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Stumble kicks off with the kind of chaos that only Courteney Potter could attract. One second she’s leading her team toward what could’ve been a record-breaking 15th national championship, and the next, she’s jobless, humiliated, and somehow still being followed around by a documentary crew.
That’s Stumble for you. It's funny, messy, and oddly inspiring. Episode 1 sets up Courteney’s rollercoaster journey from queen of the cheer world to the underdog everyone underestimates. But when she lands at a tiny junior college with a bunch of misfits, you just know she’s not done fighting. Not by a long shot.
Stumble Episode 1 — From champion to canceled: Courteney’s world collapses
Courteney Potter (played by Jenn Lyon) starts Stumble at the very top. She’s the head cheer coach at Sammy Davis Sr. Junior College (SDSJC), a 14-time national champ who’s about to break a huge record.
Cameras follow her every move as she barks out pep talks, telling her team to “hit zero” and make history. But just when it feels like nothing can stop her, life does what it does best. It throws a wrench in everything.
During what should’ve been a regular day, Courteney gets blindsided by the college dean. He shows her a video from a post-win party, one that went viral for all the wrong reasons. In it, Courteney’s seen drunk and crowned “Best Booty.” That’s enough to cost her the job she’s built her entire life around.
The scene hits hard. Her team looks crushed, her assistant coach Tammy (Kristin Chenoweth) is sobbing dramatically on the gym floor, and Courteney, trying to keep her head up, tells them to stay and support Tammy as the new head coach. You can feel her heartbreak even as she tries to smile through it.
At home, her husband Boon (Taran Killam), who’s dealing with his own trauma from a football injury, suggests she take a break. But Courteney isn’t built for breaks, she’s built for comebacks.
A new start at the weirdest college ever
After losing her job, Courteney gets a surprise email about a coaching position at Headltston State Junior College, a school so small and random, its promotional video can’t even decide how to pronounce its own name. She takes the interview, where the dean seems more interested in her typing skills than her legendary cheer record. Still, she’s hired.
From there, Stumble takes us into Courteney’s chaotic rebuild. She has just six weeks to form a cheer team that can qualify for Nationals. Sounds impossible, right? That’s what makes it fun. Her first tryouts are a disaster. No one shows up.
Then, in walks Madonna “Donna” Payton (Arianna Davis), the school’s only cheerleader, who also happens to have narcolepsy and literally falls asleep mid-routine. Somehow, Courteney’s impressed.
When she can’t recruit more cheerleaders, she starts looking everywhere. TikTok, the football field, even a rental car lot. She ropes in DiMarcus, a flashy football player who loves attention, and Steven, one of her former cheerleaders who never actually graduated.
Then there’s Peaches, a thief she catches breaking into her truck, and Sally, a shy girl aging out of foster care. Bit by bit, Courteney’s new “team” comes together and they're a bunch of oddballs and underdogs, just like her.
Cheer camp and a crash landing
Training this group is no walk in the park. The team can’t hold a pyramid, they argue constantly, and Courteney’s patience hits rock bottom. At one point, she storms out crying on her birthday, realizing this dream might be harder than she thought. But then, her husband reminds her that her first team didn’t win right away either. She just needs to get creative again.
Re-inspired, Courteney apologizes to the team, and things finally start to click. The big twist? Krystal, her old star cheerleader from SDSJC, shows up and joins the squad. That one move changes everything.
The team suddenly feels alive. Practices get sharper, the energy’s up, and Courteney’s back in her element. Even Tammy pretends she’s not bothered even though her fake “Krystal who?” definitely says otherwise.
Their “Show-Off” performance draws a big crowd, including Tammy lurking in the bleachers. Courteney gives her team a heartfelt pep talk, calling them family, and they absolutely kill the routine… until the final pyramid.
DiMarcus misses his cue, Krystal falls, and the episode ends with her screaming in pain, ankle broken, dream crushed again. Stumble really lives up to its name.
The first episode of Stumble perfectly balances humor, heartbreak, and chaos. Courteney’s journey from the top of the cheer world to rock bottom and her stubborn refusal to give up sets up a comeback story that’s both hilarious and oddly touching.
It’s messy, it’s dramatic, and it’s packed with the kind of awkward realness that makes you root for her. If Episode 1 proved anything, it’s that even when Courteney falls, she’s not staying down for long.
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