30 Mar Stumble Hits On All Cylinders!
Behind the Scenes Of The Hit NBC Series
By Nate Salsman
Making Mat
In the fall of 2025, the cheer world showed up for NBC’s STUMBLE, a mockumentary-style series tumbling head first into the high- stakes arena of junior college cheerleading. The all-new show follows elite competitive cheerleading coach Courteney Potter, who has her life flipped upside down when she’s forced to start over with a new squad of lovable misfits dreaming to be champions, as head coach of the cheer squad at Headltston State Junior College. To win the championship, they have no choice but to kick it into high “cheer” aka earning a spot at Daytona. (If you know, you know.)
STUMBLE stars Jenn Lyon, SNL alum Taran Killam, Ryan Pinkston, Jarrett Austin Brown, Anissa Borrego, Arianna Davis, Taylor Dunbar, and Georgie Murphy. Kristin Chenoweth also appears in a recurring role.
Potter is portrayed by the incredibly talented Lyon, who immediately recognized the brilliance of the show. “I thought it was brilliant, because it’s got that Bad News Bears, kind of vibe where it’s like, what happens when you take somebody who is so good at what they do, and then you throw them into an absurd situation where they’re surrounded by things that just keep thwarting them, obstacles getting in their way,” Lyon said.
As she prepared, Lyon took the time to appreciate every aspect of the show and of her character, who resembles, in part, former Navarro head coach Monica Aldama, who is also an executive producer on the show. Aldama and Lyon worked together to mirror Potter’s mannerisms and perfect the character.
“Getting to be with Monica Aldama and watch her, and steal her mannerisms, was the gift of my whole life,” Lyon said. “I watched [Netflix’s “Cheer”]. I was obsessed with it. Monica has such a vocabulary of movement to pull from, and the cadence of her speech, and the way that she commands respect, but also is extraordinarily maternal and loving. I just, I stole all of it.”
Lyon has the innate ability to draw the viewer in as soon as the episode begins. Her mannerisms and line delivery are unmatched. What expands her character is her onscreen husband, Boon Potter, played by Taran Killam. Killam’s character is a former football player turned coach who was forced into retirement after a traumatic head injury, causing him to relearn many aspects of life including his animals. His head injury is the root of many jokes throughout the series, and the interactions between Lyon and Killam kept her laughing on and off set.
“He makes me laugh so hard. Just him as a person,” Lyon said. He is a brilliant comedic actor. Just as a human man in the world is one of the funniest, strangest people I’ve ever been around. He makes me laugh so hard. He knows the words to every song ever written. If you sing a snippet of a song, he’ll sing all the rest of it, and he’s the most fun to play with. He also can access his emotions so quickly, if I’m crying in a scene, he’s crying in a scene. He’s extraordinarily gifted.”
Lyon’s Babies
Surrounding Lyon on STUMBLE is a talented group of young actors, also known as her “babies.” The group makes up the cheer squad that Lyon coaches, “The Candy Buttons.” Each of them provide a different aspect to the show through their fun and unique characters, and showcases exactly what a high-level cheer team is all about.
Jarrett Austin Brown plays Dimarcus, a star athlete who is originally a member of Boon’s football team before quitting for being too “performative” and “arrogant.” Courteney recruits Dimarcus for her cheer team and the rest is history.
When he’s in performance mode it is unlike anything else,” Brown said about his character. “The place he locks into is just insane. He just goes off the rails, dude. They look at me and they go ‘action,’ and they just take their hands off. I just, I go till I burn out.”
While Brown did not grow up a cheerleader, he was a dancer, gymnast, and even performed during commercial breaks at Brooklyn Nets basketball games, making his performance quality top-tier. And even though Brown may be the jock of the group, his co- star, Taylor Dunbar, who plays Peaches, plays an unknown talent discovered by Courteney after attempting to rob her car and executes many flips to run from her. She agreed to join “The Candy Buttons” and eventually became the star flyer.
Peaches is spunky and is known for constantly getting into trouble, something Dunbar loves. “Peaches reminds me of the girls that I used to be best friends with in high school,” Dunbar said. “She just feels like the local town punk. I really love that grimy quality of her. I describe her as this raccoon in my brain. I just think she just goes and sneaks around. I love a really weird woman.”
