Jeremy Renner reprises his role as Clint Barton from the film series, with Hailee Steinfeld joining him as Kate Bishop.

Tony Dalton, Fra Fee, Brian d'Arcy James, Aleks Paunovic, Piotr Adamczyk, Linda Cardellini, Simon Callow, Vera Farmiga, Alaqua Cox, Zahn McClarnon, Florence Pugh, and Vincent D'Onofrio also star.

A year after the events of Avengers: Endgame (2019),[2] Clint Barton must partner with Kate Bishop to confront enemies from his past as the Ronin to get back to his family in time for Christmas.

[3] Recurring in the series are Carlos Navarro as Enrique, an enforcer for the Tracksuit Mafia;[34] Ben Sakamoto, Ava Russo, and Cade Woodward reprising their respective roles as Barton's children Cooper, Lila, and Nathaniel from prior MCU films;[35] Jolt, a Golden Retriever, playing Lucky the Pizza Dog, Kate's adopted dog;[9][36] Clayton English, Adetinpo Thomas, Robert Walker-Branchaud, and Adelle Drahos respectively as Grills,[21] Wendy,[37] Orville,[38] and Missy, all NYC LARPers who befriend and help Barton and Bishop;[21] and Ivan Mbakop as NYPD Detective Caudle.

[citation needed] The fictional Steve Rogers / Captain America musical within the series, Rogers: The Musical, sees stage actors portray Thor (Jason Scott McDonald), Loki (Jordan Chin), Rogers (Tom Feeney), Bruce Banner / Hulk (Harris Turner), Barton (Avery Gillham), Romanoff (Meghan Manning), Tony Stark / Iron Man (Aaron Nedrick), Scott Lang / Ant-Man (Nico DeJesus), and Chitauri warriors.

[43] By April 2019, an adventure series starring Jeremy Renner as his MCU film character Clint Barton / Hawkeye was in development.

[44] Renner originally signed on to star in a standalone feature film focused on his character, but agreed to star in a series instead after Feige decided to redevelop the project for Disney+;[45] Marvel Studios believed a series allowed them to explore Barton's backstory, introduce Bishop, and develop the two characters' dynamic which was popular with fans of Marvel Comics, all of which would have been restricted by a film's two-hour runtime.

[50][51][52] Marvel Studios' Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Trinh Tran, and Brad Winderbaum executive produced alongside Igla and Thomas.

[63] Elisa Climent, Katie Mathewson, Tanner Bean, Erin Cancino, Heather Quinn, and Jenna Noel Frazier serve as writers on the series.

[69] Igla declared himself a fan of that title, which he read while working on Mad Men, for its approach in telling what a superhero does in his off days, as well as a "comforting and relaxing" nature he likened to the Christmas films from the Hallmark Channel.

[72] Fraction served as a consultant for the series, and had planned to make a cameo appearance as a Tracksuit Mafia member before the COVID-19 pandemic prevented this.

[46] Additional cast members also announced in December 2020 were Vera Farmiga as Eleanor Bishop, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova / Black Widow,[25] Fra Fee as Kazimierz "Kazi" Kazimierczak,[17][25] Tony Dalton as Jack Duquesne, Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez / Echo, Zahn McClarnon as William Lopez,[25] and Brian d'Arcy James as Derek Bishop.

[46] The same month, set photos revealed that Ben Sakamoto, Ava Russo, and Cade Woodward would reprise their respective roles in the series as Barton's children Cooper, Lila, and Nathaniel from previous MCU films.

Perception used monochromatic silhouettes to represent different characters and elements, and paid homage to David Aja's Hawkeye comic book illustrations.

[84] Filming began in early December 2020 in New York City,[85][86][87] with Rhys Thomas and Bert & Bertie directing,[50] with Eric Steelberg and James Whitaker serving as cinematographers.

[90][91] Filming took place in Downtown Brooklyn including at the Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets subway station,[85][92][93] and in Manhattan in Washington Square Park,[94] Midtown, Hell's Kitchen,[86] the East Village,[87] and the Lotte New York Palace Hotel.

[91][90][97] On February 22, 2021, filming began in downtown Canton, Georgia for a week,[98] including at the Jones Building,[99] continuing in the area between March 4 and 5.

[107] All music is composed by Christophe Beck & Michael Paraskevas, except where notedConcept art for the series featuring designs of the characters' costumes was included in Expanding the Universe, a Marvel Studios special that debuted on Disney+ on November 12, 2019.

[3] Chaim Gartenberg of The Verge was drawn to the teaser's "surprisingly light tone" and felt the series would draw elements from the Christmas films Home Alone (1990) and Die Hard (1988).

[113] Ryan Parker, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, noted the unique tone of the teaser that presented the series as "more of a comedy, holiday romp, albeit with a ton of action".

[114] Entertainment Weekly's Christian Holub felt the Christmas setting added a "Home Alone-like vibe" to the series and noted the teaser's many references to the comics, particularly Fraction's run.

[116] An episode of the series Marvel Studios: Legends was released on November 12, 2021, for Disney+'s "Disney+ Day" celebration, exploring Barton using footage of his MCU film appearances.

The site's critical consensus reads, "Hawkeye starts slowly, but the street-level action is a refreshing change of pace for the MCU—and the chemistry between its leads sparkles even when the plot lags.

[127] Andrew Webster of The Verge felt that Hawkeye was "a few different things", adding: "It's a chance to spend more time with one of the lesser-known Avengers, it's an origin story for an up-and-coming hero, and it's a detective drama set amidst the backdrop of Christmas in New York City as the MCU adds yet another genre to its all-enveloping fold."

[129] Richard Trenholm of CNET gave the series a positive review while noting that "Overall, Hawkeye isn't a tortured antihero searching for redemption, he's still just affable Jeremy Renner trundling around looking grumpy.

Episode 2 in particular has both Clint and Kate engaged in mock combat that's fun to watch rather than hazardous to their health, a jaunty twist on the gritty action-scene-every-episode formula.

"[130] Polly Conway of Common Sense Media rated the miniseries 4 out of 5 stars and praised the depiction of positive messages and role models, writing, "Hard work, perseverance, and courage are all clear themes.

"[131] Ben Travers of IndieWire gave the series a "C−", feeling that it was "more concerned with setting up Kate Bishop for future MCU phases than creating a problem worthy of two heroes' time".