Netflix’s cheerleading docuseries, Cheer, became a runaway hit after it dropped on the streamer in early 2020. Viewers loved watching the Navarro College Bulldogs Cheer Team prepare for the tough competition to come at the National Cheerleading Championship, and seriously became invested in the lives of many of those who make up the team. Fans have been waiting for quite a while to see what Cheer Season 2 would bring to the table, and now that the trailer has been released, we can see that there will be a lot of new stories to follow, which will include the sexual misconduct allegations against former teammate, Jerry Harris.
While those who loved Cheer Season 1 usually became big fans of several of the cheerleaders, along with their coach Monica Aldama, one of the breakout stars of the first set of episodes was Jerry Harris. He was seen as a bright light among his teammates, and became beloved for his positive and encouraging attitude. But, this took a big turn in September of 2020, when Harris was arrested on one count of producing child pornography. Now that Netflix has released the trailer, it’s clear that the fallout from his arrest will be covered, at least a bit, in Cheer’s new season.
A couple of days after Harris’ arrest, Aldama spoke out about it on Twitter, and noted that her heart was “shattered into a million pieces” by the allegations, and asked fans for “privacy as our family mourns during this time,” while noting that children need to be protected from predators. As we can see from the footage shown in the trailer, the loss of Harris in the wake of his arrest truly hit his teammates and coach very hard while they continued to train.
This was likely also true as of last December, when Harris eventually pleaded not guilty to seven felony charges (via Entertainment Tonight), which were listed as one count of receiving of child pornography, one count of traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual contact with a minor, one count of enticement, and four counts of sexual exploitation of children. If Harris is convicted, each of the sexual exploitation charges against him carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, while the charge for enticement has a minimum sentence of 10 years.
Even though the shock of having Harris arrested for such horrible allegations was difficult for the team, as we see in the trailer, they did have to find a way to work without him. The binge-worthy reality show will continue to follow returning members of the team as they deal with challenges in and out of competition, including the fierce rivalry with nearby Trinity Valley Community College, which appears to be a bigger focus this time around.
We can see how things shake out for Navarro College when Cheer Season 2 hits Netflix on January 12, but in the meantime, be sure to see what else is coming your way on the small screen with the 2022 TV schedule.
