Before January 2020, no one knew anything about the Navarro College cheer team. Now, some of the members have become huge stars following the success of the Netflix docuseries Cheer.
With two seasons under their belt, Coach Monica Aldama and breakout stars Gabi Butler, Morgan Simianer, Lexi Brumback, La’Darius Marshall, Mackenzie ‘Sherbs’ Sherburn and Austin Bayles have started to adjust to life in the spotlight. But despite their newfound fame, they still have another National Cheerleaders Association’s National Championship trophy on their minds.
“I’ve been cheering since I was 8, and now I’m 23, so it’s been a while! It takes a lot of focus, it takes a lot of training, and it really takes a person to want to go above and beyond to be the greatest of all time,” Gabi told HollywoodLife in July 2021. Since Navarro College is only a two-year program, Gabi is looking forward to her future in the sport of cheerleading. Currently, she’s a member of the Weber State University squad in Utah.
“Because of COVID, they gave everyone one more year of eligibility and I watched Weber and they were just an amazing team and this year they came out with insane skills,” Gabi said of her new team. “So, I really was intrigued and I wanted to learn more.”
Even though she’s since moved on from Navarro, Gabi — along with Morgan, Lexi and La’Darius — are set to return for Cheer season 2, which will premiere on Netflix in January 2022. When the second season announcement broke in December 2021, the cheerleader took to Instagram and wrote that she’s “excited” to be a part of Navarro’s next chapter. The rest of the stars also shared their excitement via social media.
“I know y’all have been asking for a while if [season] 2 was coming, and it’s finally happening!” Lexi wrote on Instagram. “So log the date in your calendars and watch along with me.”
One breakout star that will not be returning to the series is Jerry Harris. In September 2020, he was arrested following a series of sexual misconduct allegations. The former cheerleader was eventually charged by the FBI and in December of that year, he pleaded not guilty to all charges, per Us Weekly.
Cheer season 2 is set to address the allegations.
“It’s definitely the hardest season I’ve ever had,” Coach Monica says in the trailer. “I can’t even, like, process it right now.”
Scroll through our gallery to see what the Cheer stars are up to now.
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