[citation needed] It was somewhat of a challenge for the two to portray a convincing father-and-son duo with Binns only 11 years older than Broderick.
It was his first independent production, his first series to be shot on film, and (aside from his first producing assignment, CBS's live Charlie Wild, Private Detective) his initial concession to the reality that programs with running characters were quickly supplanting the anthology drama.
Like The Defenders and The Nurses, Brenner was based on a one-shot anthology show from Brodkin's catalog, a January 15, 1959 telecast of Playhouse 90 entitled "The Blue Men".
Intriguingly, Alvin Boretz, who wrote The Blue Men, is not credited as the creator of Brenner, although he did contribute scripts to the series.
[citation needed] * In real life, Binns was only 10 years older than his TV son portrayed by Broderick.