Don’t you hate it when you really get into a tv series, and then it gets canceled? Yea? Well me too. Television series get canceled for many reasons. Sometimes the plotline just isn’t good, other times the budget just isn’t worth it, but that doesn’t make your connection to the show any less important. It’s quite frustrating when shows you really enjoy get canceled, but you learn to deal with it….most of the time.
There was a show that I enjoyed a lot that was canceled during the second season. I was upset because it was the first show that I watched that had an actual continuous storyline to follow. The news was made that they would finish the series with an 8 episode season for the 3rd season. That show goes by the name of Make It Or Break It. Make it Or Break It premiered on ABC Family (Freeform) in 2009. The series starred Ayla Kell, Josie Loren, Cassie Scerbo, and Chelsea Hobbs as four gymnasts working towards their dream of winning gold at the Olympics. The series lasted 3 seasons, although it was really more like 2 and a half.
A Little Background Info
Let me break it down on how their seasons worked. Make It Or Break It followed a similar format for their seasons that a lot of drama series have. The first two seasons consisted of 20 episodes split between two parts. They would have a mid-season finale and a season final. The season 2B finale of Make It Or Break It was all about the girls competing at the World Championships. I mean them doing great at the World Championships is a decent finale right? Wrong! The World Championships are not the Olympics and the whole goal of the series was to see the gymnasts win gold at the Olympics, so something needed to be done. ABC Family, at the time, thought they did something to ease the fans, but they made a mistake. There was an amazing setup that they did not take advantage of.
Let The Rhythm Flow
Season 3 of the show premiered in March of 2012, almost a year after the season 2 premiere. This season focused on now the 3 girls, Payson, Kaylie, and Lauren, at the USA training center working towards making it onto the US Women’s Olympic Team. I’ll admit that seeing them train and manage new and old relationships and dynamics amongst a new group of athletes was interesting. However, the way they closed the series was not.
With the last episode of season 3 premiering in May of 2012, there was a gap between the last episode and the beginning of the 2012 Summer Olympics in July. Normally, the first half of a season premieres in the summer while the 2nd half premiers in the following spring. With season 3 premiering in the spring, there was an opportunity for reality to match up with fiction.
Personally, I feel like the showrunners should have kept the first half of season 3 as is but make it an actual midseason finale instead of the series finale. This would show Lauren, Payson, and Kaylie making the Olympic team right before the actual Olympics. The show would then come back during the fall lineup, showing the girls competing at the 2012 Summer Olympics and whether or not they won gold. It was perfect, but I get that there are other elements that go into whether or, not a show stays on the air. I understand but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating. Season 3 was a huge let down because of how rushed it was. Plus, Lauren kind of got the short end of the stick since this season kind of focused on her character arc, but they only had 8 episodes to play with.
A Make It Or Break It Reboot?
Reboots have been popping up all over the place on different networks. Maybe that’s what Make It or Break It needs, a reboot to help tie the strings together so we, the fans can know what our favorite Rock gymnasts are up to and whether or not they are Olympic medalists.
Did you watch Make It or Break It? If so, were you just as frustrated as I was with season 3? If not, what was one show cancellation that had you all in your feelings? Share in the comments!
Header Image Credit: Freeform
We need answers!!!!!!!! THIS IS A VERY BAD CLIFF HANGER! THE WHOLE IDEA OF THE SERIES WAS ABOUT GOING TO THE OLYMPICS. IT CANT BE ENDED AS THEY LEAD INTO OLYMPIC TEAM!!! GRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
We deserve answers!! They need to give us something, a mini series, a movie, a Netflix series. Those would all work.
Would love to see this show come back and the same cast. See what happened to them all. Now grown up. Maybe a new cast with their kids or whatever. Also it’s a good family show. Kids are so in to technology even at a very young age. These are kinda the shows kids could become something. But would love to see what the old cast and maybe a new cast along with it.
Having a reboot with the old cast and new characters would be cool! I hope Freeform is listening because there are so many ways to bring the show and characters back.
I would give my left arm to have them finish make it or break it. It’s my favourite show of all time. I did competitive trampolining and found the show very realistic and inspiring.
The show was building to the Olympics. We need to see them at the Olympics 😭
I just discovered this show while I was sick at home and I binge-watched the entire series in a week and a half. I loved watching all the gymnastics involved in the show and wondered how they managed to do all that since they were actors and not gymnasts that played those roles.
