It premiered on 29 September 1998, and ran for eight seasons on the Nine Network before it was cancelled in late 2004 due to declining ratings, with its final episode airing on 14 December 2004.
The original cast members include Peter Phelps, Kate Kendall, Anita Hegh, Ian Stenlake, Joe Petruzzi, and Jessica Napier.
The show received average ratings during its debut season, but after some major changes, including intensive character development, the series became a success the following year.
Inspired by true events,[citation needed] Stingers chronicled the cases of a deep undercover unit of the Victoria Police.
Detective Inspector Luke Harris (Gary Sweet) took over as head of the unit until the end of the series, and Danni quit the force after being enraged by him.
Following Kay's disappearance, the Unit goes into damage control, scrutinizing the surveillance footage and following up on the few leads they have – a process that provides an unexpected suspect.
John Wild had to get the show from a concept 'jotted down on paper' into a television series in just 11 weeks and in an 8.30pm time slot!It first began airing up towards the end of the year, on Monday nights.
Channel Nine, on a nationwide cost-cutting drive, hinted at dropping the show because Stingers' was considered too expensive; its budget had crept up from its original $440,000-per-episode cost, to around $480,000.
Channel Nine also wanted more "star power" in the show, so Gary Sweet was brought in as Luke Harris (and Roxane Wilson decided to leave), and Rebecca Gibney – now out of a job without Halifax f.p.
So two new characters were added, played by Daniel Frederiksen and Jacinta Stapleton, and, John Wild said, "and the ratings still didn't change one point!"
After still no improvement to the ratings, more star power was further added in guest roles with Bill Hunter, Gigi Edgley, Steve Bisley, Tottie Goldsmith.