The showrunners wrote the first season as a self-contained story, which allowed them to give it a proper conclusion even after cancellation.

The series was filmed in coastal areas of British Columbia and in Vancouver, Canada, with production running from July to late November 2017.

The beach scene where the refugees arrive was filmed near Ucluelet on Vancouver Island, while the sheriff's office scenes were shot in and around the village of Britannia Beach, north of Vancouver.

The Oceanic Plaza building in Vancouver was used as the setting for the Seattle Homeland Security offices depicted in the show.

Additional filming locations in British Columbia included Steveston and New Westminster, and the first refugee camp footage was shot at Camp McLean.

ABC cancelled The Crossing after just one season, only about a month after it premiered, on May 11, 2018.

The series holds a 60% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 20 reviews and a score of 59 out of 100 on Metacritic, indicating mixed reviews.