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Announcements Mar 26, 2026 at 1:41 AM

Stumble (2025) uses the mockumentary format in the silliest way possible

Posted by KneeHighMischief

I've been hearing great things about this show so I binged it after the finale. I didn't have any idea what it was about. Basically it's the *Bad News Bears* with a less dysfunctional coach meets *Bring it On*. There have been tons of mockumentary sitcoms over the last 20+ years. I think *Stumble* has a lot of the qualities that another Other Shoe Productions had: *Trial & Error*. T&E leaned heavily into the true crime tropes but cheerleading doesn't have quite as deep of a well to pull from. Instead they rely on physical comedy, ridiculous wordplay (a diminutive coach named Tammy Istiny) & bizarre world building. The show takes place in Heådltston, Oklahoma & it's the candy button capital of the world. It's a town that was infiltrated by war criminals after WWII. Their (borderline poisonous) candy button factory is the driving force of the economy. Jeff Hiller is a great as the deranged factory owner Augustus ẞlimpfh. It also has a bit of *Arrested Development* in it's DNA with some of it's quick caraways to previously established bits. If you're wary of the format there's almost no shots of people pulling faces at the camera & lots of straight up wackiness. I really recommend checking it out & I hope it gets a season two.
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46 Comments

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Flaxscript42 Mar 26, 2026 +42
The bit where the husband is lamenting the failure of his reality show, and then the wife gives a synopsis of the show to date, and then looks at the camera. *chef's kiss*
42
Horror-Atmosphere-90 Mar 26, 2026 +55
Hopefully people aren’t turned off by the cheerleading angle… this show is funny as hell
55
MountainMenu8612 Mar 26, 2026 +25
Honestly, made me respect cheerleading. But also, it really is also not important to enjoying the show. Just like you don’t need to care about soccer/football to enjoy Ted Lasso
25
KneeHighMischief Mar 26, 2026 +9
Same with *Friday Night Lights*.
9
MountainMenu8612 Mar 26, 2026 +2
Totally. Which this show also has a little bit in common with (the coaches relationship etc)
2
wmike469 Mar 26, 2026 +14
I never thought of it like Trial and error but now I see it
14
MountainMenu8612 Mar 26, 2026 +5
Same writers!
5
KneeHighMischief Mar 26, 2026 +3
Her show *Pivoting* (2022) is worth tracking down. It's a nice change of pace to have three messy(ish) women leads on a show.
3
MountainMenu8612 Mar 26, 2026 +3
Why are all of their shows hard to track down??
3
KneeHighMischief Mar 26, 2026 +2
A lot of shows with single season runs just aren't picked up by any streaming services after they end. I can see the logic. There's not really necessarily a benefit for them. I'm glad they're available at all. I wish they had nice physical Blu-ray releases though.
2
summerofsoccer Mar 26, 2026 +2
Omg, forgot about this show. I watched it when it first aired. Loved it. Is it on Tubi or something? And I love everything about Stumble. I love a group choreo
2
KneeHighMischief Mar 26, 2026 +1
Unfortunately it's not included with any streaming service & only available for digital purchase.
1
blond_nirvana Mar 26, 2026 +5
Someone else remembers Trial and Error?! Usually people have no idea what I'm talking about when I reference that show.
5
ciaomain Mar 26, 2026 +5
Murder board! Murder board! Murder board!
5
wmike469 Mar 26, 2026 +3
Season 2 may have been the funniest full season of any show I have ever seen
3
KneeHighMischief Mar 26, 2026 +2
There's a dip in qualtity for season two. I think that's fair because the first season is literally comedy perfection.
2
da9ve Mar 26, 2026 +3
I fully support s2 of Trial & Error.   Ok, no John Lithgow was a hard handicap, but on a rewatch a couple months ago I think s2 is better than anyone gave it credit for.  Really wish it had gone on longer.
3
PlasmaWhore Mar 26, 2026 +1
