You know how so many comedies are described as “The Office, but at a [blank]”?
It’s rampant. Abbott Elementary: “The Office, but at a school.” St. Denis Medical: “The Office, but at a hospital.” It goes back to Parks and Recreation—“The Office, but at a government building”—and Modern Family—“The Office, but… with a modern family”—and so much more.
It’s basically just lazy code for a mockumentary format that makes you laugh. Over the last few months, I’ve discovered my favorite new version of it, and it stars the person who I think is the funniest new leading lady on TV.
NBC’s Stumble, which you can catch up on now on Peacock, takes the format to the mat.
The series is about a cheerleading coach named Courteney Potter, played by the hilarious Jenn Lyon, who, after being fired from her job at an elite school after a scandal, takes charge of a ragtag squad at a community college, determined to avenge her legacy by transforming the inexperienced athletes into champions. It’s a rough road.
“I say it’s like Mel Brooks and Friday Night Lights had a baby, and then that baby was raised by Parks and Rec,” Lyon told me in the new episode of Obsessed: The Podcast.
I can’t emphasize enough how funny Lyon is on the show. Her take on Courteney is like if a grizzly mama bear mauled you with sarcastic one-liners, and then gave you a glass of sweet tea to calm you down after. Her warmth is disarming; she’s tough as nails—the razor-sharp, manicured kind—but also gracious and empathetic. It’s a tough balance to strike, but Lyon lacerates through the challenge, employing her Southern drawl like someone cracking a whip.
If the premise of Stumble reminds you of something, that’s not an accident. Comparisons to the massively popular Netflix series Cheer, which I think every single person alive watched during the pandemic, are fitting. The show’s coach, Monica Aldama, is an executive producer on the series, and a scene-stealing guest star.
“I just sucked out her soul like Ursula and Ariel,” Lyon said. “I sucked it right out, all her mannerisms and everything, and infused it into Courteney.”
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