Created by Bryce Zabel and Brent V. Friedman, Dark Skies was originally planned as a five year epic that would span four decades of the twentieth-century, from the 1960s to the eve of the new millennium. Tying historical events such as the JFK assassination to an alien invasion of the sort popularised on The X-Files, Dark Skies looked to be a sure-fire winner.

It was originally broadcast on Saturday evenings at 8pm as part of NBC's 'Thrillogy', a strand of action shows which also included The Pretender and Profiler. Unlike those two shows, Dark Skies was cancelled and attempts to place it with another network or directly into syndication failed.In the UK it was seen on Channel 4 in a Monday evening slot.

The first episode was seen by over 5 million viewers, but in the coming weeks the numbers tuning in declined sharply. Rumours of its resurrection in either comic strip or novel form continue to abound, and of the mid 90s shows that failed after one season, this appears to be the one most likely to return.