Yep. Re-watched it several times.
1
PastimeOfMine Mar 26, 2026 +1
Day-ton-a! Mur-der board!
1
ThePermMustWait Mar 26, 2026 +15
Stumble and st denis are my favorite shows lately. 
15
KneeHighMischief Mar 26, 2026 +5
*St. Denis Medical* definitely has filled the void for me after *Superstore* ended.
5
dupuis2387 Mar 26, 2026 +3
if you havent yet, also checkout American Auto on Peacock. Same vibe as superstore (same creator)...canceled in its prime, like girls5eva
3
KneeHighMischief Mar 26, 2026 +2
Thanks for the recommendations. I couldn't get into *American Auto* it reminded me more of the humor of *Veep* but nowhere near as funny. I did enjoy *Girls5eva*. Still haven't seen the final season so I'll probably watch the whole thing.
2
ciaomain Mar 26, 2026 +4
Don't sleep on *DMV*!
4
murderous_penguin Mar 26, 2026 +3
DMV is good except for the manager, she kills every scene for me. Annoyingly over top, just tone it down some.
3
MountainMenu8612 Mar 26, 2026 +43
Love Stumble! Great cast, great writing. Very very funny.
43
Silent-Raspberry9318 Mar 26, 2026 +20
Dude Jeff Hiller was absolutely unhinged as Augustus, that accent alone had me dying
20
MountainMenu8612 Mar 26, 2026 +3
Oh his character is great. Every scene with him goes off the rails so quickly
3
KneeHighMischief Mar 26, 2026 +2
The [Bon Bon Babies](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVUHQRPEzeo/) commercial is wild.
2
fruitmongerking Mar 26, 2026 +12
I fell in love with this show the moment I hear Sammy Davis Sr Junior College run by Dean Martin. It was just too perfect!
12
aurorarose1975 Mar 26, 2026 +2
And their mascot is a red fox!
2
Inner_Injury2940 Mar 26, 2026 +12
Because I’ve not seen it mentioned, Monica from Netflix’s Cheer is the EP. She is the cheer coach for a small junior college and I think she’s won as many championships as our dear Coach Potter. She’s even made a few guest appearances as the assistant to Coach Istiny. The Netflix docuseries is set against the backdrop of a Texas town known for their fruitcake production.
12
KneeHighMischief Mar 26, 2026 +2
Thanks. The way they highlighted her on the show she felt like someone. I forgot to look it up after it ended.
2
Inner_Injury2940 Mar 26, 2026 +2
I want more eyeballs on this show to get another season. It is so good!
2
floridorito Mar 26, 2026 +17
Stumble is the best sitcom I've seen in a bit - light-hearted and quirky. It is very Trial & Error-coded.
17
CaptainDogParty Mar 26, 2026 +3
My favorite joke that went by real fast in episode one is that Sammy Davis Sr. Junior College is run by Dean (David) Martin
3
nonsensestuff Mar 26, 2026 +4
I need it to get a second season like yesterday
4
BigGiddy Mar 26, 2026 +3
Terrific show. Really hoping they keep it going
3
kshep1214 Mar 26, 2026 +3
I love this show so much
3
QuestoPresto Mar 26, 2026 +4
This sounds like one raccoon infestation away from a park and rec spinoff
4
KneeHighMischief Mar 26, 2026 +3
Definitely not better than Parks but a lot weirder & sillier IMO.
3
brickiex2 Mar 26, 2026 +2
silly, clever, fun show... Subtle humour and broad slapstick all rolled together (coach Boone's "incident")(the rival college SDSJC!)
2
es84 Mar 26, 2026 +1
Show was funny. Lots of great subtle jokes.
1
Apprehensive_War173 Mar 26, 2026 +2
I like it when mockumentaries just fully commit to being weird instead of sticking to the usual format. this sounds like it leans into that in a good way.
2
jackHD Mar 26, 2026 +2
God I hope it gets a second season. The local press being called Pastor Salid had me giggling for a day thinking about.
2
Dohi64 Mar 26, 2026 -7
don't even remember trial & error, dropped it after 2 eps, apparently, but pivoting was one of my favorite shows that year. didn't know these were all by the same people, the names didn't stick, but found stumble incredibly annoying, lead included, couldn't watch more than 2 eps. but hey, they managed to find somebody with a shriekier voice than kristin, that's something.
-7
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