Originally, the production was to be a reality series in the same vein that "Cops" was for police. After the Waco siege, however, the plan was dropped and the concept reworked into a dramatic series on Myers' recommendation. Johnson realized that no television series had specifically targeted the U.S. Marshals, the nation's oldest law enforcement agency, dating back more than 200 years. ABC, which had a somewhat long and successful relationship with Paramount since the late 1960s, picked up the series for its 1994–1995 schedule.