Mary Shannon (Mary McCormack) is a U.S. Marshal who spends her time relocating and working with federal witnesses in the witness protection program. Based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Mary works with her partner Marshall Mann (Frederick Weller). She is a tough fast-talking agent who won't back down, but her family life is a mess. Her father is a criminal. Her overly dependent mother Jinx (Lesley Ann Warren), and younger sister Brandi (Nichole Hiltz) are even more of a mess.Mary McCormack is amazing and has great platonic chemistry with Frederick Weller. It's a simple, fun cop procedural and everything works. The dysfunctional family and love life are all great.

I have been a semi fan of police series, both UK and USA especially if they prove to not be run of the mill (Suits being another) and this is very much in that category. However, since I've been watching this the idea of dealing with the family life of the main characters seems to have caught on, but there's still the main characters' (Mary) general attitude to keep me watching, sadly we watched the last episode last night, series 2 or 3 which sadly was quite disappointing in that this woman who never 'holidayed' went on holiday with some FBI agent that had come into the series just 2 episodes back. Also, Marshal, her colleague, had more or less told her that 'he was the one for her but she failed to catch on. Shame, still, that's fictional characters for you.

This is a great show, despite being predictable now and again. I love the characters and I love the soundtrack. Both Mary and Marshall are complicated and interesting people. Mary's family is as crazy as any family can be, but as the saying goes, every crazy family is crazy in it's own way. I wish we knew more about Marshall's life because he's easily one of the most interesting men on television, despite having no personal life whatsoever. He's well read and wry and very patient and insightful. Only drawback: I miss Robert Dershowitz! My husband and I blew a rainy Saturday watching one episode after the next on Netflix. As rainy Saturdays go, it was a good one.

Tough,no-nonsense Fed Marshall Mary Shannon(Mary McCormack)juggles both her job as a lead agent in the Witness Relocation/Protection Program and her role as the one anchored(relatively speaking)sister and daughter of a VERY fractious,dysfunctional family. And you think YOU have problems...This fairly new offering from USA Network is an effective and largely sympathetic fusion of action,drama and dark comedy. Sort of a less "cool" version of "Burn Notice" or "Psych",but still a smart,consistent show with characters that are a good match for each other:Mary's partner Marshall--yes,a MarshaLL NAMED Marshall(Fred Weller,never missing a beat)--whose propensity for wit and droll banter doesn't make him any less a dedicated and able agent;her boss(Paul Ben-Victor)a harried but patient supervisor,primarily because he knows his agents can and will do the job;Mary's sister(Nichole Hiltz),an alcoholic with responsibility problems,and Mary's mother(Lesley Anne Warren,STILL sexy!),a chemically post-dependent drama queen whose issues mirror at least one of her daughters(guess which one). To say that Miss McCormack is able to infuse her character with the right amount of tough over emotional would seem like an obvious overstatement,but its still true nonetheless. previously somewhat lost--though never forgettable--in previous movie parts like Howard Stern's Private Parts,Deep Impact or 1408,she's give a chance to shine and takes it. Sunday nights(when this show is,at least for now,slated to run)are tough nights(in a good way,I suppose)for TV viewers because EVERYONE,from network to cable seems to bring out their best stuff. While some may think that a show like this may be unfairly matched against things like "Desperate Housewives","Brothers and Sisters","Cold Case","The Unit","Mad Men","Eastbound and Down","The Tudors" and "Breaking Bad"(among others!),I feel like this show holds its own very well regardless. I suppose that this is what TiVo is for. As I see it,this unique,funny and show deserves a chance,wherever it runs.