NBC brought a new mockumentary about the world of cheerleading to primetime this fall of the 2025 TV schedule with Stumble, hailing from comedy vets and sibling showrunners Jeff and Liz Astrof and starring Jenn Lyons and Taran Killam. As it turns out, there’s a behind-the-scenes connection to another cheerleading series as well: Netflix’s Cheer. While Cheer is a docuseries rather than a mockumentary, there’s a major tie behind the scenes. Coach Monica Aldama is on board, with Jeff Astrof praising her as the “best addition” to the comedy.
Three episodes of Stumble have aired so far (and are available streaming with a Peacock subscription), and viewers have seen that the mockumentary format doesn’t mean that the cheer routines are a joke. This is thanks to Monica Aldama, who shot to streaming fame as a coach when Cheer debuted for those with a Netflix subscription back in 2020. She’s part of the Stumble team as an executive producer, and Variety reports this praise from Jeff Astrof:
That’s been the single best addition to the team. I’m very wary of non-writing producers. But we knew that we needed her expertise. The show started when my sister and I were watching ‘Cheer’ and I said, ‘this would be really funny if this was in the worst college in America.’ We just sat on it for a few years, and then we called Monica. She gives validity to it.
Stumble is primarily set at Headltston State Junior College, with Coach Courteney (Jenn Lyons) struggling with everything from turning the motley crew of students into competitors to actually pronouncing “Headltston.” While only three episodes are available so far, it’s clear that Courteney is a pretty great coach who’s just at a disadvantage while starting over at – to quote Jeff Astrof – “the worst college in America.”
As for the “validity” that Monica Aldama brings as a cheer coach (and former Dancing with the Stars competitor), the team that Courteney left behind at Sammy Davis Senior Junior College has routines that are worth rewinding just to watch the cheerleaders in action, now coached by the scene-stealing Tammy (Kristin Chenoweth). The Headltston State Junior College is still pretty rough around the edges, but improving every week. I’d say that the Cheer coach’s touch can be found all over the show, even if she doesn’t appear on screen.
That said, Stumble does seem to be giving Courteney some of Monica Aldama’s real-life traits (and style choices) in the show. Take a look:
NBC has really established itself as the place to be this fall for the mockumentary format, with St. Denis Medical and The Paper on Mondays while Stumble has joined Happy’s Place on Friday nights. It remains to be seen how well the new show does when paired with Reba McEntire’s sitcom. Happy’s Place seems to be a hit for the network, but that wasn’t enough to save Lopez vs. Lopez, which held Stumble‘s current 8:30 p.m. ET time slot on Fridays back in the spring before being cancelled after three seasons.
Of course, it’s much too early to start speculating about doom and gloom when the show has only just begun, and Stumble is adding more heart to the comedy by showcasing Courteney and Boon’s relationship. Plus, I refuse to let this show go until the mockumentary camera crew finds some in-universe reason to go to the candy button factory.
Catch new episodes of Stumble (and keep an eye out for Monica Aldama’s touch) on Fridays at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC, and streaming next day on Peacock. If you’re not familiar with Aldama’s work on Cheer, you can find both seasons streaming on Netflix now.
