When: Sunday, 5.30pm
Where: TV2
We may not be as fanatical about gymnastics as our American friends, unless you count Nikki Jenkins as our Shawn Johnson. But a family drama from the ABC Family network could change that.
With its threats of personal failure and serious injury, Make It or Break It follows a clique
of teen girls as they prepare for the Olympics. It's a cut-throat world both on and off the mat, bars, and beam.
Emily (Chelsea Hobbs) has worked her way into the gymnastic academy - the Rock - with help from a scholarship, not that her talent endears her to spoiled Lauren (Cassie Scerbo), whose wealthy dad props it up.
The rivalry extends to friendships with equally driven Payson (Ayla Kell), and Kaylee (Josie Loren). Emily also experiences conflict with her single mother.
"My relationship with my mother was almost a carbon copy of this," says Hobbs in Los Angeles. "She embarrassed me a lot sometimes. All the boys wanted to come over to see my mom, not me."
If the teen angst, boyfriend and family trouble doesn't grab you, the high-flying gymnastic routines will. And for those who may otherwise consider themselves out of the target market, there's a dollop of nostalgia with two of the adult roles played by Peri Gilpin (Roz from Frasier) and Candace Cameron Bure (DJ from Full House).
Although the young stars use body doubles for the tricky dismounts and dangerous stunts, much of the time it's them on the bars or vault. That means there's no such thing as downtime between takes as they practise their routines. Hobbs was also put on a hardcore protein diet to help build up her "scrawny" frame. It worked, but left her feeling sick.
The wardrobe was just as challenging.
"I have to go to set every day and wear that stupid leotard, we all hate it," says Scerbo.
"At the same time it is cool because you're working out and working at the same time. It is really fun and keeps us in shape."
"You get makeup in really random places," adds Loren. "We all get rashes because the stitching is so rough and we are literally wearing them for 12 hours, sometimes more a day. And it really hurts. When I get a velvet leotard I'm so excited. I've never been so happy to wear velvet in my life."
Like all good teen dramas, Make It Or Break It has its fair share of life lessons. Hormones and high-stakes competition creates a pressure cooker for drama; some of the families have uprooted themselves to follow their child's dream. The show also shines a spotlight on the intensity of athletic training, the lure of performance-enhancing drugs and the political obstacles athletes face as they rise through the gymnastic ranks. It's more melodramatic than Glee.
"I think gymnasts are good role models," says Scerbo.
"They are in the gym 24/7 they are constrained and focused on their craft. It is really exciting to watch. The girls are so graceful."
