Thereza Falcão and Alessandro Marson started to develop the synopsis of the telenovela in September 2017 while still working on
Novo Mundo. In December of that year it was revealed that the new telenovela would be a continuation of the previous plot and that it would continue to be centered in Imperialist Brazil, but taking place 40 years after the closure of
Novo Mundo, addressing the period when
Dom Pedro II, Emperor of Brazil was in power. The synopsis was approved in May 2018. Initially
Nos Tempos do Imperador would debut in September 2019, replacing
Órfãos da Terra. In January of that year, however, it was announced that production had switched places with
Éramos Seis, who would be its replacement, and would now premiere in the first half of 2020, since production faced difficulties in adapting the historical facts to the plot. Filming began in January 2020, using
Chapada Diamantina, in Bahia, and cities in the interior of
Rio de Janeiro,
Barra do Piraí,
Rio das Flores and
Petrópolis, known as "City of Dom Pedro II", because it is one of the cities where the emperor had lived, including the former
Imperial Palace. The city scenery was designed by scenographers Paula Salles and Paulo Renato and built in an area of 8,200 square meters, reproducing places in Rio de Janeiro such as
Valongo Wharf, Rua do Ouvidor,
Passeio Público and the old neighborhood of Pequena África, beyond the interior of the palace and houses. Most sets were reused from
Novo Mundo. On 16 March 2020, it was announced that filming of the telenovela was suspended indefinitely due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. The premiere was postponed as well as it was originally scheduled to premiere on 30 March 2020.
Casting Emilio Dantas was the first name confirmed as the protagonist Dom Pedro II, but he was replaced by Selton Mello, who accepted the invitation to join the plot, as the network tried to convince him to return to telenovelas after two decades ago. Although he claimed that he would never return to telenovelas and focused on his career in cinema, Selton decided to accept the invitation because he was interested in the imperialist theme, this being his first telenovela in twenty-one years, since
Força de um Desejo in 1999. Andreia Horta would play Empress Teresa Cristina, and even went so far as to give details about the character, however, with the postponement of the telenovela, the actress decided to accept the invitation to star in another telenovela and was replaced by Renata Gaspar. Renata, however, was considered very inexperienced in the area of drama after the first readings of the script and the role went to Letícia Sabatella. As
Nos Tempos do Imperador is a continuation of
Novo Mundo, the writers chose six characters to bring back from the previous telenovela. Quinzinho and Vitória, who were young children in the first plot, are now portrayed by Augusto Madeira and Maria Clara Gueiros, while the governess of the palace Lurdes, which was played by Bia Guedes, now returns to the age of 60 to be played by Lu Grimaldi. Vivianne Pasmanter, Guilherme Piva and Ingrid Guimarães return with their original characters Germana, Licurgo and Elvira Matamouros, however, now 80 years old. For that to happen, the three received special effects makeup. == Ratings ==