Cheer

The stakes on the mat are high, but for these cheerleaders, the only thing more brutal than their workouts and more exceptional than their performances are the stories of adversity and triumph behind the athletes themselves.

Cheer (2020-2022) is an American competitive sports docuseries created for Netflix and produced by Boardwalk Pictures and One Potato Productions. Across two seasons and fifteen episodes, the series follows a college cheerleading squad preparing for national championship competition, with Monica Aldama, Gabi Butler, Morgan Simianer and La'Darius Marshall among the athletes whose stories anchor the show. Each episode alternates between grueling practices, high-pressure routines, and the personal struggles that sit behind the performances, including family strain, money worries, injuries, and the pressure of meeting coaches' exacting standards. The engine is simple and gripping: the athletes want a title, and the obstacles are their own bodies, their home lives, and the unforgiving judging that can erase months of work in a single routine. The documentary moves like a sports drama while staying grounded in real lives, with the emotional register shifting between exhilaration, tension, and tenderness. Its gritty, captivating tone and intimate access recall Last Chance U and Friday Night Lights, and fans of those competitive sports portraits will find the same blend of athletic spectacle and human vulnerability. Viewers drawn to sports documentaries and reality-based competition will find the show engrossing.

Audiences broadly praise the docuseries for its intimate, emotionally candid portraits of cheerleaders and the gritty competitive world behind the athletes, though the second season drew a weaker response.

• Last Chance Ucompetitive sport docuseries following athletes' personal struggles, intense training, and high-stakes national competition
• Friday Night Lightsbehind-the-scenes sports documentary built on athlete backstories and a team's pursuit of a championship
• Making the Cutunscripted docuseries about an elite competitive community with intimate access to its participants' lives

Release Date

2020-01-08

Episode runtime

59 min

Rating

8.0 / 10 (149)

What is Cheer about?

A docuseries following a competitive college cheerleading squad as they chase titles while confronting the personal adversity behind their athletic performances.

What is Cheer like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Cheer as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.

Is Cheer violent?

No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Cheer.

What did critics think of Cheer?

Audiences broadly praise the docuseries for its intimate, emotionally candid portraits of cheerleaders and the gritty competitive world behind the athletes, though the second season drew a weaker response.

Which shows are like Cheer?

Shows with a similar feel include Last Chance U, Friday Night Lights, and Making the Cut.

How long is Cheer?

Cheer: 2 seasons, 15 episodes.

Is Cheer still running?

No, Cheer has ended.

Where can I watch Cheer?

In United States, Cheer streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.