June 22, 2009 – The ABC Family Series Make it Or Break It Premieres
“It’s so weird: all this work and it can be all over in one weekend.”
On June 22, 2009, the drama series Make It or Break It premiered on ABC Family. Inspired by the comedy-drama film Stick It, the series revolved around four elite gymnasts who wished to make it to the Olympics. The series lasted for three seasons with 48 episodes. It was created by Holly Sorensen, and starred Chelsea Hobbs as Emily Kmetko, Ayla Kell as Payson Keeler, Josie Loren as Kaylie Cruz, and Cassie Scerbo as Lauren Tanner.
The pilot episode begins at the Rocky Mountain Gymnastics Training Center (also known as the Rock), where several Olympic hopeful gymnasts are arriving. Best friends Payson, Kaylie, and Lauren are preparing to head to their last Nationals, though Kaylie and Lauren are looking forward to life after competing. The top three gymnasts will be heading to Nationals, with the three girls eyeing the spots. A last minute competitor named Emily joins the race, giving the three girls some anxiety, particularly Lauren. Kaylie attempts to be nice to Emily, while Lauren is rather snippy. Lauren attempts to turn Kaylie and Payson against Emily, but Kaylie and Payson would rather pay attention to their own work. Emily has a scholarship to attend The Rock, and is nervous about maintaining it. Each girl has their own troubles to work with, with each dealing with the pressure to win a spot at Nationals.
Emily starts the long trek home from The Rock when her mom forgets to pick her up
Emily ends up walking home from the Rock, and accidentally finds Kaylie making out with fellow gymnast Carter, which is a violation of the rules of the Rock. When Emily arrives home, she finds that her mother has forgotten about the National Tryouts, but Emily is able to smooth things over. Carter drives Kaylie home and wants to tell her father about their relationship, but Kaylie refuses as they should focus on Nationals. Lauren arrives at Kaylie’s, and says that her father will “take care of Emily,” making sure that she will not qualify for the team. Emily arrives at her new job to pick up her uniform, and ends up having to work a shift, keeping her late at the restaurant. She ends up making friends with fellow employee Razor, although he seems to have an immediate crush on her. The next morning, Emily oversleeps and rushes to make it to the trials. She barely manages to make it, but arrives just in time.
The competition begins, and Emily holding her own against the other three girls, though she still holds in fourth place. Lauren, known as “Queen of the Beam,” heads up to do her routine, but falls off the beam at the start, costing her some serious points. Realizing that Emily deserves a shot at top three, Payson starts cheering Emily on, with everyone joining her. Emily nails her beam routine, and nails her position in top three, crushing Lauren. Lauren decides to sabotage Emily’s vault routine, especially knowing that Emily is afraid of the vault. Unaware of the sabotage, Emily takes off, and injures herself badly on the vault. Emily doesn’t want to go to the hospital, but she is taken to rest in the back. Emily’s mom wants her to give up on her dream, but Emily refuses to quit. She is allowed to have her second vault, and sets the board herself to prevent another injury. She nails the vault, and manages to win her shot at Nationals. Lauren is hurt that she lost her spot, and decides to get it another way: by spilling the details of Kaylie’s verboten relationship with Carter. However, Emily defends Kaylie, covering for her. In the end, Lauren’s father, who funds the Rock, goes to the coach and blackmails him into taking Lauren and a few other girls to the Denver club. This leaves Kaylie, Payson, and Emily with no coach, and no hope before Nationals.
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