America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Season 2 Review
Season 1
Season 2
Episode Guide
Promise Yourself Part 1
Promise Yourself Part 2
Someone's Daughter
At What Cost
The Happiest Girl In The Whole USA
Refresh and Reboot
Saturn Returns
America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders immediately captivated audiences when it dropped on Netflix last year. Raw, intimate and unflinching in its portrayal of cheerleaders; DCC picked up the baton left behind by Cheer (Netflix's other flagship cheerleading series) and absolutely run with it.
The series looked into the toxic nature of cheerleading, the unenviable work ethic and grit needed to make it into the big-time, and the disparity in pay and limited lifespan in the limelight.
The show worked well, exposing the cut-throat world of show business in a way that few other shows on the platform have in quite so unflinching ways.
Season 2 then basically takes what worked in season 1 and repeats the process. Here, DCC are rebuilding their new team. With many veterans leaving for greener pastures, there are 13 open slots and around 500 candidates to choose from.
Kelli Finglass is in the driver's seat as Senior Director once more, with Judy Trammel working as Head Choreographer. These two are eventually joined by a larger panel of judges, intent on finding the right fit for the team as things start to get intense.
The first 5 episodes essentially work as the auditioning process, with judges scrutinizing every routine – both solo and group performances – before settling on their chosen cheerleaders. It's not all sunshine and rainbows of course, with some pretty heart-wrenching moments as people are cut.
Episodes 3 and 4 have the most brutal moments in that respect, while episode 5 finally sees the team formed and the bonding start. This is where the football season begins too, and there are little scandals thrown in along the way. In episode 7 for example, an issue involving one of the girls, Chandi, looks set to destroy the equilibrium of the group.
Balancing that though are moments of genuine beauty and fearlessness. Seeing Armani embrace herself and step out into the limelight in the way she does (I'm being careful not to reveal spoilers!) works really well and it's topped off by some returning faces from the past too.
One point to note though comes from the fiscal responsibility that DC have to pay these girls what they're worth. I will say that the show finally addresses this elephant in the room, with multiple episodes discussing how the girls feel about their pay-cheques.
Toward the end of the show we do get some clarity around this that should help settle the debate a bit, but I can't help but feel this is more of a knee-jerk reaction to public outrage rather than a genuine proactive move. Or maybe I'm just being cynical, I'll let you guys be the judge of that!
Regardless of what you think about cheerleaders or the cheerleading profession, these girls work damn hard – and deserve to be paid accordingly. Their grit, determination and tenacity are admirable, and Netflix's series once again does a great job of capturing all of this in its rawest form.
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