It’s been 30 years since the Dallas Cowboys—who’ve long called themselves America’s Team—won the Super Bowl. But now, thanks to Greg Whiteley’s Netflix docuseries America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, the most reliable and globally recognized part of the Cowboys brand might not be the men playing football anymore, but the women dancing on the sidelines.
“The footballers are gonna break your heart,” one fan says in the Season 3 finale. “But the cheerleaders are gonna leave you with a smile.”
When its first season came out in 2024, America’s Sweethearts became a huge hit, landing in Netflix’s global Top 10 and turning what was once a very American obsession into a worldwide one. Like the long-running CMT show Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team, which ended in 2022, it follows the yearly process where DCC director Kelli Finglass and her team narrow down a huge group of talented dancers to a final roster of 36. But unlike the earlier show, the Netflix series stays with the cheerleaders through the whole football season, showing the toll the role takes on their bodies, relationships, finances, and sense of self.
The third season of America’s Sweethearts, which covers the 2025–26 football season and became one of Netflix’s most-watched shows after premiering on June 16, is the first to face the show’s own impact on the organization it documents. “As these people have become famous because of the film we’ve been making, we have to deal with that,” Whiteley says during the week of the season’s premiere. “It would be impossible to honestly document Season 3 without recognizing that they’ve become more famous than they were before we showed up.”
In the DCC, the American girl’s dream comes to life: beautiful, selfless, and disciplined. “It’s like a beauty pageant, but in athletic form,” says Kleine Powell, one of the stars of the series. When she calls me on Zoom from the Netflix office, her hair falls in golden waves, not a single strand out of place, with a DCC track jacket over her shoulders. She smiles between questions, and her warmth stays with me for the rest of the day.
The series complicates the cheerleaders’ perfect image by showing the work behind it. The women survive on high stress and very little sleep, often balancing their DCC career with several other full-time jobs. Whiteley, whose past sports documentaries include Cheer, Last Chance U, and Wrestlers, is often drawn to bodies pushed to their limits. “Why am I interested in that? I don’t know. I think it’d take years of therapy to figure out,” he says.
Whiteley’s series offers a much more subtle and layered look at an organization that has long prided itself on its flawless image. “People want more now,” says Finglass, who coaches and mentors the women while keeping the DCC’s polished brand. When we talk, she is exactly as she appears on screen: naturally authoritative and effortlessly poised. Wearing a well-tailored blue blazer, she is every bit as presidential as one of her style icons, Kamala Harris. (“I just love her power suits,” she said in Season 2.)
Finglass was a DCC herself from 1984 to 1989, notable as the first cheerleader invited back without having to re-audition, and became director in 1991. But since the show debuted, she says she’s never seen such a big shift in the organization’s history.
“The platform that Netflix has given us is huge. People all over the world know our names and know our stories,” she says. “What we’re experiencing now is more individual fame. People recognize the cheerleaders at the grocery store, at the airport. They know their names. Privacy isn’t really an option anymore.”None of us have that commodity anymore.
But this new visibility has also brought new worries. In the latest season, Finglass questions whether people are “here for the right reason.”
DCC hopefuls are now auditioning not just for one of the most respected institutions in sports, but also for a fame machine with a clear path to becoming an influencer. The show is now big enough to attract celebrities like Kacey Musgraves, who appears as a guest judge. Most current DCCs have large followings, from hundreds of thousands to millions, and regularly post videos of themselves dancing to trending songs, along with sneak peeks into their lives on Instagram and TikTok.
Kleine Powell (center) performs with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in America’s Sweethearts. Photograph: Netflix
No one on the team shows the shift toward social media and personal fame more clearly than Powell. The Goldie Hawn of the team – bright, lively, and a little cheeky – she’s one of the DCC’s most free-spirited and unpredictable personalities. Her habit of pushing boundaries frustrates Finglass almost as much as it makes her likable. “Have you given your energy to your teammates,” Finglass asks during a tense moment, “or are you putting more into social media?”
Powell stays active online, posting YouTube videos of her skincare routines and day-in-the-life vlogs every Thursday. “I think I was definitely the one who started this whole big social media thing,” she says. “I had a lot of influence on how it was used in the DCC space.” But Powell insists her social media use isn’t just about self-promotion. “I wanted to take care of my teammates, and the only way I know how is to stand up for them and do what I think is right.”
In 2025, just before Season 3 aired, Powell was one of five Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders who helped secure a historic 400% pay raise for the group. Before that, members reportedly earned only $15 an hour, plus appearance fees. Negotiating against a billion-dollar company was, understandably, intimidating. “Without the millions of viewers from the Netflix documentary, I don’t think we would’ve felt confident enough to go into those meetings.”
Social media also helped her speak up. Even though Finglass pushed back, Powell says she “had to explain myself further and keep standing up for the girls, because at the end of the day, this is about financial opportunity, and I know what it’s like not to feel financially secure.”
Musgraves, Finglass, and other judges oversee auditions in America’s Sweethearts. Photograph: Netflix
Powell now performs as an All-Star, meaning she fills in when other DCCs aren’t available. She’s still connected to the organization, but she’s increasingly focused on life beyond it, including her art, her husband, and her two kittens. Still, hanging up the uniform – and leaving behind a protected world of girlhood – is hard for anyone on the team to imagine.
“Putting on the uniform feels really surreal every time you do it,” says Powell. “Thinking about hanging it up for good is a big deal. It feels like losing a certain part of your life, an era. But I feel like I’ve put myself on the back burner my whole life. I’m excited to focus on my creativity and figure out who I am.”
Finglass also thinks about endings from time to time. After 35 years with the Cowboys, she’ll eventually retire and spend more time with her husband, children, and “crazy shih-tzu.” “As painful as it will be to leave, there’s a part of my life I’ve never really gotten to enjoy.”
The DCC demands a beautiful act of self-sacrifice, in service of something almost sacred: a line of high-kicking women smiling under stadium lights, performing the American Dream. Now, millions watching from home know a little more about the devotion and struggle behind it.Behind those smiles.
America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders is now streaming on Netflix.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs about a cheerleading show described as a beauty pageant in athletic form written in a natural tone with clear answers
BeginnerLevel Questions
1 What exactly do you mean by a beauty pageant in athletic form
It means cheerleading competitions arent just about tumbling and stunts They also judge the teams overall appearance makeup hair sparkly uniforms and how well they perform or sell their routine to the judgesjust like a pageant
2 How is it different from a regular cheerleading game
At a game youre supporting the team and getting the crowd hyped In a competition youre being judged on every single move your smile your energy and even your uniforms cleanliness Its a performance for a trophy not just crowd entertainment
3 Do you really get judged on your looks
Yes but not in a who is prettiest way Judges look for showmanship and overall appearance This means your hair needs to be perfect your makeup should pop under the lights and your uniform must fit well and be clean Looking polished is part of the score
4 What kind of beauty stuff do cheerleaders have to do
A lot Common requirements include matching lipstick perfectly curled or slickedback hair spray tans fake eyelashes and sometimes even matching nail polish or glitter The goal is a uniform cameraready look for the entire team
5 Is it just about looking good or do you have to be athletic too
Its a mix of both You absolutely need athletic skillstumbling stunting jumping and endurance But you also need to do all that while smiling perfectly and looking effortless Its like a gymnast who also has to walk the runway
AdvancedLevel Questions
6 How much of the final score is based on the pageant part versus the athletic part
It varies by competition but typically the athletic skills make up about 6070 of the score The pageant elements make up the other 3040 You cant win on looks
