The pilot for the live-action series, completed in May 2000, was written by the four main animated-series writers, Edlund, Randolph Heard, Richard Liebmann-Smith and Chris McCulloch, and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld with production design by Bo Welch.

Guest stars include Ron Perlman, Christopher Lloyd, Kurt Fuller, Armin Shimerman, Mike Hagerty, Penn & Teller, and Dave Foley.

The Walt Disney Company inherited Fox's previous children's programming lineup and therefore owned the rights to many of the show's names and trademarks.

For this reason, American Maid and Die Fledermaus, two major characters in the animated series, were unable to be written into the new show; they were replaced by Captain Liberty and Batmanuel.

Regarding the mature tone, Edlund expressed his desire for less vulgarity, particularly in a moment of the pilot where The Tick said "Java Devil, you are now my bitch."

Fox had initially wanted to premiere the series in early 2001 as a midseason replacement but opted to air it in prime time both due to its ratings success and the network's fear that a strike might delay the fall season.

Cast, crew, and journalists expressed early concern over the high-stakes slot, with Fox's Sunday night comedy schedule looking more favorable.

Grushow also noted that if the series were to perform well, the network would have until December 2001 to order new episodes, though they would not likely be ready until late spring or summer at the earliest.

The live action Tick ultimately failed to recapture the success of its animated predecessor; however, its popularity was strong enough that the series would be released on DVD in 2003.

According to Patrick Warburton, The Tick performed poorly because Fox did not own the series as they did The Bernie Mac Show and 24, and therefore rarely promoted it.

Warburton added that despite fan and critical praise, the high production costs further discouraged FOX from giving The Tick a chance.

In their first-ever team up, the Tick and Arthur must thwart the Red Scare, a robot made in the 1970s by the Soviet Union, programmed to destroy then-U.S. president Jimmy Carter.

Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment released the complete series on DVD for the very first time, with the episodes in correct production order, on September 30, 2003.

The website's consensus reads: "Thanks in part to Patrick Warburton's committed performance, The Tick offers an inventive, highly stylized, and frequently hilarious take on the superhero genre.

Club commented, "For all The Tick's failings, it was better than most of its broadcast competition two years ago, and it was improving right up until it was yanked off the air.

In a 2009 interview, Warburton also noted that he still owns one of the Tick suits as a souvenir, and he expressed interest in playing the character in a feature film.