NBC has added another new comedy series for the 2025-26 season, handing a series order to Jeff Astrof and Liz Astrof’s single-camera cheerleading pilot Stumble, headlined by Jenn Lyon. The decision comes days before the options on the cast were set to expire at the end of this week.
This is the second of three comedy pilots NBC has ordered so far in 2025 to score a series pickup, joining The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, starring Tracy Morgan and Daniel Radcliffe and executive produced by Tina Fey, which was ordered to series in May. There is no decision yet on the third pilot, an untitled community center comedy from the Rutherford Falls trio of Sierra Teller Ornelas, Jackie Kaliiaa and Bobby Wilson, which was the last of the three to get a pilot order and the last to be delivered.
It has been hard to get a good read on the community center pilot, which has been flying largely under the radar unlike Stumble, which, as Deadline reported, sailed through internal screenings and testing with high marks, setting up a series pickup.
NBC is yet to announce scheduling for its new comedy series with two half-hour holes remaining on the fall schedule come November, one behind St. Denis Medical on Monday and one behind Happy’s Place on Friday.
With its mockumentary style, Stumble would fit right in behind the similarly shot medical comedy St. Denis Medical through, as Deadline reported last month, NBCUnivetrsal also had been considering a run on NBC og Peacock’s The Paper, a successor to mocumentary-style comedy staple The Office. Also waiting in the wings is The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins.
Written by veteran comedy showrunners Liz and Jeff Astrof in the sibling duo’s first team-up to create a series together, Stumble centers on Courteney Potter (Jenn Lyon) who is determined to rally her newly recruited junior college cheer squad to win her record-breaking 15th championship and improve their lives along the way.
In addition to Lyon, who won the role in a competitive situation with several big-name actresses vying for it, the main cast includes Taran Killam, Ryan Pinkston, Jarrett Austin Brown, Anissa Borrego, Arianna Davis, Taylor Dunbar and Georgie Murphy. Kristin Chenoweth, who guest starred in the pilot, will be recurring.
Liz Astrof and Jeff Astrof executive produce alongside cheerleading coach Monica Aldama, known for her appearance on the Netflix docuseries Cheer, and producer Dana Honor through her Defining Eve Productions. Jeff Blitz directs and executive produces the pilot only. Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, is the studio.
