The show starred Jeff Fahey as the title character, a United States Marshal charged with pursuing fugitives across the nation.
Guest stars were a regular part of the program's formula; the episode "Bounty Hunter", directed by Johnson, featured his former Miami Vice castmate John Diehl as a fugitive serial killer.
The show cost $1.5 million per episode which, rather than going to high salaries, went "directly onto the screen, making The Marshal look much more like a movie than a TV series".
It then aired regularly on Saturdays opposite CBS' Walker, Texas Ranger and performed well enough in the ratings to be the only new ABC show to be renewed for the fall.
The Marshal was also entering a much more competitive hour; CBS and NBC at the time aired successful situation comedy blocks on Mondays while Fox countered with the popular drama Melrose Place.
"[4] Having seen multiple episodes, Ken Trucker of Entertainment Weekly gave the series a B+ and encouraged TV viewers to watch it.
He noted that despite the "perfectly suited" Fahey's handsome looks, MacBride's best quality is his "air of fallibility" which offers an eccentric spoofing of the macho, heroic archetype.
Trucker summed by stating: "At once true to action-show rules and properly parodic about the role of good guys in the late 20th century, The Marshal is an underrated pleasure.