Amazing Spider-Man was a short-lived TV series on CBS along with series based on the Incredible Hulk, Wonder Woman, Captain America and Doctor Strange. The Amazing Spider-Man series had solid ratings throughout its run, but CBS was leery about being labeled the superhero network and fans were highly critical of the series for the changes made to the comic book storyline and the lack of any real supervillains. The only characters besides Peter Parker to regularly appear in both the television series and comics were J. Jonah Jameson and Aunt May. Joe "Robbie" Robertson (played by Hilly Hicks) also appeared, but only in the pilot.

Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee disliked the show and was vocal about his dissatisfaction with it. He once said in an interview that he felt the series was "too juvenile" - a controversial statement given his credit as script consultant on each episode. So far, the series was the only live-action appearance of Peter Parker's spider-tracer tracking devices.