The often-imitated, never-equaled Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders are officially coming back to Netflix in 2025, which means we’ve got another season of high kicks, jump splits, “yes ma’am’s” and “Thunderstruck” dances. But before we can head back to Dallas, Texas, we need to catch up on what happened during the show’s first season. Keep scrolling for a quick recap of season 1 of the hit reality TV show America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and learn what we know about its follow-up season.
Season 1 recap of ‘America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders’
America’s Sweethearts debuted on Netflix in June this year and followed the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders from the final round of auditions through the end of the season. This came after the widely successful reality show Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making The Team, which aired on CMT from 2006 to 2021.
The Netflix show took a much different take, though, and showcased the cheerleaders in a more documentary-style light than a reality show. To do this, they highlighted five-year veteran Kelsey Wetterberg, four-year veterans Madeline Salter and Victoria Kalina, rookie candidates Reece Weaver, Anna Kate Sundvold, Camille Sturdivant, Kelly Villares and Charly Barby and alumni Caroline Sundvold and Kat Puryear.
It also showcased the behind-the-scenes work that director Kelli McGonagill Finglass and head choreographer Judy Trammell have to put in.
“This is my 34th year as director. Things were more scrutinized [when I was a cheerleader], so I maybe inherited that a little bit. But I have moved away from that,” Finglass said in June. “I love how authentic and unique and different each cheerleader is. Obviously in rehearsals, it’s all about performance and strength and stamina, and yeah, we want excellence there. I’ve looked at things in a different lens both as a mom and a coach. And I’ll continue to be better and sensitive as well, because at the end of the day, I’m trying to motivate people and inspire them to perform their best.
“I think beauty comes in all shapes, forms, and sizes, skin tones and sexualities. And I guess that’s as much as I can say about that. But I hope to be a better coach every year. I challenge myself with that.”
Along with being director, Finglass has also been credited with creating a DCC Barbie, the swimsuit calendars and getting the cheerleader’s uniforms in the Smithsonian Museum of American History—all of which were highlighted in season one of the show.
“When I got the job as director, I remember I had a yellow legal pad. I wish I could find it; it’s in my head right now. And I just listed off all these exciting things I wanted to create with the cheerleaders,” she explained. “I started a letter campaign on that. I had a huge list of opportunities that I could do once I was given the job because my mind is a promotional, exhausting, advertising idea [type of] mind.”
What to expect from season 2 of the Netflix hit
Given how successful season 1 of America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders was, the announcement of the second season wasn’t a surprise to anyone. As of now, it is expected to be the same as season 1 in the sense that it will follow the cheerleaders from the beginning of their season to the end.
One thing that remains a mystery, though, is who the show will choose to feature this time. At the end of last season, Wetterberg and Kalina announced that they were retiring. On the other hand, Salter, Weaver, Sundvold, Sturdivant, Villares, and Barby are all on the team now, as confirmed by the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Instagram, but it’s unclear if Netflix will choose to showcase them again.
As of the time of publication, season 2 doesn’t have a specific release day in 2025, but you can stream America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders season 1 on Netflix right now.
Or, if you want to go back to the beginning, you can also stream Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making The Team on Paramount Plus.
