Breaking Away (TV series)

Breaking Away
Genre	Comedy/Drama
Created by	Steve Tesich
Starring	Shaun Cassidy Jackie Earle Haley Barbara Barrie
Composer(s)	Lance Rubin
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	8
Production
Executive producer(s)	Peter Yates
Producer(s)	Sam Manners Glenn Gordon Caron (Supervising Producer)
Cinematography	Brianne Murphy
Editor(s)	Artie Mandelberg Gene Ruggiero
Running time	1 hour (inc. commercials)
Production company(s)	20th Century Fox
Release
Original network	ABC
Picture format	4:3 color film
Original release	November 29, 1980 – January 10, 1981
Chronology
Preceded by	Breaking Away

Breaking Away is a 1980 American comedy-drama television series that was based on the 1979 film of the same name. It was created by Steve Tesich, who wrote the original film, and the film's director Peter Yates served as Executive Producer.

As a prequel, the series was set during the year prior to the events of the film. Shaun Cassidy took over the role of Dave Stohler (played by Dennis Christopher in the film), a young man mad about bicycle racing and all things Italian. Barbara Barrie, Jackie Earle Haley and John Ashton reprised their roles from the film. The television series was set in Bloomington, Indiana, but was actually shot in Athens, Georgia.

The show was caught up in the 1980 Screen Actors Guild Strike and did not begin production until that fall. While heavily promoted by ABC, it was overlooked by TV audiences once it got on the air and suffered low ratings. It was cancelled after eight episodes were filmed, though only seven episodes aired during its original run. ABC showed reruns of the show during the summer of 1981, and it was also rerun by the Arts & Entertainment cable channel during 1985–1987.

Cast

• Shaun Cassidy as Dave Stohler
• Tom Wiggin as Mike
• Thom Bray as Cyril
• Jackie Earle Haley as Moocher
• Barbara Barrie as Evelyn Stohler, Dave's mother
• Vincent Gardenia as Raymond Stohler, Dave's father

Recurring

• Dominique Dunne as Paulina Bornstein (episodes 2, 5, 6, & 8)
• Shelby Brammer as Nancy (episodes 1, 4, 5)
• Steve Doubet as Steve (episodes 2, 4)
• John Ashton as Roy, Mike's brother

Episodes

Episode summaries

#	Title	Director	Writer(s)	Airdate
1x01	"The Cutter"	Joe Rubin	Steve Tesich	29 November 1980 (1980-11-29)
The series opens one year before the film as Dave and his friends graduate high school.
1x02	"The American Dream"	Stan Lathan	Charles Rosin	6 December 1980 (1980-12-06)
Dave audits a college class and meets Paulina, while a co-ed gets Mike to play in a football game for a fraternity. Guest stars: Jeff Corey as Professor Manchester
1x03	"Knowing Her"	Kim Friedman	Jerry McNeely	13 December 1980 (1980-12-13)
Cyril dates a co-ed, Moocher gets a job in a movie theater, Evelyn takes a real-estate course. Guest stars: Larry Larson as Grant/Greg Prince, Woody Eney as Dougherty, Lenora May as Jeanne Lindsay
1x04	"King of the Quarry"	Victor Lobl	Steve Pritzker	20 December 1980 (1980-12-20)
Ray guest lectures at the university, Moocher get a job offer in Chicago. Guest stars: Brian Lane Green as Jerry, Lauri Huffer as Jennifer
1x05	"Heart Like a Wheel"	Jack Bender	Caroline Elias	27 December 1980 (1980-12-27)
Paulina meets Dave's parents over dinner, Moocher asks Nancy to move in together, and Mike drag races a college student. Guest stars: Chris Lemmon as Danny
1x06	"Rainy Night in Georgia"	Stan Lathan	Jerry McNeely & Charles Rosin	3 January 1981 (1981-01-03)
Evelyn wants Ray to buy land near the university as an investment
1x07	"La Strada"	Jeff Bleckner	Steve Tesich & Glenn Gordon Caron	10 January 1981 (1981-01-10)
The guys get a painting job, Dave's bicycle is stolen. Guest stars: Mark Metcalf as Racer, Dennis Robertson as Simms
1x08	"Grand Illusion"	——	——	unaired

External links

• Breaking Away at IMDb