Films based on older TV shows have been hit or miss, but movie studios will still always try to cash in on some nostalgia, perhaps with a modernized or satiric take. Warner Brothers has been trying to develop a movie based on CHiPs, which ran on NBC from 1977 to 1983 for almost 10 years.
If you’re unfamiliar with the show, it followed two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol named Frank “Ponch” Poncherello (played by Erik Estrada) and Jon Baker (Larry Wilcox). The tone was pretty light-hearted, mostly comedic with maybe a few dramatic elements. Each episode was basically Ponch and Jon responding to a pile-up on the highway.
CHiPs also had one of the best theme songs of its era. Will the new movie update it somehow?
Dax Shepard (Parenthood) has been hired to write, direct and star in the film. He’ll play Jon. Stepping into Ponch’s boots will be Michael Pena (End of Watch), which seems like a curious choice if the movie is going to be a comedy. Plus, Pena doesn’t necessarily profile as the Latin heartthrob type that Estrada was. (Back in 2005, That 70s Show‘s Wilmer Valderrama was attached to a CHiPs movie as Ponch.)
However, Shepard told Vulture that he doesn’t intend to make a spoof. He wants something along the lines of Lethal Weapon or Bad Boys, with big action. In his view, Pena (who’s one of our great character actors) is far better for that kind of role.
