The series was originally titled Trial when Amazon issued a pilot order on May 14, 2015, based on a script by David E. Kelley and Jonathan Shapiro.

Amazon bypassed the traditional pilot process, instead giving the show a straight-to-series order for a first season originally planned as ten episodes, which was ultimately reduced to eight.

Kevin Costner was originally in talks to play lead character Billy McBride starting June 25, 2015, but exited negotiations by June 30, after which Billy Bob Thornton was cast in the role on July 23, 2015.

The show is set and filmed in Santa Monica, California, and the bar Chez Jay, which Billy McBride frequents, is an actual real-life bar and restaurant rather than a set built for the show.

Production for the fourth and final season relocated from Santa Monica to San Francisco.

Clyde Phillips joined the series as day-to-day showrunner for season two, while creators David E. Kelley and Jonathan Shapiro remained as executive producers alongside Ross Fineman.

Season four received a perfect 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on reviews from five critics, an improvement over earlier seasons which ranged from 78% to 88%.