''Cheer'' is an American sport television
docuseries
Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries.
Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film.
*Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...
airing on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
starting in January 2020.
The six-part series follows the nationally ranked forty-member
Navarro College
Navarro College is a public community college in Texas with its main campus in Corsicana and branches in Fairfield, Mexia, Midlothian, and Waxahachie. The college has an annual student enrollment of more than 9,000 students.
The Corsicana ...
Bulldogs Cheer Team from
Corsicana, Texas
Corsicana is a city in Navarro County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 45, 56 miles northeast of Waco, Texas. The population was 23,770 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Navarro County, and an important Agri-busines ...
, under the direction of coach
Monica Aldama
Monica Aldama (born February 9, 1972) is an American cheerleading coach. She is the coach of the co-ed cheerleading team at Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas.
Education
A graduate of Corsicana High School, Aldama enrolled at Tyler Junior Co ...
, as they prepare to compete in the National Cheerleading Championship held annually in
Daytona Beach, Florida
Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal Resort town, resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County, Florida, Volusia County near the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic coastline, its population ...
.
The episodes focus especially on five individual Cheer Team members and include elements of the history of
cheerleading
Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...
, including the formation of the
National Cheerleaders Association
The US National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) was established as a way to bring cheerleaders together to learn new skills. Since 1951, the NCA has held summer camps, and is credited with the invention of the herkie jump, the pom pom, the spirit st ...
(NCA).
As the series begins, the Cheer Team has won fourteen NCA National Championships in the
junior college
A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...
division, as well as five "Grand Nationals" for the highest score of all teams in the competition. One of their closest competitive rivals, also a junior college, is
Trinity Valley Community College
Trinity Valley Community College (TVCC) is a public community college based in Athens, Texas. It has four campuses serving five counties across the southeast and eastern parts of the state.
About
TVCC operates four campuses serving the Texas co ...
in
Athens, Texas
Athens is a city and the county seat of Henderson County, Texas, Henderson County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population was 12,857. The city has called itself the "black-eyed pea, Blac ...
, roughly forty miles away. The final episode addresses the outsized influence of
Varsity Brands
Varsity Brands, Inc. is an American apparel company owned by Bain Capital. It is primarily focused on academic apparel and memorabilia, with its operations split among three major subsidiaries, including Herff Jones—a manufacturer of products suc ...
—just acquired by
Bain Capital
Bain Capital is an American private investment firm based in Boston. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, public equity, impact investing, life sciences, and real estate. Bain Capital invests across a range of industry se ...
—that seems to control most aspects of the billion-dollar competitive cheerleading industry, including broadcast rights of the Daytona finals.
The second season premiered on January 12, 2022.
Background
Cheerleading
Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...
developed from mere boosterism into a sport gradually; as one team would develop pyramids, baskets, throws, and tumbles—combining skills from cheerleading, circus arts (like balancing), and dancing
—other teams would emulate and build on those tricks. Unlike most college sports, cheerleading has no professional league after college, so the National Cheerleading Championship held annually in
Daytona Beach, Florida
Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal Resort town, resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County, Florida, Volusia County near the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic coastline, its population ...
is the highest-level event where cheerleaders can compete.
As of 2020, competitive cheerleading is a billion dollar industry.
Director
Greg Whiteley
Greg Beck Whiteley (born November 11, 1969) is the creator, executive producer, and director of the Netflix documentary series ''Cheer'' (2020–2022) and ''Last Chance U'' (2016–2020). His films include ''New York Doll'' (2005), '' Resolved'' ...
came across
competitive cheerleading
Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...
while filming for his football television series ''
Last Chance U
''Last Chance U'' is an American documentary streaming television series that is produced and premiered by Netflix. The six-episode first season explores the football program at East Mississippi Community College, which features several collegi ...
''.
He was struck by the cheerleaders' athleticism and highly competitive drive.
Navarro College
Navarro College is a public community college in Texas with its main campus in Corsicana and branches in Fairfield, Mexia, Midlothian, and Waxahachie. The college has an annual student enrollment of more than 9,000 students.
The Corsicana ...
, a “9,000-student
community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...
in
Corsicana, Texas
Corsicana is a city in Navarro County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 45, 56 miles northeast of Waco, Texas. The population was 23,770 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Navarro County, and an important Agri-busines ...
