NBC’s ‘Stumble’ is a mockumentary about a cheer team with plenty of tumbling runs and heart
NEW YORK AP Bodies go flying and tumbling in NBC s latest comedy series Stumble a mocking but loving look at the competitive world of cheer from a brother-and-sister writing band Jeff and Liz Astrof have created a mockumentary about a ragtag group of recruits building a cheer group from scratch at a junior college in a tiny Oklahoma town with an unpronounceable name Liz and I both love having heart and we believe that if you have a really silly comedy like this it has to be balanced by heart says Jeff Astrof Jenn Lyon stars as a determined coach who requirements to win one more trophy to be crowned the winningest coach in college cheer history She finds herself in a gym with a dead opossum and various gnarly would-be crew candidates One has narcolepsy one is a poached football star a scarce are filthy dancers on TikTok there s a -year-old rental car manager who technically never graduated a felon with an ankle monitor and an -year-old with a messy home life Even so the creators promise one cheer wow set piece per episode What s so incredible is that these kids have never trusted anyone before or been trusted Cheer is all about trust Someone s going to catch you someone s going to throw you in the air says Liz Astrof It s all about trust and all of them learning how to trust each other and trust themselves and be trusted Mockumentary style for an underdog story NBC is building on its strong base of comedic mockumentaries think The Office Parks and Recreation and The Paper with Stumble inspired by the - Netflix docuseries Cheer which followed a Texas band preparing for a national cheerleading competition in Daytona Beach Florida It s an underdog story says Jeff Astrof What we loved about the documentary Cheer was that these kids had really rough lives We love that part of it The show which debuts Friday on NBC and is available to stream the next day on Peacock also features as a recurring guest star Kristin Chenoweth the -foot- Broadway star as assistant coach Tammy Istiny read that name again and former Saturday Night Live sportsman Taran Killam as a football coach and husband of our cheer coach The pilot is all about gathering the unit The following episodes are about how to address them to Daytona from out the METH Conference you read that right I m so excited about this season We ve got a great group of kids and one middle-aged man coach tells the media They ll have to overcome ego injuries and infighting for a chance at the title Stumble marks the first time Jeff and Liz Astrof have created a show together Speaking to them is like talking to a reassured comedy duo each cracking the other up with another joke We invariably bring out the best in each other and it s reliably good when we re together in the room and have each other s back says Liz Astrof We would talk times a day anyway but it would usually be complaining about our jobs This cuts that out says her brother Jeff Astrof s credit include The New Adventures of Old Christine Grounded for Life Trial Error and Ground Floor His sister s credits include Not Dead Yet Last Man Standing Broke Girls and The Conners When inquired what are the hallmarks of their familial sense of humor he right away deadpans Trauma Liz builds on that Trauma plus time and the more time goes by the funnier we are They both admit to being outgoing A-type personalities who each married more introverted people and whose sense of comedy didn t constantly come from a happy place People are like Wow you must have had a really funny household And I was like That s not how you make two sitcom writers says Jeff Astrof Adds his sister with a laugh That s not how you become funny Source
