The series was a critical and ratings success, eventually gaining a wide all ages audience through its non-condescending and inclusive approach. It has won numerous domestic and international awards and has been named among the greatest British children's television series of all time.
Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard, and Ben Willbond are a writing and acting team that also worked on Yonderland (2013), Bill (2015), and Ghosts (2019).
The creative team was largely recruited from the mainstream adult UK comedy scene. They took inspiration from such quintessentially British historical-comedy classics as Blackadder (1982) and the Monty Python films.
The TV show carries over the graphic style and much of the content of the Horrible Histories book series. It maintains the franchise's overall irreverent but accurate focus on the dark, gruesome or scatological aspects of British and other Western world history, spanning from the Stone Age to the post-World War II era. Individual historical eras or civilisations are defined and named as in the books, with sketches from several different time periods combined within a single episode. Live-action sketches-which often parody other UK media or celebrities-and music videos are intercut with animations and quizzes.
Original music plays a significant role in the show and its popularity; "Music from Horrible Histories" was chosen as the 2011 theme of the BBC Proms' annual children's concert.