Runaway is an American television drama series created by Chad Hodge which chronicles the life of the Raders, an average middle-class American family who have a secret: they are frequently on the run from the law.
The series aired in the USA on The CW from 25 September to 15 October, 2006. Thirteen scripts were ordered, nine episodes were filmed, but only three were broadcast before the show was cancelled.
Runaway aired in South Africa on DStv's actionX (now M-Net Action) channel from 11 December, 2006 to 5 February, 2007, on Mondays at 20h00. New episodes broadcast weekly. All nine episodes that were produced aired in South Africa.
Repeats
Tuesdays: 23h00
Sundays: 19h00
Synopsis
In the small town of Bridgewater, Iowa, a new family has just moved in. There is nothing out of the ordinary about The Hollands: Dad, Mom, three kids, a minivan; a normal, middle-class American family. But beneath the surface, this family has a secret...
The Hollands seem like a nice, normal family, but things aren't always what they seem. This family has secrets, beginning with the fact that their last name isn't Holland.
Paul Rader, his wife Lily, teenagers Henry and Hannah, and eight-year-old Tommy are on the run, struggling to blend into a new life, hiding from the legal system that unjustly accused Paul of a terrible and violent crime.
Just weeks ago, Paul was a successful attorney and Lily owned an art gallery near their beautiful home in Potomac, Maryland. That comfortable life was shattered the night Paul was wrongly accused of the murder of Erin Baxter, a beautiful young associate in his law firm.
When Paul started searching for the truth, the real killer's next move was to threaten the lives of the three children, leaving Paul and Lily no choice but to flee with their family.
Now their careers and beautiful home seem a world away, and the Raders are learning how to deal with the challenges of life on the run.
Skills they never dreamed they would need - stealing cars, monitoring police channels, and coming up with credible lies about why they have no evidence of a past - are becoming second nature for Paul and Lily.
For the Rader kids, the emotional strain of leaving familiar friends, schools and routines behind is already taking a toll. While Henry deeply misses his girlfriend, Kylie, and sometimes takes foolhardy risks to stay in touch with her, Tommy is having trouble keeping his lies straight.
Hannah seems to be the only one who prefers the possibility of creating a new life where she isn't the social outcast she was back home.
Despite all the tension and upheaval, there is one undeniable improvement the Raders are starting to notice: they are slowly growing closer as a family.
Meanwhile, the family is unaware that their case has been assigned to Angela Huntley, one of the best agents in the U.S. Marshals' Service. Relentless, intimidating, and as smart as they come, Agent Huntley has focused her considerable skills on finding Paul Rader and his family.
For the moment, though, the Raders are safely hidden away in a quiet corner of Iowa where Paul finds unexpected help from the local realtor, Gina Bennett, an attractive single mom with a law school education.
As Paul works to protect his loved ones and uncover the evidence that will clear him, he lives with the daily fear that his wife or one of his kids will accidentally reveal the family's dark secret.
Even worse, he and Lily both fear that the real killer will finally find them and carry out the threat of violence against the children before they can uncover the truth...