The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are grappling with the Netflix effect.
For 16 seasons, auditions for the premier dance team were documented for the CMT show “Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team.” But for as successful at that show was, it’s nothing compared to the number of eyeballs that watch Netflix globally. The first season of “America’s Sweethearts” garnered 2.3 million views in its first four days on the streamer and reached the Top 10 in 27 countries; Season 2 launched with 3.3 million views and reached the top 10 in 20 countries. Last summer, Variety exclusively revealed that production on Season 3 was underway. Seven new episodes, which begin streaming on June 16, follow the 2025-26 squad as they navigate the ups and downs of that viral fame.
“This is the first time we are viewing applications because of seeing Netflix’s ‘America Sweethearts,’” longtime DCC senior director, Kelli Finglass, says early in the Season 3 trailer. She and head choreographer Judy Trammell have been leading the squad for decades but since the Netflix show, they’ve received an influx of applications from elite performers from all over the world.
One plucky hopeful is from Australia, and she worries whether her nationality will be a barrier to entry. “They’re never gonna want an Aussie gal representing America’s Sweethearts,” she tells the cameras. (For what it’s worth, DCC has recruited international talents before.)
