The Passing Bells the conclusion of the war. The series was announced by the BBC in October 2013, along with other programmes that played a part in the BBC World War I centenary season. It was a Red Planet Production with BBC Worldwide as the distributor. Filming took place in Poland. Telewizja Polska and Apple Film Production were co-producers. The series aired in the pre-watershed time-slot of 7pm, and the script was written for a younger audience and family viewing. The title was taken from the first line of Wilfred Owen's 1917 poem, "Anthem for Doomed Youth": "What passing-bells for these who die
What Is Dead May Never Die episode was seen by 0.815 million viewers on Sky Atlantic, being the channel's highest-rated broadcast that week. The episode received critical acclaim; review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes surveyed 14 reviews of the episode and judged 100% of them to be positive with an average score of 8.5 out of 10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Superbly written and directed, 'What is Dead May Never Die' evokes a range of emotions as uneasy alliances are forged, past traumas are explored, and the stakes grow ever higher." Matt Fowler of IGN rated the episode 8.5 out of 10. The A.V. Club gave it