Second attempt at a Watchmen TV series. Terry Gilliam attempted an adaptation in the early 90s, but could conceive the epic story being possible only on television. Gilliam's vision went into pre-production with HBO and cast Robin Williams as Rorschach, Jamie Lee Curtis as Silk Spectre, Gary Busey as the Comedian and Kevin Costner as Nite Owl. The project ultimately dissolved after HBO failed to provide a large enough budget for Gilliam's vision. Gilliam himself later claimed afterwards that an adaptation would've been "unfilmable" anyway.
The Tulsa Massacre of 1921 is a real historical event. The event was largely unnoticed until recent times.
Jeremy Irons claimed that for his scenes he received only the script for which he was present, and he had no idea of plot twists that were occurring in other scenes.
The series is a continuation of the 1986 graphic novel instead of the Watchmen. Los vigilantes (2009) movie adaptation. Many story events and characters from the graphic novel that were changed or removed in the movie are mentioned or shown in the series. Most notable difference being the Squid Attack on New York, which was completely changed in the 2009 film.
As a child, Will sees a silent movie called "Trust In The Law!" about the U.S. Marshall Bass Reeves directed by Oscar Micheaux; in various ways, this movie deeply influences the rest of Will's life. Though this specific movie is fictional, both Reeves and Micheaux are real-life historical figures. Bass Reeves (1838-1910) was the first Black deputy U.S. marshal in the American West, working mostly in Arkansas and Oklahoma. Upon his retirement from the marshal service, he became a police officer in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Oscar Micheaux (1884-1951) was a pioneer in the early film industry who made both silent and sound pictures about African American life.