Jenn Lyon had a fun challenge getting to bring Cheer‘s Monica Aldama to life on Stumble while still making the character her own.
“Monica is on the page. The writers have created a brilliant character to play, but it definitely is inspired by Monica,” Lyon exclusively told Us Weekly about playing Courtney in the NBC sitcom, which premieres Friday, November 7.
“She is tough as nails and inscrutable at points,” Lyon continued of Aldama. “But the way she is stern but loving, the way she’d give you the shirt off her back, the way she is driven and committed is all over the DNA of the character.”
NBC’s Stumble is a mockumentary that explores the highly competitive world of junior college cheerleading. Aldama, 55, who makes a cameo in the series premiere, was previously featured on Netflix’s docuseries Cheer when she was the coach of the cheerleading team at Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas. Cheer, which premiered in 2020, followed Aldama and her squad as they trained for the NCA & NDA Collegiate Cheer & Dance Championship.
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“Courtney is a different lady. She’s got aspects of Monica, but reading her on the page and getting to collaborate with the writers, the creators and the director, we fleshed out how we wanted Courtney to be — including her level of warmth and wackiness,” Lyon teased. “I love to trip over things on the floor. I love to run into a doorjamb. These are things that Monica doesn’t do.”
Lyon was also able to get insight from Aldama, who is an executive producer on the show.
“Monica is one of those people that you learn by watching them. She doesn’t waste words and she’s not going to give you a lecture on how to be or what to do. But watching her in the pilot put up these elaborate stunts and work with all these different cheerleaders — and the amount of respect and deference they give her,” she recalled. “Also, the way she has this encyclopedic knowledge of stunts and the whole world of cheerleading is a wonder to behold. I learned so much by just walking behind her while she was talking to people or sitting beside her and eavesdropping.”
After booking the lead role on Stumble, Lyon immediately felt a connection to the work, telling Us, “I watched the Cheer documentary over the pandemic like everybody else. I was glued to it and I rewatched it to just get more of the feel for the world so I could think about Monica and what it was like in those situations. It was invaluable.”
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Lyon’s time filming Stumble allowed her to learn something new after previously starring in Claws, Happy Face and more.
“It’s a little weird for me. This is the first mockumentary-style thing that I’ve ever done professionally. Everything I’ve done said, ‘Don’t break that fourth wall. The cameras aren’t there and you’re living life in front of the camera.’ So, to have a performative aspect that the characters are trying to present their best selves for the camera and checking in is very different,” she noted. “Something like that, I had to be reminded to do it. I just come from a tradition where you don’t spike the camera and you don’t look down the barrel.”
Lyon continued: “So, to shoot a glance over there is an interesting thing to do. But also, it helps you establish a relationship with your camera operators, and they become a character in the show. It’s the way you relate to the audience, and it’s really interesting how it makes it more accessible. But I have had to be prodded to do it. Like, ‘Why don’t you throw a look over there?’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, no.’ But now I can do it.”
Stumble premieres on NBC Friday, November 7, at 8:30 p.m. ET before streaming the next day on Peacock.
