‘Cheer’s’ Monica Aldama provides NBC’s ‘Stumble’ with the lift its creators desired

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NBC’s new comedy, “Stumble,” clearly draws inspiration from the popular Netflix documentary series “Cheer,” which brought the world of competitive cheerleading – complete with impressive acrobatics, team conflicts, sparkly costumes, and elaborate makeup – into the spotlight.

Liz and Jeff Astrof, the creators of “Stumble,” were as captivated by the cheerleaders of Navarro College as many Americans were. They followed the team and their demanding coach, Monica Aldama, in the hit two-season series that debuted in 2020. The show challenged common perceptions of cheerleading, revealing it to be a demanding sport requiring incredible athleticism, fierce competition, and featuring a diverse group of athletes – both men and women – from all walks of life.

Jeff watched the documentary at the insistence of his sister and was quickly hooked.

I had an idea for a show,” I told Liz. “What if Monica went to the absolute worst college in the country? We could call it ‘Stumble’.

The idea for “Stumble” had been floating around for a while, but it took time to gain momentum. Both Liz and Jeff were busy with their own TV shows – Liz with “Pivoting” on Fox, and Jeff with “Shining Vale” on Starz – when the Hollywood strikes of 2023 began. However, the unexpected downtime created by the strikes gave them the opportunity to revisit and develop “Stumble” further.

“That’s when I really dug in,” Liz says.

Jeff also mentions they reached out to Monica, who is their closest friend. They highlighted this connection in their initial proposal, emphasizing how important she is to them.

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When I told Aldama what the cast said – speaking to her from New York where they were filming – she smiled and laughed. With her gentle Texan accent, she replied, “Oh my goodness, they are truly the best!”

The former coach from Navarro, known for her success in college cheerleading, is an executive producer and cheer consultant on the new show “Stumble.” While the show, which starts streaming Friday on Peacock, shares some similarities with the documentary series “Cheer” – it’s filmed in a mockumentary style – it’s not a direct remake.

The show centers on Courteney Potter (Jenn Lyon), a successful cheerleading coach at Sammy Davis Sr. Junior College who loses her job after a controversial video is released. Kristin Chenoweth plays Tammy Istiny, who steps in as the temporary coach, but seems less upset about Courteney’s firing than she pretends. Undeterred, Courteney finds a new position building a cheer squad from scratch at Headltston State Junior College in Oklahoma – a town known for its candy button industry and mascot. The character is inspired by Aldama, sharing her signature style of flowing tops, skinny jeans, heeled boots, and professional demeanor.

Aldama praised Lyon, saying she’s remarkably prepared. Lyon clearly dedicated a lot of time to understanding both Aldama herself and the nuances of cheerleading coaching. She consistently asks insightful questions about phrasing and delivery, but in a natural way—they didn’t need lengthy meetings. Aldama was impressed by Lyon’s attention to detail, including body language and overall presentation, noting she did an exceptional job.

The team is made up of a quirky group – individuals with strong personalities, a tendency to lose their temper, veteran third-year students, and even a tumbler who falls asleep unexpectedly but can still do a perfect split. Some of the characters feel like people we’ve seen before, drawing inspiration from personalities in “Cheer.” Krystal might remind you of cheerleading influencer Gabi Butler, and Dimarcus shares a passionate, sometimes confrontational energy with La’Darius Marshall, who had a difficult relationship with the coach in Season 2 of “Cheer.” However, beyond those few similarities, the team and its members are largely unique.

This series represents another new chapter for Aldama, both personally and professionally. Having spent most of her life in Corsicana, Texas – the home of Navarro College and still where she lives – she recently retired in 2023 after nearly 30 years as head cheer coach.

She admitted that change can be frightening. Having been in the public eye, she’s realized people will always have opinions, and she now sees things from a different perspective.

As a big fan of ‘Cheer,’ it was really tough to see everything that happened behind the scenes. It started when Jerry Harris, who was such a charismatic figure on the show, was accused of terrible crimes in 2020. Watching season two deal with his arrest and eventual 12-year sentence was heartbreaking. Then, early last year, a former cheerleader filed a lawsuit claiming that Monica Aldama tried to cover up a sexual assault allegation. She strongly denied it, and thankfully, she was eventually removed from the lawsuit. It all just felt really complicated and sad for everyone involved.

Television

The stars of ‘Cheer’ faced unexpected challenges – sudden fame, the COVID-19 pandemic, and serious accusations against a fellow team member – and a film crew documented the entire experience.

