Dax Shepard takes "CHIPS" from primetime to "Bad Boys"

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dax Shepard was only 2 when "CHiPs" started airing on NBC and 8 by the time the popular series about the California Highway Patrol ended.

[...] it was a faint memory until recently, when Shepard found himself googling how to spell Poncherello for a joke for a screenplay he was writing and came across a photo of Jon and Ponch looking "kind of cool."

The once family friendly show has veered into hard-R territory in the feature film, out Friday.

The father of two, a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old, had been up all night with his youngest and was dealing with a hot water heater replacement while his wife, actress Kristen Bell, was out of town.

At 42, Shepard has a few writing and directing credits to his name, including "Brother's Justice" and "Hit and Run," but he's no doubt more widely known for his acting in films like "Idiocracy" and televisions shows like "Punk'd" and "Parenthood."

From there, Shepard got to make the action comedy he's felt has been missing from cinemas in the past 15 years — one that doesn't treat the action as a throwaway.

Shepard took pains to do everything practically, from the motorcycle stunts to blowing up propane tanks.

"Everything is about timing and you can't really mess up when you're blowing up cars and splitting trailers in half..you have one shot to get it and you better get it," Panay said.