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Greg Whiteley has a new sports docuseries at Netflix that really isn\u2019t new at all. The seven-episode (at 45-minutes apiece) \u201cAmerica\u2019s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders\u201d will premiere this summer on Netflix. The streamer first announced the series on Thursday, when it also put out a teaser (below).<\/p>\n
Greg Whiteley\u2026 Netflix\u2026 cheerleading docuseries\u2026 Why does this all sound so familiar? Oh yeah, it\u2019s because Whiteley is the guy behind Netflix\u2019s two-season docuseries \u201cCheer\u201d (as well as the equally excellent five-season \u201cLast Chance U\u201d).<\/p>\n
Fans of \u201cCheer\u201d have been not-so-patiently waiting for a third season, so\u2026 isn\u2019t this just that? Why not call \u201cAmerica\u2019s Sweethearts\u201d what it really is: \u201cCheer\u201d Season 3. That\u2019s what we want.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s plenty of precedent here. While \u201cCheer\u201d Seasons 1 and 2 focused on competitive collegiate cheerleading (mostly) at Navarro College (also in Texas!), Whiteley\u2019s precursor \u201cLast Chance U\u201d not only changed schools \u2014 it changed sports. Originally a junior-college football docuseries, \u201cLast Chance U\u201d converted to a junior-college basketball docuseries for Seasons 4 and 5. Why not just graduate \u201cCheer\u201d to follow a professional football cheerleading squad this season?<\/p>\n
It is possible the Dallas Cowboys \u2014 referred to as \u201cAmerica\u2019s Team\u201d and an absolute TV ratings juggernaut for the NFL and its broadcast partners \u2014 and their very famous cheerleading squad is being viewed as the stronger branding for such a program. Starting from scratch, that would be accurate. But Whiteley is not starting from scratch: he\u2019s midway through a killer mat routine.<\/p>\n
\u201cCheer\u201d has an existing fanbase of Netflix subscribers and the brand is far more culturally relevant (and certainly of higher quality) than that other Cowboys cheerleader reality show, the long-running \u201cDallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team.\u201d After 16 seasons, \u201cMaking the Team\u201d on CMT ended, opening the locker room door for Whiteley and Netflix. Upgrade!<\/p>\n
IndieWire asked Netflix reps if \u201cAmerica\u2019s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders\u201d was considered at any point for a third season of \u201cCheer.\u201d We only kind of got an answer.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018America\u2019s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders is not associated with \u2018Cheer,’\u201d a rep responded. \u201cWe are continuing to do more series with [Whiteley],\u201d the person continued, pointing to their upcoming Boston Red Sox docuseries collaboration.<\/p>\n
We also inquired about the futures of \u201cCheer\u201d and \u201cLast Chance U,\u201d but did not receive a response on that. Not encouraging.<\/p>\n
Maybe it is time to move on. There is a black mark associated with the \u201cCheer\u201d show, and it is as bad as it gets \u2014 but it has nothing to do with Whiteley or Netflix. Jerry Harris, the breakout stunter from \u201cCheer\u2019s\u201d first season, was arrested on child pornography charges in 2020, between Seasons 1 and 2. Harris achieved crossover fame after the first season, and was in much of the second season. Whiteley explained his hard choice to IndieWire in January 2022, which is when \u201cCheer\u201d Season 2 premiered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI spent some time puzzling over just what percentage of our audience will know the story. We shot for almost an entire season before those allegations even came out. And so he\u2019s a member of that team. Of course, he shows up in the footage,\u201d Whiteley said. \u201cAnd I just kept thinking that the audience, if they know the story, it\u2019s going to be so weird. And they\u2019re going to be asking the filmmakers, \u2018What happened? Are they going to acknowledge this? Are they just going to pretend it didn\u2019t?\u2019 And so, the solution ended up being, \u2018Let\u2019s address it right up front. We know that this happened. This is coming. We\u2019re going to explain it later.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Season 2 indeed acknowledges Harris\u2019 arrest up front and devotes most of its fifth episode to the developing legal situation. The episode includes interviews with the journalists who broke the story of the (then) allegations against Harris and with the parents of twin boys who were (at the time of the taping, alleged) victims in Harris\u2019 crimes.<\/p>\n
In June 2022, five months after the second season of \u201cCheer\u201d launched on Netflix, Harris pled guilty to federal charges related to soliciting child sexual abuse imagery and illegal sexual conduct with a minor. He is serving 12 years in a federal prison in Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n
So, for now at least, no \u201cCheer\u201d Season 3. Instead, it is \u201cAmerica\u2019s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders,\u201d which follows the 2023-24 Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders squad beginning with auditions and training camp and ending when the Cowboys season predictably (sorry, I\u2019m a Giants fan) ended in the NFC Wild Card Round.<\/p>\n
Netflix says \u201cAmerica\u2019s Sweethearts\u201d will provide \u201cunfiltered access into this iconic team and franchise.\u201d The program will \u201cdocument the personal stories behind the uniforms \u2014 revealing the drive, hustle, and drama among the cheerleaders and coaches.\u201d<\/p>\n
We\u2019re sure it will be good; time will tell if it\u2019s \u201cCheer\u201d good.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe kind of access and creative freedom we need to make the kind of work we want to make is not easy to come by\u2014especially when dealing with a brand as large as the Dallas Cowboys,\u201d Whiteley said in a statement provided to media.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s that \u201cbrand\u201d thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo their infinite credit, the Cowboys offered unfettered access for the year we filmed the DCC and left us alone,\u201d Whiteley continued. \u201cThe result is an authentic portrait of one of the most storied and beloved institutions we have in American pop culture.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAmerica\u2019s Sweethearts\u201d hails from One Potato Productions and Boardwalk Pictures, in association with Campfire Studios. Whiteley executive produces alongside Adam Leibowitz of One Potato Productions, Andrew Fried and Dane Lillegard of Boardwalk Pictures, and Ross M. Dinerstein and Rebecca Evans of Campfire Studios.<\/p>\n
Watch the trailer here and view this article at IndieWire<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Call Netflix\u2019s Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Docuseries What It Is: \u2018Cheer\u2019 Season 3: Greg Whiteley has a new sports docuseries at Netflix that really isn\u2019t new at all. The seven-episode (at 45-minutes apiece) \u201cAmerica\u2019s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders\u201d will premiere this summer on Netflix. The streamer first announced the series on Thursday, when it also put
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