Filming for the season took place from February to November 2017 in New Orleans, a change of setting for the characters from the comics in which they live in New York City.

[1] In April 2016, the series received a straight-to-series order for Freeform from ABC Signature Studios and Marvel Television, with the search for a showrunner underway.

Gina Prince-Bythewood was close to the top of Pokaski's list, because he had recently seen Beyond the Lights, which was direct by Prince-Bythwood, and felt it had a similar style that fit his vision for the series.

[28] Pokaski created an 80-page "bible" for the first season, feeling he followed a good portion of it, while still allowing himself and the writers the ability to deviate from it if better story points arose.

While researching vodon, which has "religious aspects taken from Africa and the Caribbean to America and hidden under a Christian and Catholic auspice," the writers learned the religion has a duality to it.

Having Tandy talking to her dad on the phone "allowed her to expose how lonely she was and how much she missed her father", while the episode had Tyrone "embracing her and being positive to her and helping her out of the situation".

[27] In January 2017, Olivia Holt and Aubrey Joseph were announced as portraying Tandy Bowen / Dagger and Tyrone Johnson / Cloak, respectively.

[12] Gina Prince-Bythewood, the director of the first episode, called the casting process "really, really tough... it was three days before we were supposed to leave [to begin filming] and we didn't find [actors for the pair].

Because of other commitments, she did not plan to continue with the series, and, along with Prince-Bythewood, recommended Cliff Charles to replace her, who served as cinematographer on the remaining episodes.

[46] The season features many hand-held camera shots that established the "look and feel" of the series, in part because Pokaski "didn't want to wait for a dolly track to be laid".

"[32] O'Reilly discusses formerly working in Harlem and her friend Misty Knight in the series,[56][57] while her move to New Orleans is mentioned by her former New York colleagues in the second season of Luke Cage.

[58] Loeb noted the Luke Cage references were "not by mistake", with the potential for them to become something more, such as having Simone Missick, who portrays Misty Knight, appearing in the series.

"[63] Rob Cave for Comic Book Resources felt setting the series in New Orleans "gives audiences a glimpse of part of the Marvel Universe, and of America, that is seen on screen far less often than the mythical realms of Asgard or the sci-fi cities of Xandar Prime, let alone the over-exposed metropolises of New York and LA.

[1] The series also had two different interactive activations for the convention at "The Experience" at Petco Park, including a bungee experience that propels participants backwards, replicating the force of Tyrone and Tandy's power when they interact, and a station centered on Roxxon, where participants can create a badge giving them access to prizes from PlayStation Vue and Freeform.

The premiere drew 7.3 million views across linear and digital platforms and was Thursday's most-social scripted series with 112,000 engagements across Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tumblr.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Cloak & Dagger blends soapy drama with superhero grit to create an exciting, surprisingly thoughtful addition to the genre — even if it falls prey to a certain amount of narrative bloat.

He added that there were major changes from the comics, including the relocation of the character from New York to New Orleans and the addition of "parents, home lives, and all manner of other backstories rejiggered to serve the long-form TV storytelling framework.

"[83] Meredith Borders of /Film gave the first episode a 9 out of 10, calling it "among the upper echelon of Marvel television.... [doing] so with style and powerful storytelling" and felt it was "new in every particular way".

She also called the look of the season "much richer and more textured" than many other superhero and Freeform series, felt the protagonists' powers were shown "in a really visually organic way", and praised Isham's music.

The pacing can feel a bit slower than one might expect or want from a superhero TV show, but thanks to the drama, effects, mystery and chemistry between the main protagonists, the premiere builds a solid foundation for Marvel's newest series.

In comparison to the other Marvel Television series, Barr felt Cloak & Dagger "exists somewhere between the light-hearted, broad stroke nature of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

[86] Abraham Riesman of Vulture felt "there's a lot going on in Cloak & Dagger, and if it can keep up its pace of invention and revelation, it promises to be your essential superhero watch of the summer."

He also praised "Marvel Television's willingness to boil a superhero concept down to the elements that work best and, beyond that, be purely inventive," enjoying the change of location to New Orleans over the New York setting from the comics.

[87] For io9, Charles Pulliam-Moore said, "Cloak & Dagger isn't exactly a show for die-hard comic book purists looking for a live-action translation of the superheroes they love, but that ultimately works out in its favor because that's not what it's trying to be.

"[88] Giving the season a "B", Entertainment Weekly's Darren Franich was "pessimistic and optimistic" about the series, and hoped its "openhearted thoughtfulness [could] energize its rather bargain-bin super-mythology".

She was also critical of the pacing, called the writing "shaky", wished more was done with the New Orleans setting, and felt that attempting to split the early episodes between both Johnson and Bowen, resulted in "jarring edits, half-baked plots, and quickly-forgotten side characters.