# Cheer (2020)

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

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/82096

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 15
- Episode runtime: 59 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: documentary, reality
- Network: Netflix
- Cast: Monica Aldama, Gabi Butler, Morgan Simianer, Alex Bouhuys, Jeremiah 'Jerry' Harris, La'Darius Marshall, Shannon Woolsey, Maddy Brum
- TMDB rating: 8.0/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11426660/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: none
- Tone: gritty, captivating, exhilarating, tense, tender

## What critics say

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.

## Synopsis

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.

## Shows like Cheer

- [Legendary (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/83711)
- [Hit the Floor (2013)](https://ember.film/tv/41389)
- [All American: Homecoming (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/116511)
- [Dare Me (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/80435)
- [CHIVAS: El Rebaño Sagrado (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/105991)
- [Last Chance U (2016)](https://ember.film/tv/59012)
- [Last Chance U: Basketball (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/98833)
- [Hellcats (2010)](https://ember.film/tv/29915)
- [Make It or Break It (2009)](https://ember.film/tv/16240)
- [Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/168363)

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