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NBC's 'Stumble' Is a Mockumentary About a Cheer Team with Plenty of Tumbling Runs and Heart

This image released by NBC shows Kristin Chenoweth, left, and Monica Aldama in a scene from "Stumble." (Matt Miller/NBC via AP)
This image released by NBC shows Kristin Chenoweth, left, and Monica Aldama in a scene from "Stumble." (Matt Miller/NBC via AP)
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NBC's 'Stumble' Is a Mockumentary About a Cheer Team with Plenty of Tumbling Runs and Heart

This image released by NBC shows Kristin Chenoweth, left, and Monica Aldama in a scene from "Stumble." (Matt Miller/NBC via AP)
This image released by NBC shows Kristin Chenoweth, left, and Monica Aldama in a scene from "Stumble." (Matt Miller/NBC via AP)

Bodies go flying and tumbling in NBC's latest comedy series, "Stumble," a mocking but loving look at the competitive world of cheer from a brother-and-sister writing team.

Jeff and Liz Astrof have created a mockumentary about a ragtag group of recruits building a cheer team from scratch at a junior college in a tiny Oklahoma town with an unpronounceable name.

"Liz and I both love having heart, and we believe that if you have a really silly comedy like this, it has to be balanced by heart," says Jeff Astrof.

Jenn Lyon stars as a determined coach who needs to win one more trophy to be crowned the winningest coach in college cheer history. She finds herself in a gym with a dead opossum and some gnarly, would-be team candidates.

One has narcolepsy, one is a poached football star, a few are filthy dancers on TikTok, there's a 37-year-old rental car manager who technically never graduated, a felon with an ankle monitor and an 18-year-old with a messy home life. Even so, the creators promise one "cheer wow set piece" per episode.

"What’s so incredible is that these kids have never trusted anyone before or been trusted. Cheer is all about trust: Someone’s going to catch you, someone’s going to throw you in the air," says Liz Astrof. "It’s all about trust and all of them learning how to trust each other and trust themselves and be trusted."

NBC is building on its strong base of comedic mockumentaries — think "The Office,Parks and Recreation" and "The Paper" — with "Stumble," inspired by the 2020-22 Netflix docuseries "Cheer," which followed a Texas team preparing for a national cheerleading competition in Daytona Beach, Florida.

"It’s an underdog story," says Jeff Astrof. "What we loved about the documentary ‘Cheer’ was that these kids had really rough lives. We love that part of it."

The show — which debuts Friday on NBC and is available to stream the next day on Peacock — also features as a recurring guest star Kristin Chenoweth, the 4-foot-11 Broadway star, as assistant coach Tammy Istiny (read that name again), and former "Saturday Night Live" player Taran Killam as a football coach and husband of our cheer coach.

The pilot is all about gathering the team. The following episodes are about how to navigate them to Daytona from out the METH Conference (you read that right). "I'm so excited about this season. We've got a great group of kids and one middle-aged man," coach tells the media. They'll have to overcome ego, injuries and infighting for a chance at the title.

"Stumble" marks the first time Jeff and Liz Astrof have created a show together. Speaking to them is like talking to a comfortable comedy duo, each cracking the other up with another joke.

"We always bring out the best in each other, and it’s always good when we’re together in the room and have each other’s back," says Liz Astrof. "We would talk 17,000 times a day anyway, but it would usually be complaining about our jobs."

"This cuts that out," says her brother.

Jeff Astrof’s credit include "The New Adventures of Old Christine,Grounded for Life,Trial & Error" and "Ground Floor." His sister's credits include "Not Dead Yet,Last Man Standing,2 Broke Girls" and "The Conners."

When asked what are the hallmarks of their familial sense of humor, he immediately deadpans: "Trauma." Liz builds on that: "Trauma plus time, and the more time goes by, the funnier we are."

They both admit to being outgoing A-type personalities — who each married more introverted people — and whose sense of comedy didn't always come from a happy place.

"People are like, ‘Wow, you must have had a really funny household.’ And I was like, ‘That’s not how you make two sitcom writers,’" says Jeff Astrof. Adds his sister, with a laugh: "That’s not how you become funny."

