Darren McGavin would later that year begin his series
Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974) (following the success of two earlier solid TV movie pilots), one of the first episodes of which was also titled "The Ripper." McGavin's real-life wife
Kathie Browne works with him here, rivaling her appearance as his police brass foil in the final "Kolchak" episode "The Sentry," capping off the show's single season. Also appearing here are
John Fiedler who in "Kolchak" would play one of McGavin's main sources Gordy the morgue attendant, as well as
Barry Atwater who in the original TV movie
The Night Stalker (1972) had played the story's main antagonist, vampire Janos Skorzeny, arguably the title role before "The Night Stalker" came to define McGavin's Carl Kolchak character himself.