In many ways, Emilio Estevez felt that he was fated all of his life to make Bobby (2006). Just six years old when Robert F. Kennedy died, Estevez vividly remembers that night through a child's eyes, and seeing the horrific announcement that Robert had been shot on television, and rushing to awaken his father, Martin Sheen, a long-time Kennedy supporter, with the shocking news. Soon after that, Sheen took his son to visit the spot where Robert F. Kennedy had delivered his final speech at the Ambassador Hotel, a heartfelt, impromptu call for American unity and action in the face of escalating rifts and violence. Estevez recalled: "I remember my dad holding my hand as we wandered through those grand halls, and I remembered my father talking about what we had lost."
First aired on NBC on Sunday, November 20, 1983, at the same time that ABC was broadcasting The Day After (1983).
The mini-series takes place from November 8, 1960 to November 22, 1963.
The making of this miniseries was "distinguished by being an all-British production (including director and crew) with a lengthy cast headed by American actors" according to the book "Movies Made for Television".