[1] The series features William Katt as teacher Ralph Hinkley, Robert Culp as FBI agent Bill Maxwell, and Connie Sellecca as lawyer Pam Davidson.

[1] The lead character's surname was temporarily changed to "Hanley" for a few months immediately after President Ronald Reagan and three others were shot and wounded by John Hinckley Jr. on March 30, 1981.

The series chronicles Ralph's adventures after a group of aliens gives him a red and black suit that grants him superhuman abilities.

Also seen regularly were Rhonda Blake (Faye Grant), Tony Villicana (Michael Paré), and Cyler Johnson (Jesse D. Goins), three of Ralph's students; and Bill's FBI supervisor Les Carlisle (William Bogert).

Notably, while the suit enables Ralph to fly, it does not endow him with any particular skill at landing, so he frequently crashes in an undignified (though uninjured) heap.

In the episode "Vanity, Says the Preacher", it is also revealed there are several humans in seeming "suspended animation" aboard the aliens' ship (Bill speculates that they are possible replacements for them).

Hinkley's hero persona never receives an actual "superhero name" either, although Joey Scarbury sings the Elton John song "Rocket Man" in the pilot.

This alternate translation of the show title alludes to the mandate by the alien grantor to use the suit as a means to fight crime and injustice in the world.

For the low-budget 1950s series, editors would on occasion "flop" stock footage of George Reeves in flight, causing the "S" shield to appear reversed.

By the season 2 premiere "The Two-Hundred-Mile-an-Hour Fast Ball" (the very next episode in viewing order), the show's producers returned the character's surname to the original Hinkley.

The series initially emphasized what Cannell referred to as "character comedy" based on human flaws such as envy (in the aforementioned "The Best Desk Scenario") or hypochondria ("Plague").

For the season two finale, a serious and appropriate for the time (considering the Cold War) episode was produced; "Lilacs, Mr. Maxwell", written and directed by Robert Culp.

The episode's story concerns a KGB mole-agent (played by guest star Dixie Carter) placed into the FBI with the sole purpose of discovering the methods used by agent Bill Maxwell in catching spies and other assorted villains.

The powers of the red suit were somewhat general, but still were similar enough to the abilities of Superman that Warner Bros., the owners of DC Comics, filed a lawsuit against ABC.

[3] However, the series has more inspiration owed to another DC property, Green Lantern, in that it shares the basic concept of an ordinary human being given a powerful weapon granting extraordinary abilities by extraterrestrials, including the later appearance in the series of an alien who is loosely reminiscent of the Green Lantern Corps' administrators, the Guardians of the Universe.

The concept was also very similar to Frog-Man, a former supervillain, and now one of Spider-Man's allies, as well as the superhero by the name of Ant-Man, Scott Lang (all three of them, also created by Marvel Comics), to which a non-superpowered person attending school is given a red costume that grants them extraordinary abilities and superpowers to fight off crime and bring evil to justice.

On October 14, 2009, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment company had acquired the rights to several Stephen J. Cannell series, including The Greatest American Hero.

Immediately after the beginning credits, the episode's title card is superimposed over a nighttime view of the Los Angeles skyline, reading "The Greatest American Hero" before appending the letters "i n e" individually to the sound of the NBC chimes.

Bill begins their search by researching people with desired hero qualities, but Ralph finds a young woman named Holly Hathaway (Mary Ellen Stuart), an elementary school teacher who spends her off-hours time looking for lost kittens, raising environmental awareness, and serving as a foster mother.

He reacts visibly to his new partner being a "skirt" before Holly arrives, flying in wearing a new version of the suit made for her, and she pledges to help Bill.

The original trio say their final farewells, and even the stoic Maxwell reveals his true emotions as he says goodbye to Ralph and calling Pam a trouper—"...one of the best!"

Holly reacts emotionally to the fond farewells, but breaks the sombre mood as she accidentally pulls the door off of Bill's sedan.

The rest of the episode deals with Holly learning how to use the suit with Bill Maxwell's guidance, and the pair trying to develop a working relationship.

Deadline reported on September 8, 2017, that Rachna Fruchbom and Nahnatchka Khan would produce a female-led remake for 20th Century Fox TV and ABC Studios.