In Italy, this mini series was broadcast with three different titles on three different channels in subsequent years: "Il sogno americano dei Jordache" (The Jordaches' American Dream) in 1977, "Il sogno americano" (The American Dream) in 1982 and "Il ricco e il povero" (literal translation) in 1984.
The film that Tommy Jordache and Claude Tinker watched at the Port Phillip cinema on VE Night was Wake Island (1942)
Although he had been a working actor for years prior to this production, Nick Nolte became a star after appearing in this very popular mini-series. In fact, the network wanted his character to appear in the sequel they were planning and Nolte refused to alter the story to make that possible. Peter Strauss also became an in-demand actor after this project.
Nick Nolte said that when he played a young man in the early scenes of the project, he weighed about 160 pounds. When he played a middle aged man in the later scenes, he weighed over 180 pounds.
Don Johnson, a good friend of Nick Nolte and his co-star in Return to Macon County (1975) auditioned for the role of 'Rudy Jordache'.