Cheer (TV series)

Background

Cheerleading evolved from sideline boosterism into a sport through the development of pyramids, baskets, jumps, stunts, and tumbling skills drawn from cheerleading, circus arts, and dancing. The National Cheerleading Championship in Daytona Beach, Florida, is the highest-level event for cheerleaders, as no professional league exists after college. By 2020, competitive cheerleading had become a billion-dollar industry. Director Greg Whiteley discovered competitive cheerleading while filming the football series Last Chance U and was impressed by the athletes' drive.

Navarro College, a 9,000-student community college about fifty miles south of Dallas, has a cheer team coached by Monica Aldama, a former college cheerleader who earned a finance degree from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from the University of Texas at Tyler. She took the coaching position in 2000 and built the program into a national powerhouse.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, Cheer holds a 96% approval rating based on 23 reviews, with an average score of 7.75/10. The critics' consensus describes the series as capturing the highs and lows of cheerleading. Metacritic gives it a weighted average of 81 out of 100, indicating universal acclaim. The Washington Post's Hank Stuever wrote that the show becomes all-consuming for the viewer, with Whiteley structuring the story to heighten anxiety as competition nears.

Vulture's Jen Chaney called it an uplifting show that uses cheer to explore overcoming obstacles. Rolling Stone compared it to Apocalypse Now with pompoms and described it as a fantasy cheer-ocracy. In January 2020, the Navarro cheer team and coach Monica appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, performing a routine and receiving $20,000 toward their fundraising goal. The January 25, 2020, episode of Saturday Night Live featured a sketch spoofing Cheer with guest host Adam Driver.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert aired a spoof commercial about mat talk, featuring La'Darius Marshall, Jerry Harris, and Gabi Butler. In December 2020, Harris was charged with multiple counts of production of child pornography and sexual exploitation; he was sentenced to 12 years in prison in July 2022.