Megan Sarnacki is an East Coast Page and writer covering TV and film.
Cheerleading requires an immense amount of trust. The same goes for creating a television show. In all its forms, collaboration calls for a strong base that will lift one another up so you can all stick the landing.
Sibling writers Liz Astrof and Jeff Astrof would know. 'Stumble' marks the first time they created a series together, and they relied on their strong bond throughout. While Jeff Astrof jokes that “once a week, we’ll get into a fight about something in our childhood,” his sister adds that they’ve always maintained a close relationship, even to the point of “texting each other 60 or 70 times a day.” It all goes back to that sense of confidence in one another, which this partnership is built upon. “We rely on each other for everything,” Jeff Astrof tells TODAY.com. “ is a very tense job. You need somebody that you can trust 100%. I know Liz always has my back.” Executive produced by retired cheerleading coach Monica Aldama , NBC’s new mockumentary “Stumble” centers on the indomitable coach Courteney Potter and her quest to win her 15th championship cheer title. When she is abruptly fired from her Texas team at Sammy Davis Sr. Junior College , she vows to find and train a new squad — even if that means driving 80 miles to an Oklahoma junior college with a name she can’t even pronounce and enlisting a team of misfits, including a kleptomaniac, a 30-something car salesman and a student with narcolepsy. “Courteney is a bit of a mess, but a controlled mess,” Jeff Astrof says. “She is super driven and loves these kids, which Jenn is such a natural at — she brings so much heart and pathos to the character.” Lyon's North Carolina upbringing empowered her to add authenticity to the role. “She is protective of the character being from the South and will put us in check if we have a line in there that she doesn’t think someone from the South would say, but instead, will always give us such great alternatives,” Jeff Astrof says. Part of what grounds Courteney is her high-school-sweetheart husband and personal cheerleader Boon E. Potter , who now works as a football coach after suffering a career-ending head injury. “Originally, the show was going to be more about the kids and Courteney’s relationship with the team, but as soon as we saw Taran and Jenn together, we knew we wanted to lean more into this relationship,” Liz Astrof says. “His chemistry with her is amazing. They have this natural comfort around each other that made writing about them so fun and sweet.” One inspiration behind the unwavering love between Courteney and Boon was another Texas sports-driven TV couple, Eric and Tami Taylor from “Friday Night Lights.” “What I loved about Coach Taylor and Tami was that they fought and bickered, but you never worried they were going to break up,” said Liz. “They were supportive and loving but could also have those serious and heartfelt conversations that can leave you choked up at the end.” As with any underdog story, you need a rival. For Courteney, that’s Tammy Istiny , her former cheer assistant who often dresses as though she’s about to be called to the mat at any moment. Upon the news of Courteney’s firing, Tammy does not follow her to Oklahoma, but rather, smiles with glee any time she hears of Courteney’s struggles. This isn’t the first time the writers collaborated with Chenoweth. Jeff Astrof co-created the NBC legal sitcom “Trial & Error” with Matt Miller back in 2017, which Chenoweth starred in. When it came to the role of Tammy, the siblings knew it had to be Chenoweth. “We wouldn’t have done the character without her,” Jeff Astrof says. “That’s a big reason we shot in New York. It was so important for us to have access to her. Everything we can do to put her in more, we do.” Even though Courteney’s new cheer family may be more unconventional than her former elite squad, it doesn’t mean the stunts have to suffer. In fact, choreographing impressive cheer routines was a crucial element throughout making the series. The writing duo recalled a time when they were nervous that one of the flyers was going to hit the ceiling, but the cheerleaders reassured them not to worry because they have control over their bodies, even in the air. “They are like Olympic gymnasts,” Liz Astrof says. “They defy gravity.”
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