After eagerly awaiting the release of the second season of Cheer, it is finally here! I have been a huge fan of the “cheerlebrity world” since I was in the fourth grade. Cheerlebrities like Jaimie Andreas, Carly Manning and even Cheers’ very own Gabi Butler have been long-term idols amongst many of the women and men who do cheer. Netflix’s Cheer follows the raw, unfiltered life of the students who cheer for Navarro Community College. The Navarro cheer team is home to 14 national championships, with goals of making that number 15 during the second season. Monica Aldama, nicknamed the Bill Belichick of Cheer, is the head coach of the squad and has led the cheer team to all of these titles. She is a perfectionist with an eye for winning.
After the release of the first season of Cheer back in 2020, this small school in Corsicana, Texas now has their own team of cheerlebrities. Morgan Simianer, a flyer on the team, appeared on the Ellen show, where she was surprised by model (and Morgan Simianer fan) Kendall Jenner! Monica, along with other cheer teammates La’Darius Marshall, Gabi Butler and Jerry Harris were even on the Today show. The fame of this team changed overnight forever with the release of season one. Every teammate on this squad has fought to be on this championship team, yet there are always a few hiccups along the way. Lexi Brumback, a tumbler for the team, was recently kicked off after she was charged with possession of drugs. Various squad members mention their parents having to sell just about everything from their house to their cars, just so they can afford this competitive cheerleading.
Shockingly, the biggest surprise to viewers was when Jerry Harris, the fan-favorite amongst most viewers during season one, was charged with sexual misconduct charges to minors near the end of 2020. After earlier in the year, with him also appearing on Ellen, zooming with President Biden and interviewing Oscar nominees on the red carpet, this story was a major shock to all fans of the show. Even the cheer team had no idea about what was going on in Jerry’s life behind these closed doors. Viewers learned in season one of Cheer that Jerry’s mom died when he was at the age of 16, and he admitted that cheer has been the only thing in life that keeps him out of trouble. Once his allegations came out, many in his personal life were shocked. Monica describes it feeling “like a funeral” during the first time the team got back together after the news broke. Season 2 of the show has the minors who accused Jerry sit down for an interview explaining what happened between them. Jerry is currently held in a Correctional Center in Chicago awaiting his trial. If convicted, he could face up to a minimum of 15 years in jail.
Aside from Jerry’s story, this season the viewers meet Trinity Valley Community College, Navarro’s rival and the school 45 minutes down the road. Vontae Johnson, the head coach of Trinity Valley’s cheer team, is determined to beat Navarro and take home the National Championship title. Throughout the season, we grow to like some of the characters who are trying to beat our beloved Navarro squad. Trinity Valley and Navarro battle it out to see who wins the National Title at the Daytona competition. No spoilers here; you will have to go ahead and watch the season!