Netflix show ‘Cheer’ returns after team’s major highs and lows

When we last saw the cheerleading team from Navarro Community College on Netflix, it was in the final episode of the docuseries“cheer. ”They had just won the NCA National Championships in the junior college division.

Then came the fame. The main cast became overnight celebrities outside the cheer community, where some of them were already known. They appeared on talk shows, and coach Monica Aldama was a contestant on “Dancing with the Stars.” Gabi Butler, who competes with the squad and was already famous in the cheer world before the series debuted, says they were all surprised by the show’s success: “It was like, ‘Oh, wow. We thought only cheerleaders would watch this.’ ”

The breakout star, Jerry Harris, wasn’t quite good enough to compete in the Championship, but in a surprise twist he was called up to the mat after another teammate was injured and helped lead the squad to their victory. Cut to September 2020, and Harris was charged with federal child pornography sex charges. Harris remains in jail awaiting trial and has pleaded not guilty.

Cameras were rolling on the Navarro squad since shortly after season one was released. They captured the sudden burst of notoriety. Season two is now playing, where we see what happened next, including a season cut short due to the pandemic, weeks before the championship. Cameras returned for the following 2020-21 school year to continue where they left off. A surprise in season two: The show doesn’t just follow Navarro but its main rival: Trinity Valley Community College.