Originally cancelled by UPN after the third season finale "Sentinel too". Fan response after the airing of the finale prompted UPN to give the series half a season to end the series properly.
Garett Maggart was cast as Blair before Jim's role was assigned. He screen tested with a few of the Jims in the running but once Richard Burgi came on the scene it was pretty much decided. They had instant chemistry.
The series was originally intended to be set in Seattle, but city officials asked the producers to change so as to not give their town a reputation as a crime scene. Thus, the fictional city of Cascade came into being. The only remnant of Seattle was an undeleted reference to the Seattle Supersonics in the pilot episode. The Cascade basketball team became the Jaguars in later episodes.
Prior to being cast in the leading role of Detective Jim Ellison on this show, Richard Burgi had also appeared on Season 1 of producer Danny Bilson's show Viper (1994) in a recurring role. Viper (1994) actors Jeff Kaake and Dawn Stern also guest-starred in episodes of this show.
The Dodge Intrepid police cars from this series are the same ones which were also used on producer Danny Bilson's show Viper (1994), which was filming simultaneously with this show in Vancouver, British Columbia. However, the cars in this series were re-painted and re-marked for the city of Cascade.