The storylines were incredible, quite frustrating most of the time, with Lauren as the protagonist always causing trouble, Payson always trying to be the do-gooder, Emily just struggling with everything from trying to make her mother behave like a mother and provide for the family while figuring out how to have a friend, but unsuccessfully keep him from becoming her boyfriend, to hiding that fact as well as the fact that she is working a forbidden job. Kaylie just trying to keep up with what she believes everyone expects of her – being the perfect gymnast nearly kills her, by the way she was doing it, until she finally gets the help she needed. Funny how all four of them ended up with health issues … Payson with her broken back and a twisted ankle, Kaylie with anorexia, Emily pregnant, and Lauren with a heart murmur or whatever it was.
There was one thing missing on the show, however, instead of having a mystery girl that they never mentioned as the fifth member of the team going to the Olympics, I wish they had taken Kelly Martin in the end. She turned out to be a sweet girl that just had an overbearing mother that made her feel all the stress and turned her into a mean competitive person, but she was nice in the end when she ended up working together with the other rock girls. It would have been nice to have her as the fifth team member.
I also agree with everyone else that the series ended prematurely. They never should have ended the series prior to the girls going all the way!!! We needed the conclusion of the show to be watching them winning the Olympic medals.
123, 321…end of show!!!
Welcome to the Make it or Break it community! Glad you found and liked the show. They definitely did use a few cliches to create the girls’ characters and personalities. Kelly would have been a great choice on the Olympic team. I feel like they tried to change her a little bit too much the last season. She can get along just fine with everyone without having to do a complete 180
I’m watching again for the first time since high school!! I followed mostly because I rooted for the underdog, Emily!! I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO EMILY KMETKO!
Writing Emily out was a mistake they should have had her miscarry leaving a door open to keep Emily. I also feel that they should’ve explained Ellen Bealls motives towards Emily and Kaylie. If you recall Ellen Bealls was an aspiring gymnast but never made it to the Olympics I also wonder if she was friends with Kaylie’s mother and if Ronnie Cruz’s making it to the Olympics caused a rift between them?
I remember when it aired, the actress was pregnant in real life so had to be written out..
I feel having Emily get pregnant was a mistake. What should’ve been done was explore Ellen Bealls’s dislike of Emily. Maybe have Ellen Bealls getting Emily to turn against the everyone at the Rock and having bring Emily back would have been a great story idea.
That would have been an interesting twist! We need a movie or something. There is still so much story to tell.
Agreed! I watched this when I was 12 and now watching at 23. I need answers!!
The last time I watched this show was when I was in high school. Now watching again at 24 I’m pissed! Where’s episode 9 from season three lol! I didn’t dedicate my time and my tears and my anger into this show to now see them win Olympic 2012 lol please bring it back! Plus I want to see what happened to Wendy evil self
Wendy was evil wasn’t she lol. I completely understand your frustrations. I’ve rewatched the show a few times, and every time, I still can’t believe that’s how they chose to end the series. Like, can we get a movie or something? What is everybody doing, we need to know.
Just rewatched hoping to see them win Gold at the olympics. Just disappointed
100%.. I think there should be a reboot. This show was brilliantly produced at first, but did fall into a speed trap of a finale. There was SO much potential for the ending.
It would be great to bring it back and basically do a flashback to where they ok left off, and what they have all been up to the past 10 years.
Yes! A flashback series is what we fans deserve. There is still so much story to tell
We need this to be a actual thing. Reboot would just be perfect
It absolutely would!
I could not agree more I miss this show so much it deserves more it is still to this day one of the best shows I watched I was truly hooked on the show even rewatched the show a bunch of times from start to finish it need to come back
Do a reboot!! Finish the story!! Ladies character was just getting interesting!! She was transforming and I loved her!!
*Laurens Character
Yes! Lauren was just starting to turn things around. I think her character got a short end of the stick for sure. She was one of my favorites after Payson.
i want make it or break it back i think it’s a wonderful show and i would love to see all the girls get there and as well see how emily is doing as well make it a big reunion and since many years have past and the girls are older it could be a look back season showing the girls much older and going good back showing who won and there winnings i think it could be like a flash in the past type of series and even not a series maybe even just a movie to finish the recap thank you
A flash in the past series or movie would be such a good idea! It would give us fans of the show some much needed closure, and it would be so cool to see who won and what everyone is up too. Make it or break it was the first teen-drama show I watched so I have a lot of thoughts about it lol
I definitely think they should bring this show back. It was a great show I smiled I got mad it was perfect. I want to know what happened to everyone. Maybe the girls grew up had kids of their own maybe they a gymnast maybe they became coaches something
That would be an interesting storyline for a new show! Seeing their kids as gymnasts or seeing the girls being involved in the gymnastics world as adults. There are so many ideas out there, Freeform needs to take notes lol
Emily’s kid is almost the right age…