The series was originally announced as being in development in September 2013, but did not receive its straight-to-series order of 13 episodes until October 2016, meaning it took over three years to move forward.

The first season was filmed in Toronto, Ontario, but the production relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia for the second season.

CBS gave the show a straight-to-series order rather than a traditional pilot process.

Despite being renewed for a second season in October 2018, CBS canceled Salvation after just two seasons that same month.

On Rotten Tomatoes the series holds a 47% approval rating based on 17 reviews, with critics describing it as a low-stakes summer diversion that is neither particularly bad nor memorable.

On Metacritic, the show received a score of 48 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating mixed or average reviews.