Frontier was Discovery Canada's very first original scripted commission, co-produced with Netflix.

The series was renewed for both its second and third seasons before the previous season had even premiered, showing strong early confidence from the network.

Filming took place across multiple real locations including Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Ontario in Canada, as well as Cornwall and Northumberland in the United Kingdom.

The show was produced in 4K ultra high definition, and Bell Media announced it would stream in 4K exclusively via the Discovery Go app on Samsung 4K smart TVs.

An exclusivity agreement delayed the series' Netflix availability in Canada until 2017, even though it was already streaming internationally from January 20, 2017.

Season 1 received mixed reviews, holding a 43% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 52/100, with critics praising Jason Momoa's performance but criticizing the pacing.

Season 2 was much better received critically, achieving a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on five reviews.

Critic John Doyle praised the series for avoiding a whitewashed depiction of the fur trade era, noting its delicate handling of interactions with First Nations characters.