CHP Rolls Back Onto TV With ‘Reality’ Show

In the 1970s, Hollywood’s take on the California Highway Patrol was “CHiPS,” consisting of two hunkish young actors playing the parts of squeaky-clean motorcycle officers so wholesome and polite, crime seemed a rude intrusion into their eternally sunny lives.

On the image scale, it scored 100 for the CHP, which endorsed the show and at least initially provided technical and policy advice. But it scored zero on the reality meter.

Now the CHP is about to venture into TV again, tapping into the 1990s craze for “real” portraits of crime fighters by signing with a production company for nightly episodes of drug busts and hot pursuits, spiced with a dose of traffic safety tips.

Scheduled for nationwide broadcast March 22, “Real Stories of the Highway Patrol” will use film of actual events and re-enactments by off-duty CHP officers in a series planned for 65 episodes.

A representative of the production company, Leap-Off Productions of Agoura Hills, reports that 35 independent and network affiliate broadcasters nationwide will air the series, some in prime time.

Executives of the CHP and Leap-Off say the series will feature action-oriented crime fighting episodes, but they insist that the CHP’s newest venture will set it apart from the current crop of “crime reality” shows.

In the CHP series, traffic and public safety messages will be emphasized. In addition, no situation involving a current court case will be depicted.