Cheer Season 2. Maddie Volcik in Cheer. Cr. Netflix © 2022
Preston Barta // Features Editor
CHEER: SEASON 2
Rated TV-MA, about 479 minutes (nine episodes around 50 minutes each)
Available today to stream exclusively on Netflix.
You can tell when you’re watching a documentary where everyone feels like they have a knife in their side by the studio. Subjects tend only to smile and say that they had a good time. Any real drama is left off the mat – only enough to keep all parties involved happy.
However, that’s not Cheer.
Netflix’s mega-hit docuseries rose to the top two years ago because it didn’t hold back in revealing the brutal truth of what it takes to be a cheer star. The self-discipline, physical demands and mental navigation — it’s a lot. We got to see some kids step out of the darkness, leave behind their broken homes and travel to virtually Nowhere, U.S.A. (a.k.a. Navarro Community College in Corsicana, Texas), to shine with all their flipping, flying and hoisting strength.
Cheer caused the uninitiated to see cheerleading as more than mere hype people on the sidelines of sports games. This series examined the blood, sweat and tears of cheer in the same fashion David Fincher tackles crime. (The camera work with its pushes and pulls, matching human behavior, as well as the musical score, feeling haunting.)
Through the uplifting and heartbreaking moments of the show, we fell in love with the Navarro team, its head coach (Monica Aldama) and the surrounding Texas community to the point where everyone felt like family and friends. We wanted to see them succeed and only spread joy across the world.
But then a dark, dark cloud fell over their success, both their accomplishments as a team and television show.
The Emmy-winning breakout sensation is back and the stakes have never been higher. As Navarro defends its championship crown against a slew of challenges, including their fiercest rivals at Trinity Valley Community College, unexpected events threaten the camaraderie of the team and the season itself. Pictured: (L to R) Dillon Brandt, Lexi Brumback, La’Darius Marshall and Morgan Simianer in Cheer. Cr. Netflix © 2022 
The Emmy-winning breakout sensation is back and the stakes have never been higher. As Season 2 opens and the buzz around their newfound stardom threatens to alter the dynamic of Navarro Cheer, the team finds no amount of press frenzy could compare to the challenges they must face when COVID-19 upends the 2020 cheer season and a serious criminal accusation is levied at one of their teammates. Against that dramatic backdrop, the 9-episode season expands to showcase Navarro’s fiercest rival: Trinity Valley Community College. As with the Navarro team, TVCC has a charismatic coach and breakout stars whose struggles, triumphs and stories extend far beyond the mat. As both teams push for the 2021 championship in Daytona, familiar faces take compelling detours and new contenders make a name for themselves. Cheer Season 2 is directed by Greg Whiteley (Last Chance U) and produced by One Potato Productions and Boardwalk Pictures. 
Cheer Season 2. Ayonna Eleby in Cheer. Cr. Netflix © 2022 
Cheer Season 2. Vontae Johnson in Cheer. Cr. Netflix © 2022 
Cheer Season 2. Trinity Valley Community College Cheer in Cheer. Cr. Netflix © 2022
Not only did COVID tear down what they built, but one of its breakout stars, Jerry Harris, was arrested on a federal child pornography charge. The news shocked the nation. How could a seemingly sweet and fun young man have such a dark secret? As one subject says in its second season, there’s no knowing who people are behind closed doors. It was sad to imagine what that did for everyone who loved Jerry – his Navarro teammates, his coach and family. How could anyone pick their spirits back up after the unthinkable?
“By putting one foot in front of the other each day,” says Coach Monica during the second season opening.
Right away, Season 2 doesn’t shy away from dropping us into the team’s heartbreak. We travel from one person’s perspective to the next like a fly on the wall. That’s the most unbelievable aspect of the series’ second go: How does everyone feel comfortable sharing such information and details without worrying about the repercussions? It’s as if the cameras aren’t even there for the talent on screen. (Probably because they’ve become so close to the filmmakers over the past four or so years.) How the documentary filmmakers got what they did is a mystery, and it makes for incredible television.
It’s clear that the filmmakers originally planned to tackle Season 2 by doing the same thing over again. But they were going to shake it up by highlighting a rival team (Trinity Valley Community College) to leave you torn on who to root for. (Think the 2011 sports drama Warrior.) While that’s still a narrative component, things naturally become more complex as the allegations and COVID hit. From there, this study of cheerleading breaks and bends beyond what you could imagine. Arguments, heartbreak and deception take hold, widening the focus to a survey on human nature during challenging times. How does one avoid the temptation to hurt people when you yourself are so hurt?
It’s sad where this second season goes, but you can’t look away. It’s beautiful, tragic and intoxicating.
Grade: A-
