EXCLUSIVE: Netflix has ordered Cheer, a six-episode docuseries about competitive college cheerleaders, from Last Chance U creator Greg Whiteley and his One Potato Productions, Boardwalk Pictures and Caviar. Cheer is set to premiere January 8 on Netflix.

Netflix

Directed and executive produced by Whiteley, Cheer follows the competitive cheerleaders of Navarro College in Corsicana, TX. Led by Monica Aldama, the small junior college has won 14 National Championships since 2000. Per the official synopsis: “The stakes on the mat are high, but for these athletes, the only thing more brutal than their workouts and more exceptional than their performances are the stories of adversity and triumph behind the team members themselves. Over the course of six episodes, viewers will join the Navarro College cheerleaders as they face injuries, sacrifice, personal setbacks and triumphs, all leading up to one nail-biting and adrenaline pumping final competition at the National Championship.”

Netflix

Cheer is produced by One Potato Productions, Boardwalk Pictures and Caviar. For One Potato, executive producer is Greg Whiteley, supervising producer is Adam Leibowitz, and producers are Arielle Kilker and Chelsea Yarnell. Andrew Fried and Dane Lillegard executive produce for Boardwalk Pictures. Jasper Thomlinson and Bert Hamelinck executive produce for Caviar.

Whiteley said: “Our new series Cheer is as much about cheerleading as Last Chance U is about football. Which is to say, it has cheerleading in it. A lot of cheerleading. But the most poignant moments are the ones that happen away from practice. A college cheerleader wrestles with the same issues any young person in college has to deal with, what our series shows is that off the mat issues can’t help but bleed onto the mat. Showing the poetry between the exactness of their routines juxtaposed with the intricacies of their personal lives produces my favorite moments in the series and I’m excited for viewers to experience the gritty but beautiful world of Navarro College Cheer.”