Lee Bergere had previously played Abraham Lincoln in the 1969 Star Trek episode The Savage Curtain (1969).
NBC aired the six hour mini-series on a staggered basis. The first three segments aired during the 1974-75 television season. The final three segments aired during the 1975-76 television season.
Hal Holbrook also played President Abraham Lincoln in North & South: Book 1, North & South (1985) and its sequel North & South: Book 2, Love & War (1986), which were also made by David L. Wolper Productions. Holbrook also appeared as Francis Preston Blair in Lincoln (2012).
Hal Holbrook has stated that he considers his performance as Lincoln in this well-regarded miniseries as far superior to his portrayal in the ABC miniseries epics "North and South" Books 1 and 2 which were filmed a decade later. He said he is very proud of his work in "Lincoln" for which he won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor but says the "North and South" television epics were nothing but "Hollywood bullshit".
Various figures were portrayed by more than one actor: First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln was portrayed by Sada Thompson for most of it and by Michele Marsh as a younger self; Secretary of State William Seward was portrayed by Lloyd Nolan and by Whit Bissell; Secretary of Navy Gideon Welles was portrayed by Severn Darden and by some unknown actor who resembled Welles more then Darden did.