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Entertainment

Angelina Jolie Turns Personal Pain into Performance for ‘Couture’ Film

Actress Angelina Jolie arrives for a special Maleficent Costume Display at Kensington Palace in London in ths file photo taken May 8, 2014. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/Files
Actress Angelina Jolie arrives for a special Maleficent Costume Display at Kensington Palace in London in ths file photo taken May 8, 2014. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/Files
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Angelina Jolie Turns Personal Pain into Performance for ‘Couture’ Film

Actress Angelina Jolie arrives for a special Maleficent Costume Display at Kensington Palace in London in ths file photo taken May 8, 2014. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/Files
Actress Angelina Jolie arrives for a special Maleficent Costume Display at Kensington Palace in London in ths file photo taken May 8, 2014. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/Files

Academy Award winner Angelina Jolie faced one of her deepest fears on screen for the French film "Couture" - being diagnosed with cancer.

Based on personal experiences of writer and director Alice Winocour, Jolie plays fictional American filmmaker Maxine Walker, who, while producing a film to accompany a runway show for Paris Fashion Week, discovers she has breast cancer.

Jolie's mother, Marcheline Bertrand, died of breast cancer at the age of 56, and Jolie underwent a double mastectomy in 2013 after discovering she was carrying the same genetic mutation as her mother.

"I thought often of my mother and ⁠how much I ⁠think this film would have been wonderful for her when she was going through this," she told Reuters.

But it wasn't just about her mother; Jolie also got involved to bring Walker’s experience to the world.

"You sit in that chair, and whether it's cancer or anything, whether you're male or female, we've all ⁠had that moment. We've all had that moment where we've gotten some news that has shifted our lives," the “Maria” actor said.

Jolie had to go through a scene where operation lines were placed on her chest by an oncologist.

"It felt a strange moment to have Hollywood in my hospital room," Jolie said.

"Here I am, you know, in my gown, getting my needles, doing all the stuff that I do, but now we are sharing it. And so, it felt very vulnerable,” she added.

Alongside Jolie, the ⁠cast of “Couture” ⁠includes Ada, played by Anyier Anei, who is a model struggling with the fashion industry putting her on a pedestal, and make-up artist Angele, played by Ella Rumpf, who is trying to break out of the fashion scene by becoming a writer.

Jolie hopes that each character’s story will resonate with viewers.

"I think what we found in doing this, and hopefully what the audience will feel, is that we're connected," the 51-year-old said.

"We're connected as human beings, and we all go through something... And it's very necessary to pull us all through being human,” Jolie added.

“Couture” arrives in American movie theaters on Friday.

Entertainment

Clive Davis, Music Industry Starmaker, Dies at 94

Legendary US record producer Clive Davis speaks during the “Recording Academy and Clive Davis' Salute To Industry Icons” pre-Grammy gala at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California on January 31, 2026. (AFP)
Legendary US record producer Clive Davis speaks during the “Recording Academy and Clive Davis' Salute To Industry Icons” pre-Grammy gala at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California on January 31, 2026. (AFP)
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Clive Davis, Music Industry Starmaker, Dies at 94

Legendary US record producer Clive Davis speaks during the “Recording Academy and Clive Davis' Salute To Industry Icons” pre-Grammy gala at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California on January 31, 2026. (AFP)
Legendary US record producer Clive Davis speaks during the “Recording Academy and Clive Davis' Salute To Industry Icons” pre-Grammy gala at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California on January 31, 2026. (AFP)

Clive Davis, the record company lawyer who became one of the music industry's most powerful figures, launching or resurrecting the careers of such superstars as Janis Joplin, Whitney Houston, Carlos Santana and Alicia Keys, has died, his family confirmed to the New York Times. He was 94.

Earlier this year, Davis was hospitalized following an upper respiratory issue and was released a few days later. He died in his Manhattan apartment, the Times reported. Messages sent to representatives for Davis were not immediately returned Monday.

Unlike other record moguls whose influence waned as they got older, Davis' might only seemed to grow over his career, which spanned more than five decades, various genres and multiple labels. Into his 80s, he was directing the careers of everyone from Barry Manilow to “American Idol” winners Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson.

His success stories were staggering, with Houston a crowning achievement and devastating tragedy: Davis signed her to his Arista record label when she was just a teen and turned her into America's reigning pop princess: She racked up multiple No. 1 hits and became one of the top-selling artists in pop history before drug abuse hobbled her career. She died in a Los Angeles hotel room in 2012 just hours before she was to appear at the annual pre-Grammy Awards gala hosted by Davis, who had been convinced she was turning her life around.

