The two-part miniseries was filmed entirely on location. The house interiors were filmed in Brentwood. The horse ranch was filmed in the Malibu Canyon below Mullholland. Lorimar Television's offices were located at the MGM-Sony Studio in Culver City. When Lorimar used a soundstage for any of their productions, a percentage charge would be incurred by the production paid to the studio. By not filming on the lot, this charge exempted the production. A show production office was established in an off-lot office rental facility maintained by Lorimar. The Lorimar Art Department, construction, paint, sign shop, and property departments remained on the lot unaffected by this additional rate charge.
Sam Elliott's D. Jordan Williams was based on real-life psychopath Gerald Daniel Walker who, at the time of the crimes he committed, was an escaped convict who was serving a prison sentence for armed robbery and attempted murder.