As a newcomer to Brazil,
Max was already showing that it wanted to be a market leader in telenovelas and a direct competitor to
Globoplay's exclusive telenovelas. To achieve this, it sought to hire big names from its main competitor. In 2021, Mônica Albuquerque took over the series and telenovelas area at Warner Bros. Discovery and
Silvio de Abreu was hired by the streaming service, with the position of Supervisor of Telenovelas, a position similar to the one he held at
TV Globo. To develop the telenovela, HBO announced the hiring of
Raphael Montes, writer and screenwriter of
Good Morning, Verônica,
The Girl Who Killed Her Parents and
The Boy Who Killed My Parents. On 8 April 2022, it was announced that the telenovela would be titled
Segundas Intenções, inspired by the protagonist's revenge. In January 2023, however, the telenovela changed its title to
Beleza Fatal. In September 2022, after several postponements, the telenovela was temporarily canceled due to the merger between Warner and Discovery, but Raphael continued developing it and delivered all the written episodes. The show was originally to have been directed by Joana Jabace, who left the production after the temporary cancellation, being replaced by Maria de Medicis. Filming began in September 2023 with locations in
Rio de Janeiro and
São Paulo. == Release ==