“Maybe I should have been more skeptical,” Davis wrote in his 2013 memoir, “The Soundtrack of My Life,” “but I’ve always been optimistic, and I felt hopeful. It felt like old times.”

He also launched the career of multiplatinum, multiple Grammy winner Keys — and was quick to note other talents he signed, including Joplin and Billy Joel, Blood Sweat & Tears and other “all-timers,” as he so often put it.

“I signed Patti Smith, the great Renaissance woman ... I signed Lou Reed ... I signed the Grateful Dead,” he proudly touted in an interview with The Associated Press in 1999.

But Davis didn't simply have an eye for new talent — he also knew how to keep veterans relevant decades after their first hit. Aretha Franklin, whose legend was made at Atlantic Records, flourished in her later years at Arista Records, as did Luther Vandross, who made his last albums for another Davis label, J Records.

Davis was also responsible for conceiving of the 1999 album “Supernatural,” which paired guitar god Santana with some of the day's hottest talents. The record went on to win a record tying eight Grammys and gave Santana more success than he had ever enjoyed in his decades-long career.

He had middle aged star Rod Stewart trade in his rock hits for standards from “The Great American Songbook.” The album, released in 2003, sold millions and was so successful it spawned four titles in all.

Davis didn’t always make the right choices; he turned down a chance to sign up Meatloaf. And he and his collaborators didn’t always agree. He and producer David Foster fought bitterly over the arrangement for Houston’s all-time hit, a cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.” Manilow strongly objected to recording “I Write the Songs,” noting that he didn’t even write the song, a Bruce Johnston ballad that became a signature hit for Manilow, who would have similar latter-day success mining the music of the 1950s, 60s and '70s.

“He's just brilliant at picking ideas he thinks the public will connect,” raved Manilow, who had worked with Davis since he was a budding singer at Columbia Records.

Davis also had his struggles. Though he became president of Columbia Records in 1967 after joining the label in 1960 as a lawyer, by 1973 he was gone in a bitter fallout. The label accused him of mismanagement of funds and he was fired. Although Davis says he was later cleared, it wasn't the end of his problems; he later was indicted on tax evasion charges, pleaded guilty to one count and had to pay a $10,000 fine.

However, Davis would declare victory: he says Columbia gave him the money to start Arista Records to resolve the dispute, and the label would become a huge success with artists like country superstars Brooks & Dunn, sassy R&B group TLC, Babyface, Houston, Franklin and others.

The label had huge success with a debut act — Milli Vanilli. But the male pop duo would become the embarrassment of the industry when, after winning a Grammy, it was revealed that they weren't actually singing their songs (Davis blamed the debacle on the label's European division, which he said signed them; the group was later stripped of its best new artist Grammy).

In 1999, as Arista was celebrating its 25th anniversary, Davis faced another crisis: the label's then-parent company, BMG Entertainment, a division of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann, wanted him to retire; most of its executives were eased out by 60, and Davis was in his mid-60s.

In 2000, despite support from his superstar roster, the company ousted him in favor of producer and songwriter Antonio “L.A.” Reid, who would later become chairman of Island/Def Jam.

However, instead of severing its ties with Davis, BMG helped him launch J Records in what BMG has described as the largest record company startup ever created. Vandross was one of his initial artists, along with forgettable acts like the boy-band O-Town.

J Records was a success from the start, though, and only grew in stature with the arrival of a young singer named Keys, a piano-playing singer-songwriter with powerful pipes and dramatic R&B songs. Keys' albums would go on to sell millions and win several Grammys.

His influence grew even more when Davis was tapped for BMG's US division.

He became a key backer of the careers of the winners of “American Idol,” guiding many albums to platinum status. The show's link to Sony BMG came through a deal between Davis and 19 Recordings Unlimited, the label managed by “Idol” creator Simon Fuller.

In 2007, however, Davis disagreed with the direction of Clarkson's “My December,” and she publicly criticized him. The album was a flop, and she later apologized.

In 2008, Sony BMG replaced Davis as chairman and chief executive officer of the BMG label group, giving him the title of chief creative officer.

