The series stars Tony Musante and Susan Strasberg and was based on the real-life story and published biography of Newark, New Jersey police detective David Toma.

These writers included Stephen J. Cannell, Roy Huggins (who signed most of his work on both shows as "John Thomas James"), Juanita Bartlett, Zekial Marko, Don Carlos Dunaway, and Gloryette Clark.

[8][9] Musante had told the producers at the outset that he wanted to do only one season, but they mistakenly assumed that this was only a negotiating tactic and that he would return if the series was renewed.

[12] According to interviews on The Greatest American Hero DVD set, a writers' strike during the shooting of Toma is what indirectly led to The Rockford Files.

Despite having contributed to the development of the popular Baretta, reruns of Toma were never syndicated to local stations, and repeats of the show on national television post-cancellation have been rare.