America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders | |
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Genre | Docuseries |
Created by | Greg Whiteley |
Starring |
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Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 7 |
Production | |
Executive producer | Andrew Fried |
Running time | 52–60 minutes |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | Netflix |
Release | June 20, 2024 |
Related | |
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team |
America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders is an American sport television docuseries which was released on Netflix on June 20, 2024. [1] The seven-episode series follows the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, the official cheer squad of the National Football League's Dallas Cowboys. The series follows the 2023–24 team's selection and digs into the thirty-six-person squad's daily life. [2] It is considered to be the successor series for Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team which aired on CMT from 2006 to 2021.
While the documentary has been considered a success, many viewers expressed shock at the demands on the cheerleaders, and the comparatively low wages they are paid, often requiring them to work multiple jobs. [3]
In a mixed review, Judy Berman from Time stated the following: "A feminist-minded viewer could tie herself in knots trying to untangle the show’s—and the squad’s—gender politics, and [Greg] Whiteley deserves credit for doing justice to that complexity. Everyone who makes the team is shown to be a consummate athlete, possessing remarkable skill, strength, and discipline. The line separating physical fitness, a basic job requirement, from aesthetics can be thin. And contrary to what you might expect of beautiful women competing for the male gaze of a nation, the hopefuls come off as extraordinarily kind to and supportive of one another. Yet there isn’t much institutional support for cheerleaders whose mental health or food issues are exacerbated by the stressful atmosphere of training camp." [4]
Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
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1 | 7 | June 20, 2024 |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date | |
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1 | 1 | "Auditions Part 1" | June 20, 2024 | |
Rookie candidates and returning veteran candidates compete for a spot in the 2023 training camp. Several auditions succeed by capturing the attention of the judges, while others fail to meet the standards. | ||||
2 | 2 | "Auditions Part 2" | June 20, 2024 | |
The 2023 training camp roster is announced, which includes the tearful cuts of three veteran candidates in order to make room for other candidates who exceeded the judges' expectations. | ||||
3 | 3 | "Yes Ma'am" | June 20, 2024 | |
After the rookie candidates receive makeovers, the girls hit the turf to learn the iconic pregame routine under the watchful eye of NFL hall-of-famer, Emmitt Smith. | ||||
4 | 4 | "God Loves Dallas" | June 20, 2024 | |
Candidates dance in the cowboy boots for the first time. With long deliberation, the final cuts are made and the 2023 squad is announced. | ||||
5 | 5 | "Sparkle" | June 20, 2024 | |
The newly announced squad makes final preparations ahead of their first preseason game. When group leaders are announced, one returning veteran struggles with her confidence. | ||||
6 | 6 | "9 to 5" | June 20, 2024 | |
Cheerleaders interact with fans and take the field for thanksgiving with special halftime guest Dolly Parton. | ||||
7 | 7 | "Sisters for Life" | June 20, 2024 | |
In the face of challenges, the sisterhood brings the cheerleaders together and alumni return for an emotional season finale. |
Returning Veterans | Rookies | Training Camp Candidates | Retired / Cut / Resigned | ||||
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Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to entertain the audience, or for competition. Cheerleading routines typically range anywhere from one to three minutes, and contain components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting. Cheerleading originated in the United States, where it has become a tradition. It is less prevalent in the rest of the world, except via its association with American sports or organized cheerleading contests.
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team is headquartered in Frisco, Texas, and has played its home games at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, since its opening in 2009. The stadium took its current name prior to the 2013 season, following the team's decision to sell the stadium's naming rights to telecommunications company AT&T. In January 2020, Mike McCarthy was hired as head coach of the Cowboys. He is the ninth in the team's history. McCarthy follows Jason Garrett, who coached the team from 2010 to 2019.
Debbie Does Dallas is a 1978 American pornographic film produced and directed by Jim Clark, and starring Bambi Woods. The plot focuses on a team of cheerleaders attempting to earn enough money to send the title character to Dallas, Texas to try out for the famous "Texas Cowgirls" cheerleading squad. The fictional name "Texas Cowgirls" was seen as an allusion to the real-life Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Woods had previously tried out for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in real life, but was cut during auditions.
The term "America's Team" is a nickname that refers to the National Football League (NFL)'s Dallas Cowboys. The nickname originated with the team's 1978 highlight film, where the narrator opens with the following introduction:
They appear on television so often that their faces are as familiar to the public as presidents and movie stars. They are the Dallas Cowboys, "America's Team".
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are the National Football League cheerleading squad representing the Dallas Cowboys team.
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team is an American reality television series that premiered in 2006 on CMT. The series follows the auditioning process and the forming of the Dallas Cowboys' annual Cheerleading squad. The series features director Kelli McGonagill Finglass and choreographer Judy Trammell.
National Football League Cheerleading or simply NFL Cheerleading, is a group of professional cheerleading organizations in the United States. 24 of the 32 NFL teams include a cheerleading squad in their franchise. In 1954, the Baltimore Colts became the first NFL team to have cheerleaders. They were part of Baltimore's Marching Colts.
Hard Knocks is a reality sports documentary television series produced by NFL Films and HBO. First broadcast in 2001, the show typically follows a National Football League (NFL) team through its training camp and covers the team's preparation for the upcoming football season. Beginning in 2021, the show has also dedicated an additional season of television to following an additional team throughout the NFL regular season. Followed by an additional season to following another team through the NFL offseason starting in 2024.
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Melissa Katherine Rycroft-Strickland is an American television personality, host, and dancer. She is a former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader and television personality. She has participated as a bachelorette on the thirteenth season of ABC's The Bachelor, on the CMT reality TV series Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team, and on the eighth and fifteenth seasons of ABC's Dancing with the Stars. Rycroft went on to host reality competition shows such as Bachelor Pad and Redneck Island.
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