“Last Chance U” director Greg Whiteley is bringing us a fresh perspective on a sport he says most people “think think know a lot about, but they actually don’t.”
His new Netflix docuseries, “Cheer,” debuts on Jan. 8. And instead of following junior college football players like “Last Chance U,” this docuseries follows an entirely different brand of athlete — co-ed, junior collegiate cheerleaders.
“They’re the toughest athletes I’ve ever filmed,” Whiteley told TheWrap ahead of the series premiere. “It’s not even close. And that’s no slight to football players.”
“Cheer” follows the Navarro College cheerleading team in the sleepy town of Corsicana, Texas, where they spend a semester training as hard as humanly possible for the National Championships in Daytona, Florida. The team is lead by inexhaustible coach Monica Aldama, whose leadership has seen them win 13 titles since 2000.
Whiteley says his love for the “intricate” and “dangerous” sport of cheerleading was sparked while filming Season 2 of “Last Chance U” at East Mississippi Community College — the next stop for the football-centric series is Laney College, where it will spent its upcoming fifth season.
“We just started noticing this cheerleading squad,” Whiteley said. “We went and attended a practice, and it was surprisingly intense. And getting to know these cheerleaders, both Chelsea [Yarnell, field producer] and I thought, ‘This would make a fantastic series on its own.'”
Not only is does “Cheer” make it easy to fall in love with the series’ main subjects — what with their tear-jerking emotional journeys and magnetic personalities — but the series also makes a point to debunk all the “rah-rah,” pom-pom-waving stereotypes commonly associated with the sport.
“The activity of cheer is so interesting and I think so misunderstood,” Whiteley said. “If people are like me, I didn’t know enough about this. I was just surprised at how intricate and dangerous and competitive the activity is.”
“When I got to know our main subjects, they identify so closely with their sport, and they feel very strongly that the sport is largely misunderstood and even underrepresented,” he continued. “There is a reality TV component — if you bring up cheerleading, you immediately make certain assumptions about what this show might be based on stereotypes of cheerleading, and they were very anxious to debunk those stereotypes. Being a documentary film maker, I was very interested in obliging them. This was the story they wanted to tell, and I wanted to help them do it.”
“Cheer” premieres Wednesday, Jan. 8 on Netflix.
Golden Globes 2020: 12 Biggest Snubs and Surprises, From Jennifer Lopez to '1917' (Photos)
The 2020 Golden Globe Awards were held on Sunday night, with a list of winners ranging from the woefully expected to the pleasantly surprising. Click through for TheWrap's list of biggest surprises and see the full rundown of winners here.
Surprise:Ramy Youssef took home the award for best actor in a comedy series for his self-titled Hulu series, besting “Living With Yourself” star Paul Rudd, front-runner Bill Hader, last year’s winner Michael Douglas and “The Politician” himself, Ben Platt.
Surprise:Sam Mendes' WWI drama "1917" pulled off an upset with Best Picture - Drama and Best Director. Mendes even acknowledged front-runner Martin Scorsese as one of the industry's giants, “Joker” director Todd Philipps, and two of the night’s previous winners, Bong Joon-Ho and Quentin Tarantino.
Universal Pictures
Snub: Netflix campaigned heavily for Scorsese's epic "The Irishman" but it came up short in all five categories in which it was nominated, including Best Picture - Drama and Best Director.
Netflix
Snub:“Toy Story 4” capped off a beloved Pixar franchise, following on the Golden Globes’ best animated feature of 2010, “Toy Story 3.” But despite Pixar and the “Toy Story” franchise’s excellent awards track record, the HFPA opted to award Laika’s gentleman bigfoot movie “Missing Link” instead.
Pixar
Surprise:“Missing Link” was the only non-sequel in a category full of animated heavyweights, but the stop-motion adventure still came out on top over Jon Favreau’s “Lion King” remake and three sequels to past winners, “Frozen II,” “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” and “Toy Story 4.”
LAIKA/Annapurna
Snub: “Hustlers” star Jennifer Lopez gave one of the year’s buzziest performances in Lorene Scafaria’s crime drama — she learned to pole dance! — but it still wasn’t enough to best perennial Globes darling Laura Dern and her role as a fearsome divorce attorney in Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story.”
STX
Snub: Ryan Murphy's "The Politician," his first series for Netflix, was nominated in two categories at this year's Globes: Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy and Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy, a nod for star Ben Platt. But the political satire didn't get enough HFPA votes to win either race.
Netflix
Surprise: This year's Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television category included Meryl Streep for her performance in Season 2 of "Big Little Lies." So there was no shot in hell anyone was winning but HFPA darling Meryl Streep. And then Patricia Arquette got the statue for her part in Hulu's "The Act" -- proving you should never underestimate the unpredictable nature of the HFPA.
Hulu
Snub: The final season of "Game of Thrones" had just one shot at winning a statue at the 2020 Golden Globes: Kit Harington. The Jon Snow actor was the only "GoT" cast member nominated for an award -- and the show didn't snag a nod in any other category -- so when he lost Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama to "Succession" lead Brian Cox, the eighth and final season of "Game of Thrones" lost, too. Welp, either way it was a win for HBO. Cue "Succession" theme song.
HBO
Snub: Apple's recently launched streaming service Apple TV+ got its first-ever Golden Globe nods thanks to "The Morning Show." But the honor of just being nominated will have to be enough for the drama and its stars Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, as the show was completely shut out from a win.
Apple TV+
Surprise: Olivia Colman herself seemed shocked that her lead performance in "The Crown" beat out such Hollywood heavyweights as Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman.
Snub: Eddie Murphy won a Globe for his supporting role in 2006's "Dreamgirls," but he lost out this year for his performance in "Dolemite Is My Name" -- as Taron Egerton surprised for playing Elton John in "Rocketman."
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Plus: Sam Mendes, ”Missing Link“ and Patricia Arquette
The 2020 Golden Globe Awards were held on Sunday night, with a list of winners ranging from the woefully expected to the pleasantly surprising. Click through for TheWrap's list of biggest surprises and see the full rundown of winners here.