Cheer Season 2 Filming Timeline: How COVID Impacted The Show
Fans waited a couple of years for Cheer season 2, and it's time to talk about how the season was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As the Navarro College Cheer Team (and the entire sport of cheerleading) was put on hold due to the coronavirus, the second season of the show was filmed in two different segments, with months in between. There is plenty to learn about the filming timeline for Cheer season two, and how it affected the cast.
Netflix's Cheer season one introduced fans to Navarro College, as well as their elite cheerleading team. The reigning champions' coach is Monica Aldama, who has been leading the team since the late nineties. The documentary showed the highs and lows of cheerleading, from pushing through tremendous pain at practice, to winning the 2019 NCA Championship at Daytona, to how they were able to hold onto their crowns. It also shot some of the stars into the spotlight, with squad members such as Gabi Butler, Morgan Simianer, and La’Darius Marshall becoming overnight celebrities. They have made appearances on popular shows, including The Ellen Degeneres Show.
Cheer season 2 showed the pressure that Navarro faced as the team tried to defend their championship title while splitting their focus between cheer and the media appearances that helped to satisfy their growing fan base. It also showed the fallout from Jerry Harris' arrest, after he was charged with soliciting intimate photos from minors. There were cast changes in the second season, as the 2020 NCA Championship was canceled due to the pandemic. Production for Cheer was also shut down. Some fan favorites appeared in the first half of season 2 and then revealed that they had left Navarro. This meant that other team members (and competitors, Trinity Valley) got to enjoy the spotlight.
Many fans were confused about the disrupted filming schedule and when each episode took place. Cheer season one had only six episodes, while season 2 has nine. The first four episodes of season 2 were filmed in January 2020, and fans watched as the cast of Cheer got the emotional news that they would not be able to compete due to the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020. Production then halted until the next semester in September 2020. By that time, Gabi, Morgan, and La'Darius had already moved on from Navarro.,
Though production started in September 2020, the filming continued all through the year, up until April 2021, which was when the 2021 NCA Championship was held. Episode five was likely filmed after the production break, as it showed how Jerry's former teammates and coaches reacted to the news of his incarceration and included interviews with two of his victims. Cheer episodes six through nine were all filmed after the production break as well, in the seven months leading up to the final competition. In the season 2 finale, the obstacles Navarro faced were too much. and they ultimately lost the 2021 NCA Championship to their rivals at TVCC.