By Sarah Osman

Stumble is a welcome addition to the increasingly tired mockumentary genre.

Jenn Lyon as Courteney Potter in Stumble. Photo: Matt Miller/NBC

For years, cheerleaders were kept on the sidelines, often mocked for being beach-blonde bimbos. Unless you were already heavily involved in the sport, you didn’t know that cheer competitions were a thing. That all changed with the arrival of the classic cheer comedy, 2000’s Bring it On, which generated plenty of public attention. Parts of Bring it On haven’t aged well, but it’s still funny and, in its own silly way, shows just how difficult cheerleading is. Since the success of Bring it On, more cheer shows and movies have followed (some scripted, some reality-based).

The latest member of the cheerverse is Stumble. A mockumentary created by siblings Jeff and Liz Astroff and executive produced by former cheerleading coach Monica Aldama, the series focuses on the world of junior college cheerleading. Star coach Courteney (Jenn Lyon, perfectly cast) is fired from her winning team after she goes out drinking with them and hands out awards for “Best Booty”. That means she is forced to take a job at a less desirable community college, 80 miles away. The town, Headleston, (which Courteney can’t pronounce), is best known for its candy button factory (only closed only on Tuesdays and Christmas). Courteney has her work cut out for her, but she’s determined to put together a championship team in time for the finals in Daytona (a fact she discusses with the students in her typing class, who she never actually teaches how to type).

The characters of Stumble have a Parks and Recreation-style absurdity to them. There’s Courteney’s husband, Boone (Taran Killam, in one of his funniest roles), who was injured playing football (the clip of his injury is never not hilarious, no matter how many times it’s played). Courteney’s former assistant coach, Tammy (Kristin Chenoweth), plays her formidable rival with a maniacal energy only Chenoweth can generate. Madonna (Arianna Davis) is a talented gymnast, even though she occasionally falls asleep on the mat because of her narcolepsy. Former cheerleader Steven (Ryan Pinkston) literally cartwheels out of his car rental job when he gets a chance to rejoin the squad. Peaches (Taylor Dunbar) is a skilled, convicted thief whose tricks prove to be a perfect assist for cheerleading (she bedazzles her ankle monitor to make it fit her uniform). And there’s social media cheerleader Krystal (Anissa Borrego), who won’t step being a cheerleader, even after a horrific injury.

A scene from Stumble. Photo: Matt Miller / NBC

What makes Stumble work is that it is a fresh subject for a mockumentary. The writers have carefully culled comedic bits out of shows like Abbott Elementary and The Office, but they don’t lean too heavily on them. Instead, the world of Stumble and its characters takes on a distinct life, from the cheer squad’s mascot (“Buttons”) to Boone’s explanation of Courteney’s emojis (a peach and eggplant mean they’re going to the farmers market — but after that it is ‘nunnya business’). It also helps that executive producer Aldama is familiar with the cheer world; her years of experience supply plenty of unnerving specifics. I did not watch Aldama’s reality series, Cheer, but I’m guessing a lot of the humor in Stumble emanates from it.

Stumble isn’t groundbreaking in the way that Bring it On was. Still, it’s a welcome addition to the increasingly tired mockumentary genre. There are plenty of great sight gags, such as Dean eating button candy, along with physical humor, like Boone’s football injury. As of now, it is unclear whether the series will focus solely on the cheer team’s journey to the finals, or if it will explore each of the characters’ individual adventures. I’m curious to see where Stumble will take us but, either way, it ought to be a lot of fun.

Sarah Mina Osman is based in Los Angeles. In addition to The Arts Fuse, her writing can be found in The Huffington Post, Success Magazine, Matador Network, HelloGiggles, Business Insider, and WatchMojo. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and is working on her first novel. She has a deep appreciation for sloths and tacos. You can keep up with her on Instagram @SarahMinaOsman and at Bluesky @sarahminaosman.bsky.social.