# Breaking Away (TV series)

Breaking Away is a 1980 American comedy-drama television series. 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 crazy 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 series 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 onto the air and suffered low ratings. It was canceled after eight episodes were filmed though only seven episodes aired during its original run. ABC showed reruns of the series during the summer of 1981, and it was also rerun by A&E during 1985–1987.

## Cast

* Shaun Cassidy as Dave Stohler (portrayed by Dennis Christopher in the film)
* Tom Wiggin as Mike (portrayed by Dennis Quaid in the film)
* Thom Bray as Cyril (portrayed by Daniel Stern in the film)
* Jackie Earle Haley as Moocher (reprising his role in the film)
* Barbara Barrie as Evelyn Stohler, Dave's mother (reprising her role in the film)
* Vincent Gardenia as Raymond Stohler, Dave's father (portrayed by Paul Dooley in the film)

### 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
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
| 1 | "The Cutters" | Joe Rubin | Steve Tesich | November 29, 1980 (1980-11-29) | Z-902 |
| The series opens one year before the film as Dave and his friends graduate high school. ||||||
| 2 | "The American Dream" | Stan Lathan | Charles Rosin | December 6, 1980 (1980-12-06) | Z-602 |
| Dave audits a college class and meets Paulina, and a co-ed gets Mike to play in a football game for a fraternity. ||||||
| 3 | "Knowing Her" | Kim Friedman | Jerry McNeely | December 13, 1980 (1980-12-13) | Z-603 |
| Cyril dates a co-ed, Moocher gets a job in a movie theater, and Evelyn takes a real-estate course. ||||||
| 4 | "King of the Quarry" | Victor Lobl | Steve Pritzker | December 20, 1980 (1980-12-20) | Z-601 |
| Ray guest lectures at the university, and Moocher get a job offer in Chicago. ||||||
| 5 | "Heart Like a Wheel" | Jack Bender | Caroline Elias | December 27, 1980 (1980-12-27) | TBA |
| Paulina meets Dave's parents over dinner, Moocher asks Nancy to move in together, and Mike drag races a college student. ||||||
| 6 | "Rainy Night in Georgia" | Stan Lathan | Jerry McNeely & Charles Rosin | January 3, 1981 (1981-01-03) | TBA |
| Evelyn wants Ray to buy land near the university as an investment. ||||||
| 7 | "La Strada" | Jeff Bleckner | Steve Tesich & Glenn Gordon Caron | January 10, 1981 (1981-01-10) | TBA |
| The guys get a painting job, and Dave's bicycle is stolen. ||||||
| 8 | "Grand Illusion" | TBD | TBD | UNAIRED | TBA |