Entertainment

‘Toy Story 5’ Rakes in the Biggest Box-Office Debut of the Year with a Franchise-Best $160 Million

This image released by Disney shows characters Buzz Lightyear, voiced by Tim Allen, left, and Woody, voiced by Tom Hanks, in a scene from "Toy Story 5." (Pixar-Disney via AP)
This image released by Disney shows characters Buzz Lightyear, voiced by Tim Allen, left, and Woody, voiced by Tom Hanks, in a scene from "Toy Story 5." (Pixar-Disney via AP)
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‘Toy Story 5’ Rakes in the Biggest Box-Office Debut of the Year with a Franchise-Best $160 Million

This image released by Disney shows characters Buzz Lightyear, voiced by Tim Allen, left, and Woody, voiced by Tom Hanks, in a scene from "Toy Story 5." (Pixar-Disney via AP)
This image released by Disney shows characters Buzz Lightyear, voiced by Tim Allen, left, and Woody, voiced by Tom Hanks, in a scene from "Toy Story 5." (Pixar-Disney via AP)

“Toy Story” still has a friend in moviegoers.

The fifth installment in the Pixar series debuted with $160 million in domestic ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday, easily setting a new franchise record and notching the biggest opening weekend of the year.

Launching 31 years after the original “Toy Story” first landed in theaters, “Toy Story 5” far surpassed the previous series-best debut: $120 million for “Toy Story 4” in 2019. Internationally, it was just as successful, with $152 million in opening-weekend sales, for a worldwide haul of $312 million.

The “Toy Story” franchise is one of the most profitable for The Walt Disney Co. Before “Toy Story 5” launched, the movies had collectively grossed more than $3 billion, while also pulling in billions from merchandising.

Though the series seemed to reach a conclusion with 2010’s “Toy Story 3,” the decision to revive the franchise almost a decade later — while controversial — has been extremely lucrative. “Toy Story 4” exceeded $1 billion in ticket sales, and “Toy Story 5” is all but certain to as well.

Among animated films, only 2018's “Incredibles 2” had a bigger opening weekend ($182.7 million) than “Toy Story 5.”

Keeping the “Toy Story” movies going has gotten more expensive, though. The fifth movie cost $250 million to make, not including marketing. It returns a voice cast led by Tom Hanks (as Woody), Tim Allen (as Buzz Lightyear) and Joan Cusack (as Jessie).

In the sequel, the toys are pushed aside when Bonnie gets a new tablet. It’s directed by Andrew Stanton, the Pixar veteran who helmed “Finding Nemo” (2003) and “WALL-E” (2008). “Toy Story 5” also features a new song by Taylor Swift, “I Knew It, I Knew You.”

Reviews have been very good and audiences gave “Toy Story 5” an “A” CinemaScore, suggesting it should remain a force in theaters for weeks.

After its chart-topping debut, Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day” slipped to second place with $17 million in its second weekend. That’s not the hold that Universal Pictures was hoping for. Dropping 61% from its first weekend suggests “Disclosure Day” might not find the legs Spielberg’s sci-fi thriller needs to break out this summer.

Still, the $115 million budgeted movie, starring Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor and Colman Domingo, has grossed $160.4 million globally in two weeks. “Disclosure Day” stands a good chance of remaining the top adult-oriented option in theaters in the coming weeks.

“Toy Story 5” faced little competition from newcomers.

‘Robin Hood’ misses the bullseye

A24’s “The Death of Robin Hood,” a violent revisionist approach to the old legend, flopped with $2.6 million on 1,762 screens. The film, starring Hugh Jackman and directed by Michael Sarnoski, was modestly budgeted at $20 million. But after finding mixed reviews, audiences didn’t go for the movie, either. It earned a “C+” CinemaScore.

The top horror choice remained “Obsession,” the microbudget phenomenon by 26-year-old Curry Barker. In its sixth weekend, it nearly equaled its $17 million opening weekend from mid-May. The Focus Features release, which cost less than $1 million to make, added $14.2 million to bring its domestic total to $215.8 million and its global haul to $333.3 million.

With “Toy Story 5” and “Obsession” driving sales, the summer box office is up 15% from the 2025 summer, according to Rentrak. More impressively, summer ticket sales are nearly equal to the 2019 summer at the same point, not accounting for inflation. The summer to date is just 1.9% down from that year.

Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends for Rentrak, expects that Hollywood is heading for its best summer since before the pandemic. And the success is coming from both expected and unexpected places.

“To me, this is a hybrid summer and this could be the new blueprint for how you build the perfect summer box-office beast,” says Dergarabedian. “You throw in a mix of very eclectic films and not just the usual suspects — the big franchise films, the known brands — but also films like ‘Backrooms’ and ‘Obsession’ and original films like ‘Disclosure Day.’”