The real-life adventures of the NFL’s most iconic cheerleading squad continue in a new season of America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders

After a stellar first season — reaching the Top 10 TV list in 27 countries around the globe, lasting four weeks on Netflix’s weekly global Top 10 English TV list and causing its theme song, — AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” — to go TikTok-viral, America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders returns for a second season.

Directed by Greg Whiteley (Cheer), the series follows aspiring rookies and squad veterans as they audition to be one of 36 Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, one of the most recognizable and beloved squads in the NFL. Across seven episodes, the series’ first season followed dancers from tryouts to the end of the 2023-’24 season, showcasing what life was like for the team members both in and out of uniform. The series offered an unfiltered look at the hard work and dedication put into being a Cowboys cheerleader.

Since the debut season ended, Whiteley has been vocal about his interest in returning for a second. In June 2024, Whiteley spoke with Variety, sharing that the show hit its end right as the cast and crew were starting to pick up speed. “I felt like we were just starting to get there as we were wrapping up, and I’d love to have more time to see if we can get deeper and deeper with more and more of the team,” he said, leaving fans hopeful.

Luckily, Whiteley and the DCC dancers got their wish. The new season continues the format of the first, picking up with the cheerleaders from the moment auditions begin, then following them through training camp all the way through the 2024-’25 NFL season.

Fans can expect to see many familiar faces returning, including coach Kelli Finglass and head choreographer Judy Trammell. Also back are squad members Reece Weaver, Jada McLean and Caroline Sundvold, while some new arrivals promise to shake things up and challenge the status quo.

Putting the show together is no mean feat, especially when filming the cheerleaders on game days. That, Whiteley told Variety, required multiple crews, including shooting with a long lens, a handheld camera and two verité crews. “That may sound like a lot, but it’s a huge field and the girls are [dancing] in four different quadrants,” he pointed out. “You need 200 or 300 of them, so you just do your best.”

Then, of course, there’s also the personal drama that unfolds naturally. “On any given day, there is a cheerleader that is going through something: They’re planning a wedding and they’re stressed out about it, or another girl is about to lose her job and she’s kind of freaking out about it,” he added. “All of them have to sort of set aside their troubles and try and put on this game face to go perform.”

When the women take to the field for their signature routine set to “Thunderstruck,” fans in the stands probably don’t realize that the five-minute performance is the result of hours upon hours of effort. “To perform ‘Thunderstruck’ at the level that people have expected requires a lot of practice,” Whiteley observed. “You are putting in a lot of time into the studio. Not only that, but you’re watching what you eat every day; you’re working out. There is a physical regimen that is expected. And you also have to pay rent. You’ve got to pay bills, so you’ve got to hold down this other job. So how do you juggle all of that?”

Meanwhile, a big part of a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader’s job is to make complex, athletically challenging routines look easy, something that he believes belies just how much effort it takes. “The problem is, they spend so much time concealing how hard it is,” Whiteley said. “They take something that is extremely difficult and make it look graceful and effortless, so you dismiss it . . . You could give me a million years, I could never perform a jump split.”

America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, premieres Wednesday, June 18 on Netflix