''Marching Orders'' is an American

documentary television 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 ...

show 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 fi ...

about The Marching Wildcats, the competition

marching band A marching band is a group of musical instrument, instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass instrument, brass, woodwind instrument, woodwind, and percus ...

Bethune–Cookman University Bethune–Cookman University (BCU or Bethune–Cookman) is a private historically black university in Daytona Beach, Florida. Bethune–Cookman University is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The primary administration building, Wh ...

(BCU) in Daytona Beach, Florida. The series follows members over three weeks competing to make, and stay on, and compete with the Wildcats which are among the nation's top ranked programs. The show's first season of twelve episodes was released on August 3, 2018. The first nine of the short-form episodes feature various divisions of the Wildcats including the musicians, the Five Horsemen

drum majors A drum major or field commander is the leader of a marching band, drum and bugle corps, or pipe band, usually positioned at the head of the band or corps. The drum major is often dressed in more ornate clothing than the rest of the band or cor ...

, and the two auxiliary corps—the Sophisticat Flag Corps and the 14 Karat Gold dance squad—as they rehearse precision high-step marching, formations, and dance routines for the season's first competition. The final episodes are filmed in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

where the Wildcats compete in the Queens City Battle of the Bands both in the stadium's stands, and on the football field. The series is set to depart Netflix in August 2021.

Background

The Marching Wildcats are a 300+ member unit that includes five drum majors traditionally known as "The Five Horsemen", instrumentalists, the Sophisticat Flag Corps and the 14 Karat Gold dancers. Known as "''The Pride''," the band is under the direction of a Bethune–Cookman alumnus and former Marching Wildcat, Donovan V. Wells. The Marching Wildcats is one of the largest collegiate marching bands in the country. The 14 Karat Gold dancers are featured performers in all engagements of the Marching Wildcats and occasionally perform as a solo act. The 14 Karat Gold dancers can be seen frequently in BET video clips promoting historically black colleges.

Performances

The Marching Wildcats perform pre-game and halftime shows at all home games of the Fighting Wildcats football team. Games played in neutral sites where Bethune–Cookman University is deemed the home team, ''The Pride'' also performs a traditional pre-game show. ''The Pride'' has been featured in numerous events, including televised performances. In 2018, the band performed in its thirteenth

Honda Battle of the Bands The Honda Battle of the Bands (sometimes abbreviated The Honda or HBOB) is an annual marching band exhibition in the United States which features performances by bands from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Sponsored by the Amer ...

showcase of HBCU bands in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference representative. In December 2005, a small group of ''The Prides percussion section filmed a commercial unveiling the new Cadillac DTS. The commercial made its debut in February 2006 and continued air play throughout the rest of the year. Immediately following the band's January 2005 performance at the Honda Battle of the Bands, the event's producers nominated ''The Pride'' to be featured in the Super Bowl special episode of the Emmy-winning ''

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 pro ...

''. "The Pride" also made an appearance in the 2002 film ''

Drumline Marching percussion instruments are instruments specially designed to be played while moving. This is achieved by attaching the drum(s) to a special harness (also called a carrier or rack) worn by the drummer, although not all marching bands us ...

''.

Episodes

References

External links

* on

* Netflix original documentary television series 2018 American television series debuts 2010s American documentary television series American English-language television shows {{US-nonfiction-tv-prog-stub