawn to them because of their diverse fan base.
"[10] Cox and Eagger realised that the novels reflected their moral values and fit in with their style of storytelling, so they began adapting them.
Cox and Eagger initially thought adapting novels would be easier than writing an original screenplay, but soon discovered that it was not.
[9] Speaking to Andrew Wrathall from Fancygoods.com.au, Cox stated, "It takes a whole new set of skills to preserve what's most important in the stories, rationalise the impossible, gather what's left into a cohesive whole and still reflect the boundless worlds of imagination encouraged in the readers' minds by a few hundred words on paper—in a way that's achievable in production terms!
[9] Greenwood was invited to the first brainstorming session for the series and provided the producers with answers to their questions and helped with the historical background to the novels.
On 6 August 2012, Michael Idato from The Sydney Morning Herald said that the ABC had commissioned a second series of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.
The first series proved an instant hit with viewers and Every Cloud Productions has again assembled a stellar cast and team for 13 more exciting, intriguing, and unpredictable mystery stories.
"[1]The second series is based on Greenwood's novels Dead Man's Chest, Unnatural Habits and various short stories.
[18] Colin Vickery, writing for news.com.au, reported that another reason Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries had not been green-lit for a third series was due to ABC wanting to attract a younger audience.
[20][22] Eagger told If Magazine's Emily Blatchford that all of the cast would be returning, and admitted that the writers wanted to add some magic to the series and include an episode set in the military.
Eagger added "It's a tough time for the ABC so we are thrilled they are able to bring us back, and to have that support from Film Victoria as well.
[24] She told ABC's Darren Smith that she loves the 20s and 30s and thought the opportunity to work on a show in her hometown (Melbourne) was "fantastic.
[24] The team, Mandy Murphy and Gareth Blaha, the head of the ABC's Costume Department, along with two milliners, made some of the hats.
[24] Boyce and her team created around 120 costumes for the series, including sleepwear, daywear, nightwear and special-occasion outfits.
[24] Cox told Alexandra Spring from Vogue Australia that some of the costumes were sourced from eBay and vintage shops.
[12] Cox said "Once you go back to the 1920s, things have either deteriorated or they are too small because the women were smaller, so it means a lot of it has to be made from scratch.
[25] The UKTV network acquired the broadcasting rights to Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries in the United Kingdom in September 2012.
[26] French broadcaster France 3 acquired Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries in January 2013, while Alibi and the Knowledge Network renewed their deals to air Series 2.
[27] Alex Farber of Broadcast reported that Norway's TVNorge, Poland's Canal+, and Eastern Europe's Viasat networks had also picked up the show.
[29] Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries premiered in the United States on PBS in 2013[30] with further stations broadcasting the series in the Autumn,[31] and others more in 2014.
[32][33][34] Miss Fisher Uncovered, a behind-the-scenes special for American audiences featuring interviews with cast and crew, and author Kerry Greenwood, was broadcast in the U.S. in August 2015.
In the episode "Murder in Montparnasse," Miss Fisher had posed for a full frontal nude painting as a young woman.
[38][39] Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries - OST, a CD collection featuring various artists used as music on the show, was released in Australia by ABC Commercial on 27 April 2012.
[63] On 15 December 2017, an additional ongoing crowdfunding campaign was begun through IndieGoGo in order to allow fans to continue supporting the effort.
Joel Jackson is Detective James Steed, while Catherine McClements portrays "Birdie, an ex-member of WW2 Special Forces who is the president and mastermind of The Adventuresses’ club".
While reviewing the first episode, David Brown from the Radio Times commented "Just when you thought that all variations of the amateur-detective genre had been explored, along comes Miss Phryne Fisher, who sashays through the jazz clubs of late 1920s Ballarat, tackling villains with her pearl-handled pistol.
The plot's hardly revolutionary, but it is worth watching for lead actress Essie Davis, with her sleek bob and killer cheekbones, who runs bad guys to ground with both wit and raunch.