What's Happening!!
The Runaway
TV Flash files “The Runaway” as a desk essential hour — What's Happening!! (1976–1979) on ABC, season 1, episode 1, aired 1976-08-05, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E01: listed hour 1 of 65 in the What's Happening!! guide, first listed hour of season 1. It aired 1976-08-05 (30 min). No earlier hour is listed in this guide. Next is “The Birthday Present” (S01E02).
Essential hour: “The Runaway”. The Runaway opens the soda-shop hangout. Raj, Dwayne, and Berry's Rerun already holding court at Rob's Place; Mama's basement rules apply. Cooley High roots, dance breaks loading.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Raj is all set to go to a party with Dwayne and Rerun but at the last minute Mama breaks the news that he has to babysit Dee while she goes out to work.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Runaway sit in the What's Happening!! guide?
S01E01 is listed hour 1 of 65 — first listed hour of season 1, season 1 episode 1.
When did What's Happening!! S01E01 air?
The Runaway aired 1976-08-05 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Do I need Cooley High first?
No. The film is the root. The series is a Los Angeles teen hangout at Rob's Place with Raj, Dwayne, and Rerun.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Raj, Dwayne, and Fred Berry's Rerun hold court at Rob's Place while Mama's basement rules still apply. Black teen hangout sitcom with Cooley High roots and a later sequel afterlife. Dance breaks, soda-shop plotting, and syndication love that outlasted the original ABC run by years.
Picture a soda shop that outlasted the network night that hosted it. ABC, 1976–1979: three Los Angeles teens navigate school, dances, and schemes under family eyes and the neighborhood burger joint. What's Happening!!, from Eric Monte and inspired by the film Cooley High, put Ernest Thomas's Raj, Fred Berry's Rerun, and Haywood Nelson's Dwayne at Rob's Place with Danielle Spencer's Dee, Mabel King's Mama Shirley, and Shirley Hemphill's Shirley Wilson. Dance breaks, soda-shop plotting, Mama's basement rules.…
Filed against
- Ernest Thomas as Roger 'Raj' Thomas
Ernest Thomas held court as Roger 'Raj' Thomas on What's Happening!! — Rob's Place, Mama's basement rules, Cooley High roots, a Black teen hangout sitcom whose syndication love outlasted the ABC run. Dance breaks and soda-shop plotting.…
- Fred Berry as Freddie 'Rerun' Stubbs
Fred Berry danced the booth as Freddie 'Rerun' Stubbs on What's Happening!! — Rob's Place, Mama's basement rules, Cooley High roots, a hangout sitcom whose syndication love outlasted ABC. Dance breaks as character. TV Flash files him as…
- Haywood Nelson as Dwayne Nelson
Haywood Nelson's Dwayne Nelson held court at Rob's Place on What's Happening!! — Raj, Fred Berry's Rerun, Mama's basement rules, Black teen hangout sitcom with Cooley High roots and a later sequel afterlife. Dance breaks, soda-shop…
- Danielle Spencer as Dee Thomas
Danielle Spencer’s Dee Thomas ruled What’s Happening!! from the basement up — Raj, Dwayne, and Fred Berry’s Rerun at Rob’s Place, Mama’s rules still applying, a little sister with comic timing that syndication never retired. Black teen…
- Mabel King as Mama Shirley Thomas
Mabel King ruled the basement as Mama Shirley Thomas on What's Happening!! — Raj, Dwayne, and Fred Berry’s Rerun at Rob’s Place, Cooley High roots, a Black teen hangout sitcom with dance breaks and soda-shop plotting. Syndication love…
- Shirley Hemphill as Shirley Wilson
Shirley Hemphill held court as Shirley Wilson on What's Happening!! — Mama's basement rules while Raj, Dwayne, and Rerun keep Rob's Place in business. Black teen hangout sitcom with soda-shop plotting and dance-break joy. TV Flash files…