Highway Patrol is an American action-crime drama television series that centers around the rough and gruff boss Dan Mathews, played by Oscar winning actor Broderick Crawford. Mathews and his patrol are tasked with maintaining law and order along the expansive rural highways of the western United States. The scenes were based on real-life stories from the files of highway patrol headquarters throughout the country. The way they filmed the shoot-outs and car chases added to authenticity of the action, making it one of the most popular syndicated series in television history.