ABC greenlit the pilot in January 2012 and ordered thirteen episodes, later adding two additional scripts on October 19, 2012, before ultimately deciding not to produce them.

The series was filmed in Oahu, Hawaii, and produced by Sony Pictures Television.

On November 16, 2012, ABC announced it would not pick up Last Resort for a full season but would still air all 13 produced episodes, cancelling the two extra scripts that had been ordered.

On November 21, 2012, the producers revealed they had been given enough advance notice of the cancellation to 'tweak' the final episode so it could serve as a proper series finale and give fans closure.

The series received generally favorable reviews, holding a 79% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 74/100 on Metacritic.

Creator Shawn Ryan said the cancellation was not a huge surprise given weak ratings and tough competition from The Big Bang Theory, The X Factor, and NFL games in its Thursday 8 p.m. slot.

Shawn Ryan revealed that the unproduced second half of the season was meant to shift the story from survival to exploring how the island became a symbol for a group of people, introducing new characters like Marcus Chaplin's surviving son and storylines involving Christine's rescue and the discovery of valuable minerals on the island.

Andre Braugher expressed frustration over the abrupt cancellation, saying the cast 'had to scramble to create order where none existed,' though he felt it was better to end that way than be left incomplete.