Produced by Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene in association with Screen Gems, the series stars Mike Connors as an undercover agent named "Nick" who was assigned to infiltrate criminal gangs.

[1] Actor Robert Phillips, a former Los Angeles undercover policeman and US Marine claimed the show was based on his exploits, but that he was not chosen to portray himself.

When CBS head James Aubrey stated that the show was indisputably going to move timeslot, the sponsor dropped Tightrope!, and underwrote another program on another network.

Connors also did not agree with suggested changes to the show's format, that would have extended its length to one hour and added a sidekick, to be played by Don Sullivan.

In April of 2024, Roku announced it has greenlit a reboot of the show in the form of a slapstick comedy starring Modern Family's Ty Burrell with Bryan Cranston as Executive Producer.