Why Netflix's Cheer Season 2 Trailer Has Fans Surprised
When "Cheer" hit Netflix in January 2020, viewers became engrossed in the world of competitive collegiate cheerleading. Season 1 of the docu-series follows the Navarro College Bulldogs on their journey toward competing at the National Cheerleading Championship in Daytona Beach, Florida.
"Cheer" demonstrates how the sport is just as dangerous as it is glamorous, with one flyer being dropped and dislocating her elbow the month before Nationals. It also explores individual team members, from long-time "cheerlebrities" who deal with pressure from fans to those who fell in love with the sport as an emotional outlet. Following the show's success, the Bulldogs performed on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," were endlessly profiled by news outlets, and were spoofed on late-night talk shows. The critically-acclaimed show was also nominated for six Emmys, winning for Outstanding Directing For A Reality Program, Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program, and Outstanding Picture Editing For An Unstructured Reality Program (via Emmys). It also landed on our list of the Best TV Shows of 2020.
The trailer for Season 2 of "Cheer" was released on December 28 and offers a glimpse of the team training to compete against their rivals at Trinity Valley Community College, as well as addressing their newfound fame. While another season of the reality series was highly anticipated, many fans couldn't help but be surprised by the announcement.
Some Cheer fans thought Season 2 wasn't going to happen
Despite the outpouring of love for "Cheer," many fans weren't expecting the show to return for another season. In addition to the impact COVID-19 had on the cheerleading industry, the team was blindsided when one of the show's breakout stars, Jerry Harris, was arrested by the FBI for "multiple federal sexual misconduct charges, including soliciting child pornography" in September 2020 (via NBC).
The Season 2 trailer addresses the ongoing investigation into Harris and the 15-year sentence he's facing, with Head Coach Monica Aldama calling this "the hardest season [she's] ever had." Another member admits the whole team felt "lost" after learning what had happened.
"I can't even, like, process it right now," Aldama admits. While the team addressed the situation on social media when the news broke, it was unclear how "Cheer" would continue (via The Independent). Understandably, some fans were surprised when the Season 2 trailer dropped.
"After everything that happened, I'm so happy they bounced back," yantleee_n commented on YouTube. "Their cheer team is a safe haven... for ALL of them."
"I was worried they wouldn't film a 2nd after everything that happened," wrote LauraOnTheMove. "I'm happy they found a way to keep sharing their stories!!"
Other fans expressed that they were anxious to see how the show handles the "very disappointing and heartbreaking" situation with Harris, saying they don't want his actions to "overshadow" the team but, at the same time, they also don't want it to be "briefly mentioned."
Season 2 of "Cheer" will be available on Netflix on January 12.