Each episode in Season 1 was 30 minutes long and reviews were mixed. The ratings were low enough for ABC to cancel it after just one season. However, one of the show's main sponsors, Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company, along with the show's producers, successfully lobbied the network to revive the show. Season 2 premiered in 1960 as an hour-long series to give more time to character and plot development. It was called simply Naked City, dropping "The" from the title in a further effort to distinguish it from the former show. The new show was overwhelmingly critically acclaimed and won many Emmy nominations and awards.
Numerous stars made their first major television appearances on this show, including Sandy Dennis, Peter Fonda, Dustin Hoffman, James Caan, Jon Voight, and Robert Duvall.
Because the show was filmed in black and white on-location in New York City, the police cars for the show were painted in false colors so that they would not be mistaken for real police cars.
John McIntire (Lieutenant Dan Muldoon) left the series midway through the first season because, reportedly, he was tired of the New York City location filming grind, and wanted to return to his house in California. An earlier trivia statement claimed that McIntire couldn't stand working with James Franciscus. However, McIntire worked with Franciscus on the television movie pilot, and one episode of Longstreet (1971).
This was the first hour-long network dramatic series featuring continuing characters to be filmed entirely in New York City.