Robert Blake fought to get the pilot made and on the air although it would run against "Dynasty," the #1 show on television during the 1984-85 season. When the TV-movie pilot did better than any NBC show had done against "Dynasty"--by a wide margin!--Blake asked NBC to immediately take the show to series although it was still two months before NBC was to announce their schedule. He also balked at a six-episode order (too few to get "Dynasty" "under control", he claimed) and demanded 12 shows, later getting four more when initial ratings weren't too bad. He was able to deliver by putting the show into production earlier than most rookie series could.
On ABC's 20/20 broadcast (January 11, 2019), Robert Blake claimed he had a nervous breakdown on the show and walked off.
"Baretta" similarities are all over the place. Father Noah "Hardstep" Rivers acted as much like Tony Baretta as possible; the theme song was by the same composer and sung by the same person; frequent "Baretta" guest star Whitman Mayo got the top supporting-cast role; Father Noah and his buddy One Ball (Mayo) were pocket-billiards lovers (repeating Baretta's love for the game); and as executive producer, Blake represented himself under the alias "Lyman P. Docker," the alias of the title character from an episode of "Baretta'"s final season.
The series is mentioned in Season 2 episode 18 of The Golden Girls, "Forgive Me, Father" (2/14/1987): Dorothy falls for a man who just happens to be a priest. When Rose figures out he's a priest, she apologizes for the cancellation of Hell Town. Both shows appeared on NBC.
One thing is different when "Hell Town" is compared to "Baretta (not counting how successful the shows were). "Baretta" had a small supporting cast that wasn't mentioned in the opening credits, but "Hell Town"'s eight supporting actors were listed in the opening credits.