HBO Family: Lifestories - Families in Crisis

I recently started watching this show on HBO Family called "Lifestories - Families in Crisis." Watching this show for the first time is not unlike your first experience with that commercial that shows two kids sitting in a drivethru. You know the one I'm talking about. You thought to yourself, "not another McDonald's commercial..." when all of a sudden, the kids are talking about how high they are. Your ears perk up and you wondered if you missed the memo on marijuana legalization. While still pensive, eyes glued to the TV set, BAM! - the kids run over a little Latina girl wearing a helmet and riding her bike. You sat there dumbfounded, trying to figure out how to process the the last 30-seconds of what you just watched.
Yep, the HBO show is very similar. It pulls you in, takes you for a ride, then leaves you dumbfounded in the end. Just when you try and figure out how to process the last 30-minutes of what you just watched - BAM - the real life person, who this happened to has a little epilogue. And it all comes together. Commercials are just 30-second versions of 30-minute documentaries, true life stories. Just because those little kids were actors, doesn't mean it couldn't happen. It's totally a plausible situation. Or is it?