The Mayor was pitched to ABC in the summer of 2016 and drew comparisons to the 2016 U.S. presidential election and Donald Trump's campaign and victory.

Series creator Jeremy Bronson stated the show is not meant to be a parody or satire, though he admitted the pilot episode drew some inspiration from President Trump.

Brandon Micheal Hall was cast as Courtney Rose on January 26, 2017, followed by Lea Michele as Valentina Barella on February 23, 2017, Yvette Nicole Brown as Dina Rose on March 16, 2017, Marcel Spears as T.K. Clifton on May 16, 2017, and Bernard David Jones as Jermaine Leforge on July 27, 2017.

Daveed Diggs, who also appears as a guest star playing hip-hop artist Mac Etcetera, served as an executive producer on the series and wrote original music for it.

The series received an 81% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 31 reviews and a score of 72/100 on Metacritic based on 19 critics, indicating generally favorable reviews.

Despite the positive critical reception, ABC cancelled the series after just one season on January 4, 2018, citing dwindling DVR viewership and 'political fatigue' among audiences.

After cancellation, the remaining episodes were made available weekly on Hulu and then on ABC.com starting January 25, 2018.