The show also offered a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of team members whom many viewers came to love.
Two stand-out members of the cast were Gabi Butler and Morgan Simianer.
The pair sat down for an exclusive interview with The List to discussSeason 2 of “Cheer.
Morgan:You go first.
I’m getting excited.
Obviously, we haven’t seen it yet.
So I would say I’m just super excited for all of that.
What about you, Morgan?
So, touching on what Gabi said, I am excited too.
A little bit nervous, but I’m excited.
So I’m excited for people to get to know them.
Morgan:I think we were just ready to go.
If you’re doing it, we’re doing it.
Let’s do this, let’s do it.”
Gabi:I would have to agree with Morgan, for sure.
Let’s go round two."
How did that affect the team’s morale at the time?
Thinking of how much time and work we put in for this one competition to then get canceled.
Like we were about to be in Daytona doing our thing.
And then, all of a sudden, just everything that you worked for is basically ripped from you.
You don’t even have a choice.
It’s just kind of like, “Well, it’s not happening.”
It was a devastating thing for not only Navarro but for the whole entire cheerleading community.
So it was a very devastating thing for not just cheerleaders.
It was devastating for everyone in general.
I feel like it was a terrible thing, but there were some good things that came up.
Gabi:Yeah, so I’m not really sure how other people were in quarantine.
Not only as an athlete but as a person.
And I would work out every single day outside, just running and doing like a bunch of stuff.
Is that rivalry something that you guys really felt behind the scenes?
I’m a very naturally loving person.
I love very hard with everyone, honestly.
I have friends that do cheer for Trinity Valley.
I actually cheer with a lot of them right now.
It’s just kind of like, we’re doing the same thing that we love.
you’re free to absolutely be my friend, and I love you.
But when I step on that mat, it’s game time."
How about you, Morgan?
Morgan:I 100% agree with Gabi.
What’s it like balancing being teammates and also having that competition aspect?
Morgan:I’ll answer.
We spend 24/7 together.
We live with each other, practice together, go to classes together.
So we’re just so close with each other.
And it’s such a family that we’re going to support each other no matter what.
What about you Gabi?
Gabi:Can you repeat the question?
What’s it like balancing being teammates and also having to compete for who goes on the mat?
it’s possible for you to absolutely feel like I’m rooting for you.
And it’s a friendly competitive [feeling].
It’s not like, “Oh, I hate this person.”
It’s not like that.
I would definitely say that Navarro, it is a friendly, competitive [group].
It’s [a] pushing-each-other-key in thing.
It’s that kind of friendly competition.
It’s more like, “You better go do the damn thing.
You better go and do that.”
Like, “Do that spot, and I’m going to be right there to support you.”
How they’ve grown since Season 1 of Cheer
Absolutely.
And then are there any parts in Season 2 that you feel like are going to surprise fans?
So there’s a lot of good things to look forward to.
And there’s also some twists and things that I think the world is waiting to see.
So we are just excited to see it when the world sees it.
Do you have anything to add Gabi?
Do you feel like you’ve changed or grown in any big ways since Season 1?
Morgan: you’ve got the option to go first, Gabi.
I never really smiled that much.
I didn’t really enjoy …
I did enjoy, but I was just so hard on myself.
There are good things that can be brought out.
And that fun side of me has been like brought to life more, especially within the second season.
Even though I’ll always be my worst critic, I’ll always be super hard on myself.
And then, for me, I feel like I learned a lot about the show.
And I can’t really put it into words.
And just show them that they’re not alone.
That was probably one of the biggest things that helped me grow as an individual from the show.
Morgan:Absolutely not.
We did not expect the show to be as crazy as it was or as big as it was.
And we’re very thankful for that and very glad to be a part of it.
Gabi:Oh, yeah.
I honestly, we were not expecting anything.
I think we were just and I think that’s what made Season 1 so amazing.
We were just doing our thing.
We did not care about cameras.
We were not expecting anything.
None of us are expecting it.
And obviously, it was a blessing that we did get a lot of really great opportunities.
So we’re all very thankful for just the show and each other.
We really, I feel like just grew in general as a whole.
And then, like you said, you weren’t really expecting how big it would get.
Did that put more pressure on you when they started filming Season 2?
Gabi:I would say that it didn’t necessarily bring more pressure.
We’ve seen your story.
We want to see another team succeed."
So it’s always like that.
So it’s going to be hard to hold that title.
So, we were used to having cameras around and being mic’d up all the time.
So it wasn’t really anything that really was in the way, I guess.
Was their Season 1 portrayal genuine?
How did you both feel about the way you were portrayed in the first season?
I feel like I was portrayed pretty accurately.
That’s how I was.
The film crew did an amazing job.
So I would definitely say like, the way that we were portrayed was very true.
I would say Greg did a very good job with everything.
Gabi and Morgan’s plans after Navarro
So what are your plans going forward after Navarro?
And for me, I’m still cheering.
We’re tired now."
But cheerleading is definitely a passion of mine.
And it’s brought a lot of really amazing things and a lot of great friendships.
Yeah, just doing my own thing.
“Cheer” Season 2 is available to stream on Netflix starting on January 12.
