Runaway is an American drama television series that aired on The CW from September 25, 2006, to October 15, 2006. The series was created by Chad Hodge and was produced by Golly and Darren Star Productions in association with Sony Pictures Television. Along with The Game, it was one of only two series on the new network not to be inherited as previously aired from either of its predecessor networks, The WB and UPN. The show was officially cancelled on October 18, 2006.^[1]

Runaway chronicles the life of the Hollands, an average middle-class American family who just moved to Bridgewater, Iowa, ostensibly from New Orleans, Louisiana, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Despite appearing to be just a normal family looking for a change of scenery, the Hollands are actually the Raders, a family from Potomac, Maryland who are evading the law after Paul Rader, the family patriarch, was convicted of a murder that he did not commit and subsequently jumped bail.

Furthermore, the Raders are hunted by the person who did commit the murder. The killer targets the family, particularly the three children. In a plot line similar to The Fugitive, Paul seeks evidence that will clear his name and end his family's masquerade and danger.

The CW cancelled Runaway on October 18, 2006, four weeks after its debut. Runaway holds the distinction of being the first show to be canceled on the new network. The show never found an audience and had the lowest ratings of the programming on all 5 major broadcast networks.^[2]

Thirteen episode scripts were ordered, and nine episodes were filmed, but only three were broadcast by the CW. The unfilmed scripts were named "They Say It's Your Birthday", "Dashing Through the Snow", "Trial and Error", and "Knock, Knock".^{[citation needed]}

The series aired on both Global and CH in Canada. In March 2009, 3e started showing Runaway for the first time in Ireland. In June 2007, British Television channel E4 started showing Runaway. In the UK, the fifth episode was due to be shown on July 18, but was replaced by How to Look Good Naked; the episode was eventually shown early the next morning at 1:35am and since then had a very late timeslot of around 1 am, Thursday morning. The show's slot was moved from late evening to early morning due to poor ratings. All nine episodes were aired in the UK.

For the season it was broadcast, Runaway scored last with a ranking of 142, and an average of 2 million viewers.^[5] In May 2007, the other new, scripted CW drama, Hidden Palms, would go to achieve a new CW record with even lower viewer turnout than Runaway—even in the less competitive summer season.^{[citation needed]}