Jenn Lyon in Media Day episode of NBC's StumbleImage via NBC
By
Dennis Aronov
Published 4 minutes ago
Dennis has written for publications like USA Today, Prediction News, and Psychology Today before bringing his thoughts to Collider. Despite consuming an arguably concerning amount of Netflix content, he maintains enough critical faculties to form opinions worth reading. His claim to fame is not falling asleep through virtually every film he's encountered in recent years—with one notable exception: falling asleep during "Barbie" only to be awakened by Ryan Gosling belting "I'm Just Ken." When not analyzing entertainment or defending his streaming habits as "research," Dennis can be found wondering if perhaps he should go outside more often.
Sign in to your Collider account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recapWhether it’s the classic Bring It On or Netflix’s sports docuseries Cheer, there is clearly an audience for the world of competitive cheerleading. NBC decided to take two things that it knows audiences love – cheerleading and mockumentaries — and created a brand new sitcom. After already hosting successful mockumentaries on its current slate like St. Denis Medical and The Paper, Stumble is the latest mockumentary sitcom to join the network. For those who love Bring It On, NBC’s Stumble is the perfect watch. Both projects follow a cheerleading team as it attempts to win in the competitive world. Co-created by siblings Liz and Jeff Astrof, the mockumentary premiered on NBC in November 2025.
What Is ‘Stumble’ About?
Kristin Chenoweth hugging Jenn Lyon in StumbleImage via Peacock
Inspired by Netflix’s Cheer — with Cheer's own Monica Aldama serving as executive producer — the series follows top-ranked coach Courteney Potter (Jenn Lyon), who’s won the national championship 14 times and is hellbent on breaking her former coach’s record with one more win. But after an HR nightmare involving drinking with her winning team and a “Best Booty” award, Courteney’s path to glory just got a lot more complicated. To make it simple, she’s fired. Her path to becoming the “winningest” captain of all time is unrelenting, and she decides to take on a different team that currently consists of only one person with narcolepsy. However, this will not stop her; she decides to build a team from scratch and break this record.
Stumble takes a different approach than NBC’s other workplace mockumentaries. Rather than following a documentary crew observing an institution, the cameras here trail Courteney herself into practices, her marriage, and even her bedroom. Beyond Lyon, the cast also features Kristin Chenoweth in a recurring role as Tammy, Courteney’s former assistant coach who has now taken over her role. Her husband is portrayed by Taran Killam, who was part of the Saturday Night Live cast for six years.
‘Stumble’ Captures the Hilarious Highs and Lows of Cheerleading
If you loved Bring It On's underdog story, Stumble delivers that same satisfaction but with more room to breathe. Courteney's obsessive drive to extend her winning streak and shatter her former coach's record brings with it a host of ridiculous situations. Courteney builds her team from scratch, recruiting overlooked athletes and turning them into contenders – a process that's messy, frustrating, and ultimately triumphant. Where the film gave us a snapshot, the NBC series offers a complete portrait, using its episodic structure to dig into the psychology of competition, the toll of ambition, and the small victories that matter as much as the big wins.
The real advantage of the show's format is depth. Bring It On had to compress its story into two hours; Stumble has an entire season to explore Courteney's life, the individual arcs of each cheerleader, and the culture of a sport that demands perfection while offering little recognition. It examines what it means to be overlooked, to fight for legitimacy in a space that doesn't take you seriously, and to find your people in the most unlikely places. The series doesn't shy away from the physical and emotional brutality of cheer, the injuries, the burnout, the interpersonal friction, but it also celebrates the grit, joy, and absurdity that keep people coming back to the mat. All of it is delivered with the humor of a great workplace mockumentary comedy, making it essential viewing for anyone who wants their sports stories served with wit.
A Strong Ensemble is the Perfect Part of ‘Stumble’
Jenn Lyon in the pilot of NBC's StumbleImage via NBC
A significant lead or two great characters is not enough to lead to a successful and effective sitcom. Thanks to the strong cast, we have a wealth of room to develop hilarious character dynamics, arcs, and plot points. From Madison (Arianna Davis), the talented but narcoleptic cheerleader, to Peaches (Taylor Dunba), the mischievous cheerleader who loves to steal, and Steven (Ryan Pinkston), the thirty-something who surprisingly returns to the team, it’s exciting to see how their storylines will develop and where they will lead.
And with a former SNL member, Killam, there is plenty of room to see how he and Lyon develop their chemistry throughout the season, and what role he plays in the in-show documentary, or will he just be the one to tell the crew to stop filming in their bedroom constantly? Even more interestingly, we get to see Chenoweth back on our screens, playing a seemingly harmless former assistant coach who will surely develop an interesting dynamic with Lyon’s character moving forward.
Related
‘Bring It On’ 25th Anniversary Screenings With Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Bradford, and Peyton Reed Coming to Alamo Drafthouse [Exclusive]
It’s going to be cute and popular to boot.
Posts By Britta DeVore Sep 12, 2025Last, and certainly not least, Lyon is a strong leader that the series needs. Balancing a strong-willed yet uncertain coach who unexpectedly finds herself in a completely different situation than she anticipated a few months ago, Courteney must not only work hard to improve and rebuild her team from scratch but also reflect on whether she remains the same person she was fourteen years ago when she first assembled her first team. Best known for her roles in Claws and the short-lived Netflix series Dead Boy Detectives, Lyon has learned to balance humor with drama and heartfelt moments for many years now. Claws was a dark dramedy, and Lyon frequently had to walk that line of drama and comedy; now she gets to dive headfirst into the comedic world with Stumble.
If Bring It On showed us how intense and demanding high school cheerleading can be, Stumble is here to skewer every ambitious and absurd moment in the junior college competitive world. While the projects differ in many ways, they share an ambition to highlight a sport with comedic timing and plenty of heart. With its blend of fresh and veteran talent, Stumble has the potential to become television's next must-watch mockumentary. By combining sharp satire, heartfelt character journeys, and the consistently popular mockumentary format, Stumble aligns with modern audiences’ appetite for genre-blending shows that offer humor and authenticity as they explore undiscovered worlds.
Stumble
Like Follow Followed Comedy Sports Release Date November 7, 2025 Network NBC Directors Jeffrey BlitzCast
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Jenn Lyon
Courteney Potter
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Taran Killam
Boone E. Potter
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Ryan Pinkston
Stevie
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Jarrett Austin Brown
Dimarcus
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Stumble
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Bring It On
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