The Dead Zone

Cast and Crew

Anthony Michael Hall was cast after executive producer Michael Piller saw his performance in Pirates of Silicon Valley.
The show's creator, Michael Piller, also co-created "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993), of which Nicole DeBoer was also a cast member.
Michael Moriarty was originally cast in the role of Reverend Eugene 'Gene' Purdy.
Jack Nicholson is a fan of the show and was asked to play the character of Joe/Death in the episode "Ascent". Unfortunately, he was committed to promoting About Schmidt (2002) at the time.
Anthony Michael Hall is the only actor to appear in every episode.

Crazy Credit

There are several scenes, during the opening credits, that never appear in any episode of the show.

Episodic

In the episode "Dead Men Tell Tales", the casino logo is the same picture as the drum and wall painting in "Shaman".
The season 4 episode "Babble On" leads viewers to believe that Johnny's father had similar visions, which eventually resulted in his being institutionalized. However, by the end of the episode, it is revealed that a young Johnny was the originator of the visions on which his father was acting. The pilot and the original book suggest Johnny had visions before his accident.

Merchandise

The first 4 seasons are available on DVD in the US, and the first 2 in Europe. In the US, the DVD rights are held by Lions Gate Home Entertainment, while Paramount Home Entertainment holds international rights.

Online

As of Season 5, the primary Dead Zone web site features blogs by both several of the creators, and even blogs written by Johnny himself. Each entry in Johnny's blog corresponds to the events of the last episode, giving readers insight to Johnny's feelings in the aftermath of the episodes' events.

Reference

The cane Johnny uses previously appeared (with a different head) in two other King adaptations; it was carried by Stu Redman in The Stand and by Andre Linoge in Storm of the Century.
References to sleep: In the pilot episode, "Wheel of Fortune," the music class practices the song "Mr. Sandman." In the same episode, Johnny and Sarah make out in his car to "Sleepwalker," a song by Santo & Johnny featured in the Stephen King movie "Sleepwalkers."
It is suggested that Bruce's friendship with Johnny in the series is a key factor to many of the changes from the original book and movie. In the second-season episode "Zion", Bruce has a vision of an alternate reality where he chose another career path and did not help Johnny recover after he woke from his coma. In this reality Johnny tries to kill Greg Stillson just as he does in the original book and movie.
In a piece of quirky casting, the season two episode "Playing God" featured Ally Sheedy in a supporting role. Series star Anthony Michael Hall starred together in the 1980s John Hughes classic teen flick The Breakfast Club, portraying fellow high school students in detention. "Playing God" reunites these two actors once again as Johnny attends his high school reunion and meets up with Sheedy's character, a potential love interest of his from his high school days.
The cabin in the episode "The Mountain" was originally built for the film Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
The Sony Playstation 2 game Ratchet: Deadlocked was referenced in Season 4's holiday special (fittingly, it is the fourth game in the series).

TV Station

Started originally as a pilot for UPN in the Fall of 2001 which never aired. When UPN decided not to pick the series, the cable USA network took it on.