The title was taken from the setting, "a square-mile section of San Francisco called the Barbary Coast, a wide-open, rip-roaring district whose inhabitants ranged from flashy ladies to sourdoughs.

The trade publication Billboard reported in its January 20, 1958, issue, "ABC-TV — Set Barney Girard to produce and direct Barbary Coast, Adventure story laid in early San Francisco.

[1] John J. O'Connor, in a review in The New York Times, commented after the first episode that Barbary Coast and another show that premiered the same night "seem reasonable candidates for the disaster bin.

"[2] He specified that production was "bad throughout" and referred to segments that featured dancing girls in Cash's casino with the comment, "But the entire Bolshoi Ballet would have difficulty salvaging Barbary Coast.

[10] The pilot episode, an ABC Sunday Night Movie, was nominated for an Emmy Award for Art Direction for Jack De Shields and set decorator Reg Allen.