Trivia

Though uncredited, Rod Serling wrote the original treatment and two proposed scripts for this series, essentially creating the basic format followed by the program, two astronauts and one chimpanzee pursued by the Apes civilization. However, his storyline involving the magnetic disc ended up being dropped by the show's writers, putting an end to the series' only story arc.

Although the series was cancelled after 14 weeks because of low ratings and was considered a failure in the US, it was a huge success in the UK (who obviously didn't run it up against "Sanford and Son" and "Chico and the Man" as CBS had).

While the movie originally set primarily in what used to be New York City, the television show is set in a futuristic California after a nuclear war.

This was Roddy McDowall's first starring role in a television series. He later played the regular character Dr. Jonathan Willoway in The Fantastic Journey (1977), another short-lived science fiction series.

The 24-foot plywood spaceship from the first movie appears for the last time in the pilot episode.