The writers would often base stories directly on newspaper articles.
The stories presented as being factual, in addition to being "ripped from the headlines," were also described as being based on original research that writer Robert Tralins had conducted.
On November 4, 2018, two new episodes of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, known as "X-Factor: Das Unfassbare" in Germany, where the show is very popular, aired in Germany under the title of "X-Factor: Das Unfassbare kehrt zurück" due to the 20 year anniversary of the show in Germany. The episodes were hosted by Detlef Bothe. However the reception has been highly negative owing to the fact that amateur actors were cast and the cases were produced cheaply.
The show is very popular in Germany, where it is known as "X-Factor: Das Unfassbare". Due to this popularity, the German dub of seasons 3 and 4 aired prior to their premieres in the United States. Season 4 also received a new opening title sequence for the German version.
Unlike other international versions of the show, in the German version the narrator between the cases was cut.