The film's star and director each have the distinction of having portrayed a classic white television detective as a black character in a short-lived reboot (each being for a duration of nine episodes): star Ving Rhames played Lt. Theo Kojak in the remake show Kojak (2005) (previously played by Telly Savalas in Kojak (1973)), and director Blair Underwood would a few years after this film play Chief Robert T. Ironside in Ironside (2013) (previously played by Raymond Burr in Ironside (1967)).