Make It or Break It

Make It or Break It is an American television drama series that focuses on the lives of teen gymnasts who strive to make it to the Olympic Games. It premiered on ABC Family on June 22, 2009, with 2.5 million viewers.^[1] The show was picked up for an additional 10 episodes on July 27, 2009,^[2] which started airing on January 4, 2010, bringing the number of episodes in the first season to 20.^[3][4] In January 2010, the show was renewed for a second season,^[5] which premiered on June 28, 2010 at 10PM.^[6] Starting on July 13, new episodes aired following Pretty Little Liars.^[7] Internationally, the show airs on E4 in the United Kingdom,^[8] Cafe in India, FOX8 in Australia and on TV2 in New Zealand. The show's second season resumed after a six-month hiatus on March 28, 2011. The series was renewed for a third season on September 16, 2011 and will premiere in March 2012.^[9]

Make It or Break It was created by Holly Sorensen who, along with Paul Stupin and John Ziffren, serves as the show's executive producer.

Premise

In Season One, Payson Keeler (Ayla Kell), Kaylie Cruz (Josie Loren), and Lauren Tanner, (Cassie Scerbo) are three elite-level gymnasts. They train at one of the best gyms in the country, the, fictional, "Rocky Mountain Gymnastics Training Center", or "Rock", in Boulder, Colorado, in hopes of winning gold at the 2012 Olympics in London. The three girls have been best friends and team mates for years. They are joined by newcomer Emily Kmetko (Chelsea Hobbs), an untrained gymnastics phenom plucked from obscurity after she is witnessed performing an impromptu routine at a playground. The girls future is thrown into turmoil when their head coach, Marty Walsh (Erik Palladino), is blackmailed out of his job at The Rock and is replaced by Sasha Belov (Neil Jackson), a former Olympic champion with a demanding coaching style. While Payson, one of the top gymnasts in the country, appreciates Sasha's experience and drive, the other girls chafe at his demanding style and the restrictions on their personal lives. In the First Midseason Finale, the girls compete at the National Gymnastics Championships, where the top 13 girls will be chosen for the national team, the first step on the road to being chosen for the Olympic team. Lauren engages in various schemes to improve her chances, but in the end Kaylie receives the title of National Champion after a bad fall on the uneven bars leaves Payson with a fractured spine and the diagnosis that she will never do gymnastics again. Kaylie, Lauren, and Emily all receive spots on the national team.

As Season One resumes, Payson must deal with the seeming end of her gymnastics career and dreams, and she struggles to integrate into regular teenage life. When she has the opportunity to undergo a cutting-edge surgery to fix her spine, she jumps at the chance. The operation is successful, but it becomes clear that she will never be the same gymnast she used to be as her body has changed during her recuperation period. Meanwhile, the three Rock girls find an enemy in the head of the National Gymnastics Committee, Ellen Beals (Michelle Clunie), who prizes obedience to her authority above all else and feels threatened by The Rock girls' independence. The girls continue to face renewed personal challenges. Payson's father is laid off from his job and has to accept another one far away from Boulder. Payson's mother Kim takes over managing The Rock as the girls are shut out of the National Team. In the First Season Finale, The Rock holds a private meet between them and the Chinese Team, the best in the world. Working together, the girls are able to get five medals, more then the US National Team got in Beijing, thus proving that they belong on the team.

In the second season, Sasha hopes to revitalize Payson's career by transitioning her into being an artistic gymnast. Payson, whose previous style had emphasized raw power over grace, and who continues to have conflicted feelings about her own femininity and beauty, is skeptical at first but eventually comes around and develops a closer relationship with Sasha. Newly minted national champion Kaylie struggles with the demands of her position and slowly develops an eating disorder. In the midseason finale, the four girls all earn spots on the World Team.

When Season Two returns, the girls must cope with the loss of Sasha. They are joined at The Rock by superstar male gymnast Austin Tucker ([[Zane Holtz After eventually breaking down, Kaylie admits to having an eating disorder and seeks treatment in rehab. The other girls continue to train for the world gymnastics competition, a task made harder by the presence of their arch enemy Kelly Parker (Nicole Anderson) at The Rock. Sasha returns after the girls track him down in Romania and Lauren and starts to like him better as a coach as he begins coaching her directly. In the wake of Emily's departure, Kelly Parker becomes closer to the other girls, despite the scheming of her stage mother (Kathy Najimy). In the season finale the four girls lead the team to the Worlds competition in Rio de Janeiro where they win gold!

Cast and characters

Main characters

Recurring characters

U.S. Nielsen ratings

The following is a table with the average estimated amount of viewers per episode, each season of Make It or Break It on ABC Family.

Home releases

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released the first 10 episodes in a set entitled Make It or Break It – Volume 1: Extended Edition. Bonus material includes deleted scenes, the never-before-seen extended finale, and the featurette "Making It," which shows how the stars manage the acting with the difficult stunts they do.^[14][15]

Season One

Season Two

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Official website
• Make It or Break It at the Internet Movie Database
• Make It or Break It at TV.com
• Spanny Tampson's Big Fake Smile [1]. A gymnastics blog that deconstructs each episode of Make It Or Break It.