The internet’s latest obsession, America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders , has legions of viewers attempting the legendary cheer squad’s iconic “Thunderstruck” dance and, once again, talking about the hot-button topic of low NFL cheerleader pay .
The seven-episode Netflix docuseries brought viewers behind-the-scenes of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders’ 2023-2024 squad tryouts, training camp and season. The Greg Whiteley-directed show has pulled the featured cheerleaders into the spotlight — much like the people featured in Whiteley’s other Netflix docuseries Cheer and Last Chance U .
America’s Sweethearts follows cheerleaders who were previously on the team, referred to as “vets” or “veterans,” while also introducing viewers to several rookie candidates — among them fan favorites Reece, Charly and Kelly.
Throughout the series, while the team is in training camp, an onscreen counter shows viewers the current number of rookies and veterans in the camp. The squad’s training camp begins with 44 women — 28 vets and 16 rookies — before eventually being cut down to a final roster of 36.
The Hollywood Reporter spoke with Reece, Charly and Kelly to see what they’ve been up to since the show wrapped and where they are on their respective journeys.
Reece
Reece in America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders .
Reece, a recent graduate of the University of Alabama when the show was filmed, is introduced to viewers in the first episode of the series during the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders’ tryouts. The Florida native quickly catches the attention of judges and, spoiler, eventually makes the 2023-2024 team.
Reece calls it “surreal” to have such a pivotal moment in her life memorialized in a docuseries, adding, “I feel like all 36 of us feel the same way. We know that we’re on such a huge platform.”
The Cowboys cheerleader tells THR that she and the rest of the team are grateful and fortunate for the experience, noting that since the release of America’s Sweethearts , her life is different. “This year was so amazing, so special,” she says.
Reece adds: “Now with the docuseries out, my life has definitely changed practically overnight. The Lord, this didn’t catch him by surprise, so I’m just here trying to take the seat and have Him just guide me throughout it all but super grateful and excited to see all the new opportunities and experiences that will come with this here.”
Will and Reece in America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders .
The cheerleader’s personal life is woven into the series, including her strong relationship to her faith and her engagement. Reece’s now-husband, Will, is also featured throughout the show. “The first boy I met is now going to be my husband,” she says during a confessional in the show’s second episode, laughing through a smile.
The reaction to her time on the show has been largely positive. Reece jokes that “people know me probably more than I actually know myself at this point,” but is upfront about the pressure that comes with being the subject of a show like America’s Sweethearts .
“I’d be lying to you if I said that it was all just perfect,” Reece says. “This comes with a lot of responsibility. I have a lot of eyes now looking at me, more than ever before, and I hold that and take care of that. … I hold it with a lot of responsibility.”
“It’s definitely stressful, but in such a beautiful way because it’s a blessing all at the same time,” she adds.
In terms of Reece’s current plans, after making the 2023-2024 team, she is once again in training camp with hopes of joining the squad for a second year. “Obviously, I am trying to earn those boots back again for year two,” she says. “Obviously, I hope that I were to make the team, but if not, then that’s OK.”
When asked how she felt in auditions this year versus how she felt last year, Reece notes that she has a better understanding of what’s at stake. “You’ve had exposure, you’ve had experience and you now know what it’s like to be a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader,” she says.
“I feel like that expectation of coming in with excellence is just heightened a little bit more,” she adds. The cheerleader explains that being a veteran member of the team for the first time is “a lot of responsibility as well.”
“Making sure that I’m not getting complacent and I’m keeping my head down and really pushing and working hard is definitely key right now,” Reece says. “But also I loved having last year, but I don’t want to take that for granted, and I want that again.”
As for advice for those who might be inspired to try out for the team after seeing the show, Reece has a simple outlook, adding that this might sound “so cliche.”
“Everyone has a seat at the table, and I feel like with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, you know, we are America’s sweethearts, and that is representing everyone from different backgrounds,” she says.
“I think it’s extremely important just to remain true to yourself because when you look around, you’re looking at just a variety of incredible, beautiful women and making sure you stay true to that is definitely something that is important here,” she later adds. “So my biggest piece of advice is just being yourself. That is why you get to where you are today.”
Charly
Charly in America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders .
California native Charly stands out in the series to viewers, and the Cowboys cheerleaders’ audition judges, as a highly skilled technical dancer — the 2023 rookie candidate shares early into the series that she began ballet as a 2-year-old. “I just wanted to see her in a tutu,” Charly’s mom jokes on the show.
Charly makes it through auditions and far into training camp before eventually being the final training camp candidate cut from the team. Portrayed in the show’s fourth episode, Cowboys cheerleader coach Kelli Finglass, a former Cowboys cheerleader herself, tells the hopeful that she blew the judges away as a dancer but felt she was “not there yet” when it came to the team’s style. The dancer promised Finglass after being released: “I’ll be back stronger next year.”
