They are the men and women who safeguard our nation's intersections. They are the selfless professionals that shepherd people across the street -- young, old, rich, poor. They are the thin orange line between order and chaos. They are... the crossing guards. And acclaimed actor-director-and-social activist Sean Penn has come to ABC to tell you their stories.

"When I first began work on my critically acclaimed movie 'The Crossing Guard,' which is not actually about a crossing guard, I thought, 'Hey, I wish I knew more about crossing guards,'" Penn said. "So after wrapping up production on 'The Crossing Guard," which is now available on DVD and videocassette, I began talking to actual crossing guards, listening to their stories, learning about their hopes and fears. And I thought, 'Man, this might make for an interesting TV show.'"

Interesting doesn't begin to describe Crossing Guards!, which journeys each week to the busiest intersections in America to capture the real-life drama of actual crossing guards in cinema veritae style. All the action-packed thrills are shown unflinchingly by Penn's camera -- the man in Pelham, Alabama, who refused to let the local crossing guard help him across the street, the kindergardner in Muncie, Indiana, who stops in the middle of the crosswalk to tie her shoelace, the incident in Tacoma, Washington, where an angry driver honks his horn at the crossing guard.

On Sunday nights at 8, make sure you look both ways before turning your TV to ABC -- and turning on Crossing Guards!

Coming Soon: Celebrity Crossing Guards! Don Rickles and Harvey Korman prove that the chicken isn't the only funny thing to cross the road.