Back in 2020, Netflix introduced the world to the slick, breathtaking athleticism of America’s National Cheerleading Championship with the docuseries Cheer. While it, for a number of reasons, won’t be returning, the streamer has finally answered our prayers with a new cheerleading series to get obsessed with: America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. Delving behind the scenes of America’s most recognisable NFL cheerleading squads – who represent the Dallas Cowboys, and are nicknamed ‘America’s Sweethearts’ (or DCC for short) – the series traces an entire cheer season from start to finish, with plenty of drama along the way.
If you’ve already raced through the series, one question remains: will there be a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders season 2? We’ve got all the details.
Courtesy of Netflix © 2024
Will There Be America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders Season 2?
No news just yet on whether we can expect America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders season 2, but it’s looking pretty likely. The series director, Greg Whiteley, along with much of the cast, has expressed enthusiasm for a follow-up.
Having also directed Cheer and Last Chance U, Whiteley told Variety he felt season 1 came to an end just as the crew was ‘starting to hit [their] stride’. ‘I felt like we were just starting to get there as we were wrapping up, and I’d love to have more time to see if we can get deeper and deeper with more and more of the team,’ he added.
Likewise, when season 1 dropped in June, the Dallas Cowboys released an official statement on the series, expressing enthusiasm for season 1 – and beyond. ‘While plans are currently undetermined for a second season, the Dallas Cowboys are excited to see the response from the world in the early stages of the show’s release in anticipation of hopefully signing on for more seasons,’ the statement reads.
DCC are no stranger to the limelight – and not just thanks to their annual 15 minute primetime slot cheering for the Dallas Cowboys in the Thanksgiving halftime show. From 2005 to 2021, America’s Sweethearts were the subject of CMT’s reality series Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team, which similarly traced each squad from audition to training camp and throughout the full season.
Reece in America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024
What Is America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders About?
This seven-part Netflix docuseries traces the 2023/24 season of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, one of America’s most recognisable and prestigious cheer squads, officially nicknamed America’s Sweethearts. Chronicling the gruelling work that each of the squad’s 36 members (and the countless auditionees who don’t make the cut) must put in to keep hold of their spot, we follow their mental, physical and emotional journeys from auditions to star-spangled performances.
The team is led by longtime director Kelli Finglass and head choreographer Judy Trammell, who lead the rigorous audition process for DCC hopefuls. Hundreds of athletes apply, from rookies to veterans; even if you had a spot on the squad last year, you must audition again.
‘The kind of access and creative freedom we need to make the kind of work we want to make is not easy to come by – especially when dealing with a brand as large as the Dallas Cowboys,’ Whiteley told Netflix. ‘To their infinite credit, the Cowboys offered unfettered access for the year we filmed the DCC and left us alone. The result is an authentic portrait of one of the most storied and beloved institutions we have in American pop culture.’
(Center) Claire in America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024
Who Stars?
Countless dancers feature in America’s Sweethearts, and director Whiteley has shared that they didn’t really firm up who would take centre stage until the final editing process. Frankly, they couldn’t: any dancer could be cut at any time. ‘There are certain people that you feel compelled to focus on,’ Whiteley explains. ‘You have to trust that instinct and be open to wherever their story is going to go. We were fully prepared to just keep filming with somebody that didn’t make the team.’
The main recurring faces are:
- Kelli Finglass, director of DCC and former member of the squad
- Judy Trammell, head choreographer and fellow DCC alum
- Charlotte Jones, owner and VP of the Dallas Cowboys, after her father Jerry Jones
- Charly, DCC rookie with a ballet dancing background
- Anisha, DCC rookie and orthodontist
- Kelcey, DCC fifth-year veteran and paediatric nurse
- Ari, DCC rookie who returns after being cut from the team in 2022
- Victoria, DCC fourth-year veteran and fitness/dance instructor
- Madeline, DCC fifth-year veteran and dance instructor
- Sophy, DCC second-year veteran and dance instructor
- Reece, DCC rookie
- Kelly V, DCC rookie
- Anna Kate, DCC rookie and investment advisor representative
- Caroline, retired DCC class of 2022 and Anna Kate’s older sister
- Kat, retired DCC class of 2022 and Caroline’s best friend
‘The women are impressive when you see them all in a kick line – they’re in a row and they’re beautiful, athletic, and strong. They seem impenetrable,’ Whiteley says. ‘I think that is made even more impressive when you realise that there’s a living, breathing human being underneath that facade.’
Where Is It Streaming?
Season 1 of America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders is streaming now on Netflix. netflix.com
