Although a single season of fifteen (15) episodes was aired, some video streaming services list only eight (8) episodes. Aside from the first episode which was an hour in length, the following episodes are only a half-hour each. In most instances, two half-hour episodes are streamed as a single episode, accounting for the discrepancy between some streaming services, databases, and review sites and the number of episodes listed. S01E01 (aired as E01 with one hour length) S01E02 (aired as E02 and E03) S01E03 (aired as E04 and E05) S01E04 (aired as E06 and E07) S01E05 (aired as E08 and E09) S01E06 (aired as E10 and E11) S01E07 (aired as E12 and E13) S01E08 (aired as E14 and E15) This was created to perhaps clear up some confusion regarding the "missing episodes" of E09 through E15. However, it should be noted that the 8-episode version has been significantly edited down from the original. Much dialogue has been cut, and scenes have been shortened or omitted. The total run-time of approximately 425 minutes is more than an hour shorter than the original (15-episode) version.
The character of Clamb the law clerk was created for the miniseries. He primarily appears in scenes where, in the novel, Tulkinghorn was sitting alone and thinking about information which set up forthcoming plot elements. Making Tulkinghorn able to talk to Clamb eliminates the need for soliloquies, which would not be believable in this narrative format.
Charles Dance states in the DVD extras that he considers his character Josiah Tulkinghorn to be one of the most reprehensible characters in Charles Dickens' oeuvre, and that is saying something as Dickens created a plethora of despicable villains. Dance further states that he interprets Mr. Tulkinghorn's hatred of women to indicate a repressed homosexuality, even though neither the script nor the source novel give this direction.
In the mid 1970s, Anthony Harvey tried to set up a version with Robert Shaw and Vanessa Redgrave or Anne Bancroft, but the financing fell through.
Charles Dance was chosen for the role of Tywin Lannister in Game of Thrones (2011) after the producers watched his performance as Tulkinghorn. Burn Gorman had a supporting role on Game of Thrones.