NBC updated its Friday night lineup in the fall 2025 TV schedule with Stumble, a new cheerleading mockumentary led by Jenn Lyon as determined cheer coach Courteney and Taran Killam as her football coach husband Boon. The misfit troop of athletes under Courteney's guidance is becoming less dysfunctional with each episode, but rival cheer coach Tammy could cause some problems. The one and only Kristin Chenoweth is on board to steal scenes as Tammy Istiny, and the showrunners shared with CinemaBlend that she was the only candidate for the role.
After the first few episodes of Season 1 (available streaming now with a Peacock subscription), Tammy has become a scene-stealer who claims to be Courteney's friend after their coaching stint together at Sammy Davis Sr. Junior College, but she's also the coach of Courteney's team's main competition. Practically exuding pep as Tammy, I find it hard to imagine anybody else in the role.
According to sibling showrunner duo Jeff Astrof and Liz Astrof, that was never actually an option. Jeff debunked the idea that the majority of the Stumble characters were written for specific actors... with one exception. He said:
We did not [write characters for actors]. I wish we did. The casting process would have been a lot less stressful if we said, 'Yeah, this is Jenn Lyon and Taran Killam, and we have Ryan Pinkston.' Actually, the only person was Tammy. That was the only person I said, 'We should get Kristin to do this, and if Kristin won't do this, we're not doing the character.'
While I'd say that all of the key characters were cast well (and I still laugh every time one of Boon's interviews is intercut with clips of his football accident), Kristin Chenoweth is the only one whose character was contingent on her joining the cast. Without Chenoweth, there would be no Tammy, and without Tammy, Stumble would be missing one of its quirkiest characters (and some great sight gags). The showrunners, who previously collaborated on Courteney Cox's sadly short-living Shining Vale, went on:
- Liz Astrof: "That was written for her, 1000%."
- Jeff Astrof: "They were like, 'Do you want us to find other people?' I was like, 'No, this is Kristin or not.' I called Kristen and she's like, 'Yes, I want to do this.’
- Liz Astrof: "She sent us video texts."
Fortunately, Kristin Chenoweth was on board to join the cast of a show that the Astrof siblings described as standing out from "very toxic sets" they've been on in the past. The Broadway legend is technically only recurring on Stumble as Tammy, but fans can count on the showrunners featuring her as much as they can. Jeff shared:
I think she thought she was going to be Courteney at first. She goes, 'Oh, I have to do this Broadway play. Let me see what I can do.' I was like, 'No, no, no. We're going to have you for a few episodes for now,' but if she became available, we would have her in as many episodes as she would allow us, because, obviously, she's Kristin Chenoweth. She's amazing. So fun. Everyone was starstruck when she came on the stage.
So, how much of Tammy will we see in the first season? Well, Kristin Chenoweth was able to appear in two of the first three episodes, and only a few are left before winter hiatus. That said, Stumble will return to NBC on Friday, January 16 at 8:30 p.m. ET after Happy's Place in the 2026 TV schedule, and it's never too early to start crossing fingers for a Season 2.
I do hope she's back sooner rather than later, however, as the second episode of the series seemingly set Courteney and Tammy up as more open antagonists after Courtney accidentally recruited two SDSJC cheerleaders to join her team in Headlston.
How to actually pronounce the home of the candy button factory may still be a mystery, and Courtney saying "Headlston"differently each time is a great running joke, but she really does seem to be setting up a solid team out of a motley crew of students to eventually go up against Tammy and SDSJC.
As for whether or not we'll see more of Kristin Chenoweth's Tammy before the end of the year, keep tuning in to NBC on Fridays at 8:30 p.m. ET for new episodes of Stumble, or stream next day on Peacock.