“It was really cool to watch everything back and just kind of relive all the emotions,” Charly tells THR of what it was like to see her experience onscreen. “There’s lots of tears, lots of laughter, but yeah, I absolutely loved watching it back.”
Currently, Charly is back at the Dallas Cowboys cheerleading training camp. When the team announced Charly was back as a candidate on Instagram, the post was flooded with comments of joy and encouragement, something Charly says she is not taking for granted.
“I do not take that lightly. I just feel so incredibly blessed. I had no idea that that would be the outcome to people watching the show, and I just feel so, so grateful,” she says, noting that she sees “everything.”
“Whenever I’m feeling down or anything, throughout this process in current time, I will look at all the comments of people just being like, ‘We are so proud of you. You have to make it this year.’ It’s so, so, so sweet,” Charly says. “People don’t have to say things like that, and I just feel so incredibly blessed.”
The dancer wasted no time in preparing for the 2024 Cowboys cheerleader audition process. “I have been training since the second I got cut,” Charly emphasizes, noting she told coaches she was ready to be back when she was released.
“I know this is exactly where I want to be. I want to be back in this process again. Training camp is such a unique experience that so little people get to experience,” she explains, adding that she’s been taking every class she could throughout the last year.
While she has seemingly been encouraged by the show’s positive reception, Charly says she is blocking out the past and focusing on the future as she is “hyper fixated” on earning a spot on this year’s squad. “I do feel like it’s [the show’s release] brought nothing but more happiness into my life while going through this journey,” Charly says, emphasizing once again that her focus remains on making the team.
Charly adds that she remains thankful to all the people who have been supporting her since the show’s release. “It’s something I’ve never experienced before and it all kind of happened overnight,” she says.
Charly later adds: “If I could hug everybody I would in a heartbeat.”
Kelly
Kelly in America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders .
Rutgers University alum Kelly, typically referred to as “Kelly V.” throughout the series, is another standout rookie candidate in America’s Sweethearts . The Weehawken, New Jersey native declares several times throughout the series that she has been dreaming of making the team since she was a child.
Kelly is released from training camp in the show’s third episode in what is one of the more emotional training camp cuts. The dancer has an open conversation with Finglass and the team’s head choreographer Judy Trammell, another former Cowboys cheerleader, about her experience in the camp and what her prospects look like in the future. Kelly says she wants to make the team and try again.
“Watching the show back definitely brings back a lot of emotions because not only am I reliving what transpired last year, but I’m also reliving it in real time now in training camp,” Kelly tells THR .
Like Charly, Kelly auditioned again this year and is currently in training camp, hoping to make the 2024-2025 squad. “It was definitely super emotional but amazing to see my journey documented, and it made me even more excited that I’m back here,” she says.
Kelly, describing the feeling as “so strange,” says she knew she would be coming back to try out again the instant she was released. “I’ve never felt like that in my life, where you faced rejection and immediately you’re motivated. It was the craziest thing, but that’s how I knew this is what I want to do,” she adds.
Throughout the last year, the Cowboys cheerleader hopeful has been training daily in a dance studio. “I would fly out to Dallas — because I was back at home in Jersey — but I would fly to Dallas as much as I could and train as much as I can,” Kelly explains.
“I was with Charly a lot,” Kelly shares. “She’s helped me a lot through this process because we’re in it together, so we lean on each other for support.”
Kelly later notes that many Cowboys cheerleaders kept in touch with and checked in on her.
“There’s so many girls on the team who don’t make it their first time, and they were able to share their advice and how they came back and how their mentality changed,” she adds.
Kelly, who began the show as a blonde, has a somewhat drastic onscreen hair transformation that took place during last year’s training camp when team leadership suggests she should try going brunette. The dancer is still a brunette, saying of her look, “I love it and I cannot believe I didn’t do it sooner because now I can’t even imagine being a blonde, which is crazy.” The dancer notes that she sees the blonde version of herself on screen as “a different Kelly.”
The Cowboys cheerleader hopeful also feels like she’s grown “tremendously” as a person since she was released from last year’s training camp. “To have that documented and to be able to watch back and see the determination and the dedication that I have to chasing a dream, I think it’s super surreal and the reactions from everyone and the support means the absolute world to me,” Kelly says.
The dancer also has advice for those looking to follow her path: “never giving up on your dream, and you’ll never know how far you’ll make it if you don’t try.”
“I, through this process, learned that fighting for your dream is not an easy thing, but you can do it,” Kelly says, reiterating making the team has been a lifelong dream.
“I auditioned last year not knowing if I would make it past the first round. I truly didn’t. I had no expectation at all of what was going to happen. I just thought I would put my best foot forward and see what happens. And I made it so far last year and I had never expected that,” Kelly says. “Not only am I so proud of myself, but I’m proud of myself for taking that risk.”
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