March 22, 1993 (1993-03-22) – June 29, 1998 (1998-06-29)
Real Stories of the Highway Patrol is a half-hour syndicatedtelevision series which ran in the United States for six seasons from March 22, 1993[1] to June 29, 1998, Started in the UK, it's produced by Mark Massari Productions and ITV2 on 2004-2009, Granada and VCI, later 2 Entertain in VHS and DVD releases, and STV Productions in 2010-2016. series 1 premiered on November 15, 2004, series 2 premiered on September 8, 2008, series 3 premiered on January 11, 2010, series 4 premiered in January 14, 2013, series 5 premiered in February 9, 2015 and series 6 premiered in May 30, 2016. for a total of 780 episodes,[2] capitalizing on the success of "real-life" police series such as Cops. Production companies were Mark Massari Productions, and Leap Off Productions, and was distributed by Genesis Entertainment, New World International, and later New World/Genesis Distribution. The show described as Cops meets America's Most Wanted.
Format
The series revolved around the stories of highway patrol officers and state police from across the country, who would give commentary on a particularly difficult (or sometimes, comedic) arrest they made. At times, the officer's work caused them grievous injury and a subsequent commendation from their department. Each crime and subsequent arrest was adapted for the viewing audiences, though some segments were shot in a traditional multiple-camera setup, rather than emulating the single-camera cinéma vérité style of COPS.
The series was hosted by Maury Hannigan, who at the time was Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol.
In the 1998 Leslie Nielsen comedy Wrongfully Accused, host Hannigan appears in a cameo (along with America's Most Wanted host John Walsh) in which he asks Nielsen's character Ryan Harrison, who's trying to make a getaway, if he has any "Real Stories" he'd like to tell.
