 Following "JAG" "Ice Queen" and "Meltdown", the character of Kate was created to replace that of Vivian Blackadder (Robyn Lively), who Donald P. Bellisario felt was "too soft".Alexander credits CBS President Les Moonves with her casting, stating that she "had just finished doing a couple of other series for CBS and he said, 'come do this show'".Donald P. Bellisario stated that Alexander departed the series due to a lack of stamina and grueling filming schedule, stating "this was the first time [Sasha] went over a year on a show".