The season is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films and other television series of the franchise.

It was produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios, with Erik Oleson serving as showrunner and series creator Drew Goddard acting as a consultant.

Charlie Cox stars as Murdock, and Vincent D'Onofrio portrays Fisk, with Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, and Stephen Rider also returning from previous seasons; Joanne Whalley, Jay Ali, and Wilson Bethel join them.

[15] The ending of the miniseries The Defenders, which sees Matt Murdock waking up in a convent surrounded by nuns after being presumed dead, implied elements of the season would be inspired by the "Born Again" story arc.

[20] Building the season structurally, Oleson felt if any viewer was "a devout Catholic [...] you could read into the events of the early episodes as a message from God to Matt".

This results in Murdock donning his original black suit, similar to the one he wore in season one, since he "goes to pretty much the darkest place you can" and is at a point, Oleson notes, "[w]hen he realizes that he's incapable of being Daredevil, [and] he would rather just end it than go forward in his life without abilities.

"[19] This also allowed Oleson to return the character "to the core idea" of being a boxer's son, "where his fighting style was more brutal and kind of close in combat".

"[23] Regarding the return of Wilson Fisk / Kingpin, Oleson called him "smarter, more calculated, and more manipulative", and felt his inclusion allowed the ability to "tell a story that's relevant to the world around us.

Oleson wanted them to be "the protagonist of their own journey", modeling this approach after the series Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, and The Wire.

[24] Oleson "was very interested in telling an origin story not only about how a character we know from the comics as a full-blown psychopath and killer, but how somebody in real life could be turned into something like that."

[21] Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, and Vincent D'Onofrio all return in the season, reprising their roles as Matt Murdock / Daredevil, Karen Page, Franklin "Foggy" Nelson, and Wilson Fisk / Kingpin, respectively.

Other recurring characters include Stephen Rowe as Nicholas Lee, one of Fisk's lawyers; Kate Udall as Tammy Hattley, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI; Sunita Deshpande as Seema Nadeem and Noah Huq as Sami Nadeem, Ray's wife and son, respectively; Peter Halpin as Theo Nelson, Foggy's brother created for the series;[10] Holly Cinnamon as Julie Barnes, a friend of Dex; Joe Jones as Felix Manning, Fisk's fixer; Kelly McAndrews as Mrs. Shelby, Fisk's surveillance technician; and Matthew McCurdy, Don Castro, Scotty Crow, Richard Prioleau, David Anthony Buglione, Sam Slater, and Andrew Sensenig as FBI agents Wellers, Arinori, Lim, Doyle, Johnson, O'Connor, and Winn, respectively.

Characters making guest appearances from the first two seasons and other MCU media include Matt Gerald as Melvin Potter, John Patrick Hayden as Jack Murdock, Annabella Sciorra as Rosalie Carbone, following up on her character's introduction in the second season of Luke Cage,[12] Ron Simons as NYPD captain Strieber, following his appearance in The Defenders,[citation needed] and former main cast member Ayelet Zurer as Vanessa Marianna-Fisk.

[27] Costume designer Liz Vastola noted Daredevil's black suit was "purposely ripped and jagged to highlight Matt's state of mind" throughout the season.

Oleson credited the episode's director Alex Garcia Lopez, writer Lewaa Nasserdeen, and the stunt team for conceiving the idea.

[6] Cox, Henson, Woll, D'Onofrio, Whalley, Bethel, and Ali promoted the season at New York Comic Con on October 6, 2018.