Although the scripts were faithful to the TV series, they had to be expanded (or in the case of season 4, condensed) to fit the 40-minute timeslot. Head writer Dennis Etchison studied the original teleplays and added dialogue and details that had been deleted whenever possible. A few shows heavily relied on visuals ("The Invaders," "Two," "Eye of the Beholder," etc.), so these were among the last to be adapted because they had to be extensively reworked for radio.
The producers pleaded with CBS to let them create some original stories, but the network was standoffish until they began running out of material. Ultimately, the network approved the production of 16 original stories: "The 25th Hour," "The Amazing Dr. Kyle Powers," "...And Cauldron Bubble," "Another Place in Time," "Beewinjapeedee," "Missing, Presumed Dead," "Mrs. Pierce Is Praying for Me," "The Nanobots," "Now You Hear It, Now You Don't," "Rest Stop," "Snow Angel," "There Goes the Neighborhood," "Ten Days," "The Time of Your Life," "Two Thousand-Twelve" (aka "2012"), and "The Walk-Abouts."
The show began airing on October 26, 2002, and generally played late on Saturday nights/Sunday mornings, often in a 2-hour block. Because it was syndicated, gradually picked up by new radio stations, and reruns were regularly mixed with the new episodes during its decade on the air, it's difficult to pinpoint precise airdates or episode order. The matter is further compounded by a vast assortment of CD, cassette, and digital releases in which episodes were presented in different arrangements.
Six people who appeared on the original TV show returned (Orson Bean, Shelley Berman, Morgan Brittany, Bill Erwin, Beverly Garland, & H.M. Wynant), as well as several people from the 1985 revival (Eric Bogosian, Dee Wallace) and the 2002 revival (Jason Alexander, Lou Diamond Phillips, Bonnie Somerville), plus Christopher McDonald, who appeared in both revivals. Rather than having them recreate past performances, everyone was cast in different roles.
Episodes were issued with the original TV series as DVD and Blu-Ray extras. Although they adapted 155 of the 156 episodes, only 30 shows were included on DVD, and 82 on Blu-Ray.