Operation Repo is an American television program

Television program

A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...

 that depicts the world of car repossession

Repossession

Repossession is generally used to refer to a financial institution taking back an object that was either used as collateral or rented or leased in a transaction. Repossession is a "self-help" type of action in which the party having right of ownership of the property in question takes the property...

 with a team that portrays fictionalized tales of repossessions from California's San Fernando Valley

San Fernando Valley

The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...

. Similar to another truTV show, Southern Fried Stings

Southern Fried Stings

Southern Fried Stings is an American television series where ex-state trooper Jay Russell and his "Jay Team" portray sting operations throughout the Southern United States. The series consists of scripted "re-enactments" and videotaped in a cinéma vérité style in southern cities...

, the series is filmed in a cinema verité

Cinéma vérité

Cinéma vérité is a style of documentary filmmaking, combining naturalistic techniques with stylized cinematic devices of editing and camerawork, staged set-ups, and the use of the camera to provoke subjects. It is also known for taking a provocative stance toward its topics.There are subtle yet...

 style but consists of scripted and dramatized performances by actors. The show is filmed by recreating scenes which show the cast conducting repossession of automobiles for finance companies

Creditor

A creditor is a party that has a claim to the services of a second party. It is a person or institution to whom money is owed. The first party, in general, has provided some property or service to the second party under the assumption that the second party will return an equivalent property or...

. In the show they also perform repossession of other exotic and strange items such as luxury boats, planes, limousines, ATVs, Zambonis

Ice resurfacer

An ice resurfacer is a truck-like vehicle or smaller device used to clean and smooth the surface of an ice rink. The first ice resurfacer was developed by Frank J. Zamboni in 1949 in the city of Paramount, California...

, tow trucks, expensive bicycles, hot air balloons and tanning beds.

Re-enactment and authenticity

Operation Repo consists of what are purported to be actual stories from repossession incidents; however, the show depicts scripted and dramatized re-enactments in which the cast recreates incidents using actors and staged action footage. There is a disclaimer at the beginning of the show which says: "The stories that are portrayed in this program are based on real events. The names of the characters were changed in order to protect their identities... and some honor".

History

Operation Repo was first produced in an English-language version in 2008. The show is based on a Spanish-language program of essentially the same name, Operación Repo, shown on Telemundo

Telemundo

Telemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....

, which launched in October 2006. Operación Repo has been the number-one rated show on Telemundo.

The eighth U.S. season premiered on January 26, 2011 and the season finale aired April 27, 2011. Operation Repo also airs on OLN in Canada and RTL7 in the Netherlands and on 7-Mate In Australia

Cast

Lou's Team [2008-present]:

• Luis 'Lou' Pizarro - himself (Boss) [2008-present]
• Sonia Pizarro - herself (Lou's sister) [2008-present]
• Lyndah Pizarro - herself (Lou's daughter) [2008-present]
• Froylan 'Froy' Tercero - himself (Sonia's ex-husband) [2008-2011, 2011-present]
• Matt Burch - himself (friend) [2008-2009, 2009-2011, 2011-present]
• Ashley Burch - Herself (Matt's daughter) [2011-present]

Matt & Froy's Team [2011]:

• Matt Burch [2011]
• Froylan 'Froy' Tercero [2011]

Former cast

• Roberto 'Rob' Pizarro - (Lou's cousin, filled in for Matt & Froy when they temporarily left Lou's team) [2011]
• Vanessa (on the team when the show aired on Telemundo) [2006-2008]
• Mike (joined when Matt left the first time, left while on the show after a dispute with the R.O.) [2009]
• Frankie (team member, fired after being arrested for DUI) [2009]

Production

• Tariq Jalil - Executive Producer
• Francisco Aguilar - Executive Producer/Director
• Luis Pizarro - Executive Producer/Creator
• Stephen A. Phillips - Consulting Producer
• Angel Annussek - Executive Producer (in association with truTV)
• Lars Casteen - Associate Producer (in association with truTV)