The "Daisy" ad aired as part of Lyndon Johnson's 1964 presidential campaign used a zoom-in on the face of a young girl playing that resembles the final shot of Fail Safe.

In the 1981 SCTV Network episode "CCCP 1," the Soviet Union takes over SCTV's satellite transmission, leading to a tense conversation between the U.S. president and the Soviet premiere that climaxes with the Soviets bombing New York City.

In the 1985 re-make of the Twilight Zone episode "A Little Peace and Quiet," Fail Safe is shown on a movie marquee as the U.S. is hit by a nuclear attack.

Fail Safe was remade as a live television movie in 2000, produced by George Clooney. Stephen Frears directed a cast including Richard Dreyfuss as the President, Noah Wyle as his translator, Brian Dennehy, Sam Elliott, James Cromwell, Hank Azaria, Norman Lloyd, Don Cheadle, Clooney and Harvey Keitel. Walter Cronkite hosted the black-and-white telecast.

In Watchmen (2009), Adrian Veidt (the superhero Ozymandias), watches the film on one of his TV monitors.

by Frank Miller