The creators of the show wanted to build on the positive aspects of “Cheer,” while making it clear that their series is a very different take on the subject. Jeff explained they weren’t interested in exploring the darker sides seen in “Cheer.” Instead, they focused on the fun music, the inspiring story of the underdog team, and the excitement of watching the relatively unknown actors learn cheerleading – an energy they found infectious and wanted to capture in their own show.

Despite past challenges, Aldama continues to pursue new opportunities. Her career was already heading towards Hollywood, and the success of “Cheer” in 2020 opened doors. She appeared on Season 29 of “Dancing With the Stars,” giving her a first experience with fame beyond cheerleading, and published a memoir in 2022. Now, she’s venturing into acting with the show “Stumble.”

She explained that things are very different now because she’s learning so much and actively asking questions. Liz and Jeff repeatedly asked her how involved she wanted to be, and she wants to be fully immersed – attending every meeting and listening to every conversation. Right now, though, she’s mostly focused on listening and absorbing information.

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I was checking out some behind-the-scenes photos from “Stumble,” and it’s so cool to see Jeff and Liz Astrof, the showrunners, working on set! There’s also a picture of the whole cast with Monica Aldama, who’s helping them with all the cheerleading stuff – she’s amazing! And another shot of Monica on set, looking like she’s really in her element. It’s getting me even more excited for the show!

For over twenty years, Liz and Jeff Astro have each worked as writers and producers for television. They’ve collaborated before – Liz contributed to Jeff’s show “Trial & Error” and both worked on Season 2 of “Shining Vale” – but this marks the first time they’re leading a project together as showrunners.

Creating the pilot for “Stumble” came naturally to the brother and sister team—they even wrote the entire script using Post-it notes! Their close relationship was clear throughout the interview, as they frequently finished each other’s thoughts. They also emphasized how important it was to have Aldama on board, especially for accurately portraying the cheerleading aspects of the show and using the correct terminology.

Jeff explained that they had to genuinely believe in what they were doing, since they were new to the world of cheerleading.

Honestly, getting Monica on the project was a must for me. I know it sounds silly, but I was just really excited to meet her! I found myself wanting her involved in everything – any excuse to see her each day, you know?

Television

I’ve been completely captivated by the Netflix docuseries ‘Cheer’! It’s amazing how it’s transformed the cheerleaders at Navarro College, and especially their incredibly dedicated coach, into such well-known personalities. They’ve really become stars thanks to the show, and I’m definitely a fan!

The team valued her skills and wanted to accurately portray the world of cheerleading. To ensure authenticity, Aldama brought in Dahlston Delgado, a familiar face from the docuseries “Cheer,” to choreograph the routines. They then used social media and their connections within the cheer community to find experienced extras. While the cast performed many of the routines themselves, stunt doubles were used for safety, and professional cheerleaders appeared as members of Headltston’s squad, the Buttons.

Aldama and Delgado had creative control over the show’s routines, while the Astrofs were in charge of writing the dialogue. Jeff explains they’d write general descriptions like ‘The team does an incredible cheer,’ and then Monica and Dahlston would ask for specifics during production meetings – essentially, they’d need a detailed explanation of what ‘incredible’ actually looked like.

Despite having little direction, the cheer squad quickly created and practiced routines, filming them within just a couple of hours. According to Aldama, people outside the cheerleading world were amazed by how fast they picked up the choreography, especially considering most of the team hadn’t worked together before. She attributed their success to their natural talent.

“She’s magical,” Liz said.

Jeff praised Monica’s skill, saying he’d even trust her to perform surgery on his toe, highlighting how impressive he found her abilities from the very beginning of the show.

Aldama appears briefly in the first episode, offering support to Chenoweth’s character, Tammy, after Courteney is fired. Although she’s now well-known as an on-screen performer, Aldama is also interested in exploring opportunities behind the camera.

She believes everyone has unique talents. As for her own work, she’s happy with her current role where she can contribute ideas to scripts and isn’t ruling out producing other television shows down the line.

The show’s fast turnaround – from being ordered by NBC in July to actually airing – forced the creators to make some concessions, particularly regarding the filming location. While the pilot was filmed in Georgia, they initially preferred Los Angeles, where the writing team was based. Ultimately, New York was chosen due to financial benefits and the convenience of having much of the cast already living there. The producers remain open to filming in Los Angeles in the future.

I’m really hopeful about how people will react to the show. Honestly, a big part of why we brought Aldama on board was to make sure it felt authentic to the world of cheerleading – we’re all huge fans of the sport and wanted to get it right.

“We just want to be funny with heart and, like, just people root for it,” Jeff said.

Just like a cheerleader would.

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2025-11-07 22:32