In the wake of the allegations against former cast member Jerry Harris, the Navarro College Cheer team is fighting its way back to the top.
In the season two trailer of Netflix's Cheer, which dropped on Tuesday, Dec. 28, members of the competitive cheerleading squad briefly address the allegations facing the series' breakout star, Harris. The trailer comes more than a year after Harris, 21, was charged with production of child pornography in September 2020.
Three months later, in December 2020, federal prosecutors filed seven additional charges of sex crimes allegedly involving five minors, to which he pled not guilty. He has remained behind bars in Chicago since his arrest in September, while his criminal case is pending. If convicted, he could face a sentence of 15 to 30 years.
"It's definitely the hardest season I've ever had," the team's coach, Monica Aldama, says in the trailer. "I can't even, like, process it right now." Says another cast member, "Everyone just felt lost."
This season, which follows the award-winning team from January 2020 through April 2021, will also focus on Navarro's rivalry with the opposing team from Trinity Valley Community College, as the two duke it out on the road to the national championship.
In a press release, Cheer's director and executive producer, Greg Whiteley, explained, in part, "The new episodes tackle extremely difficult moments, including the impact of COVID-19 and criminal charges against one of Navarro's former team members. It was inspiring, heartbreaking, sometimes frustrating, and ultimately moving to be a part of their lives. Flying home from our last day of shooting in Daytona, I thought, ‘I cannot believe we saw what we just saw, we experienced what we just experienced.' If we do our job right, we're able to take the audience on that same ride."
Season two of Cheer will debut Jan. 12 on Netflix. Until then, watch the trailer for yourself above.