At a sporting event, the main action isn’t always taking place on the field.
Cheer teams can as easily rouse a crowd as they can pep up a plot of their own.
Don’t pigeonhole these cheerleaders.
Megan Fox in ‘Jennifer’s Body’; Kirsten Dunst in ‘Bring It On’.Credit: 20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection; Universal Pictures
To celebrate the sport, EW has pulled together the absolute B!
These are the 16 best movies and TV shows that put the spotlight on cheerleaders.
Is it cold in here?
Kirsten Dunst in ‘Bring It On’.Universal Pictures
(Spoiler alert: It doesn’t work.)
Turns out cheerleading stunts are a skill you could take to the bank literally.
Fired Up!
Natasha Lyonne in ‘But I’m a Cheerleader’.Lionsgate
Gotta Kick It Up!
Si, se puede!
High school is hell, indeed.
Mena Suvari, Rachel Blanchard, Alexandra Holden, Marley Shelton, Melissa George, and Sara Marsh in ‘Sugar & Spice’.New Line Cinema/Courtesy Everett Collection
Cheerleader Camp(1988)
Cheerleaders were getting violent onscreen decades beforeJennifer’s Bodycame out.
Heroes(20062010)
Hayden Panettiere starred as Claire Bennet in thesci-fi drama series.
Save the cheerleader, save the world.
Nicholas D’Agosto and Sarah Roemer in ‘Fired Up!'.Screen Gems/Courtesy Everett Collection
Michalka’s fellowDisney ChannelactressAshley Tisdalealso starred, as the Hellcats’ intense cheer captain.
Tommy Lee Jones in ‘Man of the House’.Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Jhoanna Flores, Sabrina Wiener, Camille Guaty, Suilma Rodriguez, and America Ferrera in ‘Gotta Kick It Up!'.Disney Channel/Courtesy Everett Collection
Megan Fox in ‘Jennifer’s Body’.20th Century Fox/Everett Collection
Cheerleader Camp.Courtesy Everett Collection
The Replacements.Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
Hayden Panettiere on ‘Heroes’.Dean Hendler/NBC
Naya Rivera, Heather Morris, and Dianna Agron on ‘Glee’.Michael Yarish/FOX
Aly Michalka and Ashley Tisdale on ‘Hellcats’.Jack Rowand/The CW
‘Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal’.Lifetime Television/Courtesy Everett Collection
Holly Hunter in ‘The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom’.Courtesy Everett Collection
Kellie Martin and Tori Spelling in ‘A Friend to Die For (a.k.a. Death of a Cheerleader)'.NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection
Netflix’s ‘Cheer’.Netflix