Arianna Davis who plays Madonna, is simply a natural. Davis, who comes from a dance background, had never stepped foot on a set prior to STUMBLE. She had major anxiety about making her debut prior to production beginning. But, as filming started, the showrunners and creators didn’t even realize that this was her first time on set. “My anxiety for the months coming up to the pilot was through the roof,” Davis said. “I don’t know anyone in this industry. I don’t know any of the terminology they’re going to be saying on set, I’m not going to even know what they’re talking about. I was looking up what are some film terms that you hear and then I was trying to find YouTube videos of ‘how to be on the first day of being a series regular on a TV show.’
Obviously, no one has made that video before! I feel like I fast tracked this acting experience that a lot of people like, unfortunately, I don’t get to do it as fast as I did. But, hey, they didn’t even know it was my first gig!”
Madonna has a fun, vibrant personality, and lights up the screen with her performance quality. Unfortunately, she does have narcolepsy and sometimes faints during a performance. It is humorous writing like Madonna’s narcolepsy that continues to provide the show with a signature charm.
Each member of the team has their own roles— the athlete, the personality, the flyer. Kory Little is the veteran. Little was a former competitive cheerleader, and was immediately on board with the show after learning about it from Aldama. “When she told me that I was like, ‘I’ll drop whatever I have to drop to be a part of this’ I’m so blessed to be a part of it, and I’m happy I made that decision,” Little said.
With his cheer background, he is still heavily connected to the cheer world, and the show has a strong approval rating, and every cheerleader wants a taste of the STUMBLE spotlight. “All my pro cheer teammates know about the show, and they all ask me questions,” Little said. “They’re like, ‘how do I get in there? How do I be in a routine or on the other team?’ Everybody loves it.”
Every member of the team has been able to take lessons from Lyon. She has been the perfect leader and coach. Lyon has been able to showcase how to perfectly lead a set when you are number one on the call sheet. Whether it is helping Dunbar with a line, or helping Davis maneuver her first set, she is there for the entire family.
Lyon enters the set everyday like a proud mother. It’s been an honor for her to see the show come to life, and to watch the cast excel in every aspect. Not only are they incredible actors, but outstanding people who are passionate for the work they produce, and ecstatic that they have the opportunity to create something special with their friends by their side. “I’m so proud of all the babies,” Lyon said. “Everybody’s firmly in their 20s, but I’m just so proud of all of them. Everybody’s doing really great work. They’re so kind and loving to each other and to the crew, which really means a lot to me.”
“Jenn does a remarkable job. To be on a cast and have Jenn Lyon as your number one is a privilege, because she just maneuvers that set with so much love and light, and she’s so about the business, but she also knows how to create space and accept everyone. I just pray the day that I get to be that number one on that call sheet, I just do it as elegantly as Jenn did.” – Jarrett Austin Brown
In Sync
The Candy Buttons will all leave the show with new lifelong memories and friendships. Every cast member I interviewed, I asked them a simple question: What is your biggest takeaway from Stumble. They all paused before answering, and I could tell how meaningful this experience had been for each of them. The answers varied. Dunbar is taking new friendships and memories, Brown is absorbing many lessons from Lyon, and how to be a true leader. Little is ready to be reunited with his squad, and continue to teach them about the world of cheer. Davis is happy that she can provide the world with an escape from the everyday stresses.
“I feel like this show in this climate right now, in the world that we live in currently, is so important,” Davis said. “My goal as an actor is to, by any means necessary, share my story and my truth, so that other people can feel understood and be brought joy into their living room while they’re sitting on the couch with their family and laughing their heads off.”
For Jenn Lyon the show has meant everything to her. Her talent is off the charts and every line she delivers offers me a mega laugh. The story of the underdog is significant and relatable.
“If you’re an underdog you just keep trying,” Lyon said. You fall down, you get back up, you fail, you fail better. You just keep going. It’s given me such a boost in terms of my career, because really you have slow times if you’re going to be at it for the long haul, and to be able to be a number one on a show that is this smart and this well done gives me an inner fire, and I feel so grateful. All the times I wanted to quit, I’m just so glad that I kept going and I feel like we could all use that, because the world can really get you down.”
STUMBLE has the ability to allow the viewer to forget about their everyday lives. It’s 21 minutes of pure joy. And for those 21 minutes, I was immersed and found myself only caring about whether Candy Buttons would eventually earn a spot at Daytona. Every episode leaves the audience and the cast wanting more. The goal is to make people laugh, and hopefully leave the viewers with a different life perspective. Lyon simply wants people to find the same joy that they did on set.
“I love the show, and I hope people will find it and watch it and love it as much as we do.”
PHOTO CREDITS: Photo by: Danielle Mathias/NBC
Jarrett Photo: Fernando Decillis/NBC