, about fifty miles south of Dallas,” has a cheer team coached by
Monica Aldama
Monica Aldama (born February 9, 1972) is an American cheerleading coach. She is the coach of the co-ed cheerleading team at Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas.
Education
A graduate of Corsicana High School, Aldama enrolled at Tyler Junior Co ...
who graduated from
Corsicana High School
Corsicana Independent School District is a public school district based in Corsicana, Texas, United States.
In addition to Corsicana, the district serves the central Navarro County towns of Angus, Mustang, Oak Valley, Retreat, and Richland. ...
, earned a degree in Finance at the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
, then a
Master of Business Administration
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
at the
University of Texas at Tyler
The University of Texas at Tyler (UT Tyler) is a public research university in Tyler, Texas. Founded in 1971, it is a part of the University of Texas System.
UT Tyler consists of five professional colleges and one traditional college of arts and ...
. She was a cheerleader in college.
Because of her devotion to her extended Texan family, and her husband's desire to raise their children near their families, she accepted the position of cheerleading coach at
Navarro College
Navarro College is a public community college in Texas with its main campus in Corsicana and branches in Fairfield, Mexia, Midlothian, and Waxahachie. The college has an annual student enrollment of more than 9,000 students.
The Corsicana ...
. Starting in 2000, she built the program from the ground up, making it into the best in the nation.
Episodes
Series overview
Season 1 (2020)
Season 2 (2022)
Reception
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
the series holds an approval rating of 96% based on 23 reviews, with an average of 7.75/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "With an inspirational troupe of teens and willingness to engage in the tougher trials facing the sport today, ''Cheer'' perfectly captures the highs and lows of what it takes to be a cheerleader." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, it has a weighted average score of 81 out of 100, based on seven critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''s
Hank Stuever
Hank Stuever (born 1968) is an American journalist who writes about popular culture for the ''Style'' section of ''The Washington Post''.
Early life and education
Stuever was born and raised in Oklahoma City, where he attended Bishop McGuinn ...
wrote, "''Cheer'' quickly and effortlessly becomes all-consuming for the viewer. Whiteley superbly structures the story through six episodes to heighten the anxiety as the competition nears."
''Vulture'''s Jen Chaney stated, "while it depicts plenty of conflicts and disagreements between the cheerleaders at Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas, it's an ultimately more uplifting show that uses cheer as a prism through which to explore overcoming all kinds of obstacles." ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' wrote, “...it’s ''
Apocalypse Now
''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella ''Heart of Darkness'' by Joseph Conr ...
'' with
pompoms,” and “It’s not tough to see why America is obsessed with ''Cheer'': At a time when our democratic ideals are smashed to pieces, threatening all our illusions of leadership, ''Cheer'' offers a fantasy cheer-ocracy, with Monica as a scarily credible cheer-tator.
In January 2020, the Navarro cheer team and coach Monica appeared on ''
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was prod ...
'', and performed a full routine;
Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. She starred in the sitcom ''Ellen'' from 1994 to 1998, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for " The Puppy Episode". Sh ...
presented them with $20,000 toward their fundraising goal. The January 25, 2020, episode of ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'' had a sketch spoofing ''Cheer'' with guest host
Adam Driver
Adam Douglas Driver (born November 19, 1983) is an American actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award; making him one of few performers nominated ...
as one of the coaches apparently unconcerned as team members want to make the mat—the twenty chosen for the finals—so bad they want to cheer despite near-catastrophic injuries.
In late January 2020, ''
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second it ...
'' featured a spoof commercial about mat talk, the boisterous positivity sideline cheers that teammates do for the performing members—for which
Jerry Harris was singled-out during the series as excelling in—for their performance.
The conceit was a new booster Mat Talk for Regular People program whereby the Navarro Cheer Team members would praise everyday people for mundane activities, and featured
La'Darius Marshall, Harris, and
Gabi Butler cheering people on, with coach
Monica Aldama
Monica Aldama (born February 9, 1972) is an American cheerleading coach. She is the coach of the co-ed cheerleading team at Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas.
Education
A graduate of Corsicana High School, Aldama enrolled at Tyler Junior Co ...
available for a Booster Shot.
Awards and nominations
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Netflix original current series
2020s American documentary television series
2020 American television series debuts
Television series by Boardwalk Pictures
Netflix original documentary television series
Cheerleading television series
Navarro College cheerleading
English-language Netflix original programming
Television shows set in Texas
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program winners