In The Pipeline: Biker Cops USA

In The Pipeline is a new feature strand exploring projects not yet in production that are looking for partners. If you would like to feature, email Richard.Middleton@broadcastnow.co.uk

UK producer Mentorn Media has considerable form when it comes to policing series, and this upcoming project looks to take that expertise to the great highways of America’s west coast.

Biker Cops USA intends to tap into the extensive archives of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to deliver high-end production values at a competitive price point.

Planned as a 10 x 60-minute series – although this may change – it will look to satisfy the global demand for premium blue-light and ridealong programming, with a focus on thrilling access and high-stakes storytelling.

Mentorn has partnered with Tinopolis sibling Passion Distribution on the project, and Nick Tanner, director of sales and co-productions at the sales firm, says the show will deliver a fresh take on American road policing.

“The project combines Mentorn’s proven expertise in the genre with one of the world’s most iconic law enforcement agencies – together with its extensive archive material,” he adds.

It is a visceral, frontline perspective on policing America’s incredible highway network

Yonni Usiskin, Mentorn Media

The series is being developed by Cara Cummings and Jack Dargov, while Tayte Simpson and Yonni Usiskin are producing for Mentorn, which has been behind some of the UK’s most successful policing franchises to date, including Traffic Cops and Inside The Police Force.

Usiskin describes Biker Cops USA as a “high-octane documentary series” that will revisit dramatic pursuits and major incidents through the eyes of the California Highway Patrol motorcycle officers, as they pursue dangerous offenders and respond to major incidents.

Episodes aim to confront the daily realities of policing some of America’s most iconic roads, while the partnership with the CHP has enabled the Mentorn team to access unprecedented archive. As a result, producers are aiming to offer viewers a combination of actual footage and gripping first-person accounts to deliver, as Usiskin puts it, a “visceral, frontline perspective on policing America’s incredible highway network”.

The project is currently in pre-production and rights are available worldwide, although a deal is pending in the US.

Tanner says that Passion is looking to bring in broadcasters, streamers and financing partners interested in joining the project at an early stage through pre-sales, co-production or deficit financing arrangements.

Budget levels have not been revealed publicly – although the project is described as a cost-efficient production – but Tanner says the combination of Mentorn’s production skill on these types of shows and the CHP’s involvement is set to make it a popular project among buyers.

“Biker Cops USA combines Mentorn’s expertise in road-policing storytelling with the distinctive perspective of California Highway Patrol officers,” he says. “Archive footage throws viewers into the heart of the action, while the officers who lived it relive the adrenaline and reveal the split-second decisions they made with lives on the line.

“It is unusual for high-octane, returnable US policing series to be available in distribution – they’re usually locked within international networks and streamers.”