A young George Clooney is one of the village extras in the first episode Only the Rocks Live Forever (1978).
Robert Conrad worked with a dialect coach in order to talk with an authentic French Canadian accent.
The ranch that was used as the Venneford Mansion was the Highlands Ranch Mansion, located on Highlands Ranch, which is near the real-life town of Centennial, Colorado. Several years after this miniseries was shot, the property was developed for housing by the Mission Veijo Company. One of the streets within the development was named Venneford Ranch Road by the company as a tribute to the miniseries.
The part of "Pasquinel" was originally offered to Robert Blake and Charles Bronson, who turned it down.
The role of Philip Wendell was originally played by Richard Kelton, who died of carbon monoxide poisoning after one day of filming.