The season was produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios, with Cheo Hodari Coker serving as showrunner.

Mike Colter stars as Cage, alongside returning principal cast members Simone Missick, Theo Rossi, and Alfre Woodard.

Coker again emphasized music in the season: Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad returned to compose the original score, using blues and reggae to represent the conflict between the Stokes family and Shakir's John "Bushmaster" McIver; the season again features performances from various artists; and each episode is named after a Pete Rock & CL Smooth song.

Following the secret battle at Midland Circle,[b] Mercedes "Misty" Knight is recovering from the loss of her arm and does not intend to return to police work, until she discovers that up to 30 of the criminals she previously sent to prison have now been released due to her late corrupt partner Rafael Scarfe.

Griffith helps Cage identify El Rey as the "Luke Cage" drug cartel leader and turns him over to Knight's captain Tom Ridenhour, while Garrison is murdered by John "Bushmaster" McIver, who survives several gun shots and has arrived from Jamaica planning to take Harlem from Dillard.

Bushmaster visits holistic doctor Tilda Johnson to get ingredients for augmenting the plant nightshade, which he uses to heal his wounds and increase his strength.

She organizes for El Rey to be released on bail and sends her lover Hernan "Shades" Alvarez to complete the sale with him.

[b] With El Rey dead and Cockroach in the hospital, Shades turns to Garrison; he finds Bushmaster instead, who is more than willing to pay Dillard the money.

They discover Garrison's body, and Knight is able to talk to the owner of the building who grew up with Bushmaster and explains that he intends to right the perceived wrongs committed against his parents.

At the opening of her center, Dillard discovers the severed heads of Cockroach, Higgins, and Shades' employee Andre "Ray-Ray" Jackson.

At the request of Temple, Rand—who defends the rest of Manhattan as the Immortal Iron Fist[c]—meets up with Cage and insists on helping him find Bushmaster.

Working with a tip from Turk Barrett, they investigate an abandoned warehouse where the Jamaicans are attempting to grow more nightshade, but it requires the conditions of Jamaica.

Embracing her Stokes heritage, she has everyone at the Jamaican restaurant murdered, and then burns Anansi alive to send a message to Bushmaster.

Dillard announces a free concert at Harlem's Paradise to ensure that there will be enough people around that Cage will show up to protect them from Bushmaster anyway.

Johnson offers to help Bushmaster kill Dillard, showing him a secret entrance to the club and giving him extra nightshade as a final boost of strength.

"[32] He added that after the first season and the crossover miniseries The Defenders, Cage would have "a whole new outlook on life" and would not be dealing with the judicial system anymore.

[35] Mike Colter returns to star as Luke Cage,[36] along with Simone Missick as Mercedes "Misty" Knight,[12] Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple,[37] Alfre Woodard as Mariah Stokes-Dillard,[12] and Theo Rossi as Hernan "Shades" Alvarez.

[38] In July 2017, Marvel announced the casting of Mustafa Shakir as John "Bushmaster" McIver, and Gabrielle Dennis as Tilda Johnson.

[14] Following the death of Reg E. Cathey in February 2018, Marvel revealed that his final performance was as Luke Cage's father James Lucas in this season.

[41] The next month, Antonique Smith joined the cast as Detective Nandi Tyler, a longtime rival of Misty Knight.

As Coker is a sports fan, he decided to include the ESPN personalities and was partially motivated to reach out to Michael Smith and Hill out of "professional admiration".

Coker noted the additional difficulty in getting the duo to appear because of Marvel's confidentiality requirements, meaning they could not see the scripts beforehand.

[42] Writer, author, and educator Jelani Cobb also cameos in the season, appearing as himself on a talk show speaking to Luke Cage's ability to fix Harlem.

He noted, "I really like the show and thought it'd be a fun thing to do, but I also think that sometimes it's important for journalists to keep a separate line from what they're actually doing versus the imaginary stuff that they're doing, especially in the era of fake news."

[45] Following the death of Captain Ridenhour, high-ranking detective Brigid O'Reilly is mentioned as having recently moved to New Orleans, in reference to that character's role in the series Cloak & Dagger.

[48][49] An advanced screening of the season was hosted by Spotify, Netflix, and the Kennedy Center on June 19, followed by an after-party featuring musical performances by KRS-One, Younge and Muhammad, and surprise guests.

[50] The second season of Luke Cage was released on June 22, 2018,[51] on the streaming service Netflix worldwide,[29] in Ultra HD 4K and high dynamic range.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Marvel's Luke Cage surpasses the successes of its debut season with a satisfyingly complex narrative and a solid ensemble cast led by Alfre Woodard's standout performance as the archvillainess Black Mariah.

[57] Awarding the "excellent" season four stars out of five, Olly Richards of Empire said, "Most of Marvel's superhero series suffer a mid-season sag, without enough plot to fill their episode quota.

"[58] David Betancourt of The Washington Post felt the season was "spectacular, full of unforgettable performances, and has not one but two top-notch villains".