The series is produced by ABC Signature Studios, Marvel Television and Fake Empire, with Schwartz and Savage serving as showrunners.

Rhenzy Feliz, Lyrica Okano, Virginia Gardner, Ariela Barer, Gregg Sulkin, and Allegra Acosta star as the Runaways, six teenagers from different backgrounds who unite against their parents, the Pride, portrayed by Angel Parker, Ryan Sands, Annie Wersching, Kip Pardue, Ever Carradine, James Marsters, Brigid Brannagh, Kevin Weisman, Brittany Ishibashi, and James Yaegashi.

In August 2016, Marvel Television announced that Runaways had received a pilot order from Hulu, after being developed and written by Schwartz and Savage.

The third and final season of ten episodes, which included a crossover with fellow Marvel Television young adult series Cloak & Dagger, was released on December 13, 2019.

[27] Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and producer Jodi Hildebrand envisioned the film as a coming-of-age story in the style of director John Hughes.

Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, whose company Fake Empire had an overall deal with ABC, independently brought up the property during a general meeting with the studio,[35][1] and, by August 2016, the pair had spent a year conversing with Marvel about turning Runaways into a television series.

That month, it was announced that streaming service Hulu had ordered a pilot episode and scripts for a full season of Runaways, to be co-produced by Marvel Television, ABC Signature Studios, and Fake Empire.

[37] Schwartz and Savage wrote the pilot, and serve as showrunners on the series, as well as executive producers alongside Loeb and Jim Chory.

[5] On this, Vaughan noted he "did a little consulting early in the process", but felt the series "found the ideal 'foster parents' in Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage ... [who] lovingly adapted [the comics] into a stylish drama that feels like contemporary Los Angeles".

[43] Schwartz was a fan of the Runaways comic for some time, and introduced it to Savage, saying, "When you're a teenager, everything feels like life and death, and the stakes in this story—really felt like that."

[18] Loeb noted that it would deal with modern political issues by saying, "This is a time when figures of authority are in question, and this is a story where teenagers are at that age where they see their parents as fallible and human.

Schwartz described the series as a coming-of-age story and a family drama, with focus on the characters that can lead to long stretches of the series not featuring super powers, so "if you didn't see the show title, you wouldn't know that you were in a Marvel show for long stretches ... That was our aesthetic starting place, but there are episodes where there's some good [Marvel] stuff.

Time travel elements are also featured in the final episode, something teased in the previous seasons, which Savage said was "in the DNA of the comics so it was something that we wanted to honor".

[48] In February 2017, Marvel announced the casting of the Runaways, with Rhenzy Feliz as Alex Wilder, Lyrica Okano as Nico Minoru, Virginia Gardner as Karolina Dean, Ariela Barer as Gert Yorkes, Gregg Sulkin as Chase Stein, and Allegra Acosta as Molly Hayes Hernandez.

[5] Shortly after, Marvel announced the casting of the Pride, with Ryan Sands as Geoffrey Wilder, Angel Parker as Catherine Wilder, Brittany Ishibashi as Tina Minoru, James Yaegashi as Robert Minoru, Kevin Weisman as Dale Yorkes, Brigid Brannagh as Stacey Yorkes, Annie Wersching as Leslie Ellerh Dean, Kip Pardue as Frank Dean, James Marsters as Victor Stein, and Ever Carradine as Janet Stein.

[2] Loeb praised casting director Patrick Rush, explaining that all of the series regulars for Runaways were the producers' first choice for the role.

[54] Director Brett Morgen was given free rein by Marvel and Hulu to establish the look of the series,[55] and wanted to create a feel that was "very grounded and authentic".

Khosla compared the "alternative feel" of his score to Depeche Mode, adding "there is an element of rebellion, so sonically going for something that is a little bit outside the box, non-traditional, I felt was an appropriate approach.

[64] All music by Siddhartha Khosla:[65] Loeb confirmed in July 2017 that the series would be set in the MCU but that the show's characters would not be concerned with the actions of the Avengers, for example, saying, "Would you be following Iron Man [on social media] or would you be following someone your own age?

"[18] Initially, Loeb had said that there were no plans to crossover across networks with the similarly themed Cloak & Dagger on Freeform, as Marvel wanted the series to find its footing before further connecting with other elements of the universe, though "You'll see things that comment on each other; we try to touch base wherever we can... things that are happening in L.A. are not exactly going to be affecting what's happening in New Orleans [where Cloak & Dagger is set]...

The website's consensus reads, "Earnest, fun, and more balanced than its source material, Runaways finds strong footing in an over-saturated genre.

[85] Reviewing the first two episodes of the series, Joseph Schmidt of ComicBook.com praised the show for its faithfulness to the comics, but also for some of the changes it made, appreciating the increased focus on the parents.

He thought the cast portraying the Runaways was "pretty spot on", but "many of the parents are scene stealers", highlighting the performances of Marsters, Wersching, and Pardue.

The website's critical consensus states, "Runaways hits the ground running in its sophomore season, but though it deepens the connections between its expansive cast, formulaic stories and an over-dependence on plot devices holds it back from fully maturing into a compelling character study.

The website's critical consensus states, "By focusing on its strong ensemble and the character moments fans have come to love, Runaways ends its three season run on an exciting–and surprisingly introspective–high note.