‘Cheer’ director on the glory and agony of college cheerleading

The Netflix series “Cheer” focuses on the stressful lives of junior college cheerleaders fighting for their next national championship. Director Greg Whiteley says he could’ve done a better job of portraying cheerleader Gabi Butler’s parents, who came off as controlling.

Whiteley, who also created “Last Chance U” for Netflix, tells us about the drama on and off screen for “Cheer,” and how he decided which students to spotlight in his two series.