HIGHWAY THRU HELL Showrunner Neil Thomas Has a Firm Rule For His TV Crews: ‘It’s Safety, Then Story.’

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede There’s an element to HIGHWAY THRU HELL that perhaps even devoted fans haven’t really considered. Yes, the long-running series – which kicks off Season 9 on Monday, Sept. 14, at 10 p.m. ET on Discovery – provides a front-seat view of how treacherous the weather-battered highways of British Columbia can be. But think about it: For every wreck and rescue mission, there also has to be a film crew there, enduring the same conditions and dangers. “We have an order of things: It’s safety, then story,” said Neil Thomas, executive producer and showrunner. “We’ve had sprained ankles, things like that, but really the injuries have been minimal, because the awareness and the training that we bring is really critical,” Thomas continued. “Everybody is watching each other’s backs.” But sometimes even that isn’t enough, and the people who make HIGHWAY THRU HELL are smart enough to recognize it. “On occasion, if the scene just gets too hairy – let’s say trucks are speeding through, or the recovery itself is on a very bad blind corner, and there’s no safe place to even park – if it is not safe, we have been known to just move on,” Thomas said. “We’ve skipped entire scenes or stories because we felt it’s just not worth the risk to our guys. We’ll just get the next one.” And there’s always a “next one” on HIGHWAY THRU HELL. “We’ve doubled the number of episodes since Season 1, which was nine episodes, and now we’re at 18,” Thomas said. “That’s unheard of and never been done before with this type of programming in Canada. No other show has gone this far, or has had to produce this many episodes.” The TV crews have become more and more skilled through the years, and technological advancements have helped as well. “The crew is typically as little as two people, and up to five at times, depending on the nature of the recovery, and the scale of what we’re trying to achieve,” Thomas said. “Every year it gets better, with the drones and all kinds of fixed cameras, GoPros and whatnot, they just seem to elevate the action and be there for those critical shots. And of course, a foundation of good solid sit-down interviews after the fact adds a layer to it, because we don’t have time to ask Jamie Davis (or any of the other stars of the show) all the questions we want to ask at the side of the road. Our first mandate is to capture, but not slow down.” Thomas has worked on a lot of TV shows, and he has worked with a lot of crew members who have worked on many other shows, so he feels confident when he says HIGHWAY THRU HELL is the most intense show of its kind to film. “We truly are an authentic documentary series – we film thousands and thousands of hours, and then we distill that down to 18 TV hours, which is really 46 minutes and change per episode,” Thomas said. “Every year, I always wonder, ‘How are we going to top this?’ I’ve been the showrunner since Season 5, and I helped develop the idea way back when I broke down on the Coquihalla Highway years ago, and a tow truck the size of the Millennium Falcon showed up. A lightbulb went off in my head. But there are just so many epic and interesting things that happen. It’s a unique place where we film. You can go through four seasons in five minutes.” billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv