Netflix’s docuseries America’s Sweethearts opens to a scene of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders waiting for their cue to perform. As they stretch their muscles and wave their pom-poms, the camera cuts to a cheerleader talking about the weight of being on the team.
Their role is to make others happy, she said, while maintaining a “picture-perfect” image.
“You’re becoming a whole different person when you put that uniform on,” said a second cheerleader, in another cut-away.
This trade-off isn’t framed as a burden, but as a duty in service of the sport and franchise they love. In the seven-episode series, which premieres June 20, 2024, the show makers document the lives of the cheer team, from the competitive audition process to the end of the NFL season.
Since their founding more than 60 years ago, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have become a national icon, performing around the globe and appearing on network TV shows such as the long-running Country Music Television series, Making the Team. CMT and the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders split ways in 2022 after sixteen seasons.
Here’s what to know about the new docuseries and the team’s history.
When did the team form?
The Cowboys experimented with different iterations of cheerleaders in the 1960s. The team hired models to stand on the sidelines, but ultimately canned the idea, according to the cheerleaders’ official website, because they were not trained to withstand the Texas sun. The Cowboys then enlisted the help of local high school students for a co-ed squad called CowBelles & Beaux. This too was eventually dropped in favor of building a team of professional dancers in 1972.
How did the uniform come to be?
The original squad of seven women in 1972 performed in white go-go boots, white hot shorts and a cropped blue long-sleeve top, with a white vest emblazoned with blue stars. In true Texas fashion, the team eventually dropped the go-go boots for cowboy boots. One signature blue-and-white uniform from the 1980s has been preserved in the collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History since 2018.
What’s the audition process like?
For the 2024 auditions, the process began with an online application that included a head-shot, introduction video and a one-minute dance video. Those selected then had to learn more choreography in subsequent rounds. Final auditions were held in Frisco.
What’s different between Making the Team and America’s Sweethearts?
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Kelli Finglass, the longtime director of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, shared that the Netflix series will spotlight more of the squad’s personal lives. This is hinted at in the trailer, which shows a cheerleader being proposed to and a conversation between cheerleaders about struggling with public scrutiny on social media.
“Our previous show was much more about the competition,” Finglass said. “The new tone is that people already love the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, now they get to meet the individuals in a very intimate way.”
The previous show also ended after the audition process, according to head choreographer Judy Trammell. “It didn’t show the things we do the rest of the year — the USO tours, the veterans hospital , the children’s hospital visits,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “We do so much more than has ever been seen.”
Will the series continue?
“Yes would be my quick answer,” Finglass told Entertainment Tonight. “We’re so connected with our fans. It almost would feel odd without it.”
Dallas Morning News staff writer Sarah Hepola is a story consultant on the Netflix show America’s Sweethearts. She did not have any involvement with this story.
