Hellcats

Hellcats is an American cheerleading comedy-drama television series that originally aired on The CW in the United States from September 8, 2010, to May 17, 2011. Based on the book Cheer: Inside the Secret World of College Cheerleaders by journalist Kate Torgovnick, the series focuses in the lives of college cheerleaders, mainly Marti Perkins (Aly Michalka), a pre-law college student who has to join the cheerleading team, the Hellcats, in order to get the athletic scholarship she needs. The main cast also includes Ashley Tisdale, Robbie Jones, Heather Hemmens, Matt Barr, Gail O'Grady, and Sharon Leal. In May 2010, Hellcats had been picked by The CW for the fall 2010–11 season. Initially with a 13-episode order, The CW aired the series after America's Next Top Model on Wednesday nights. The pilot episode aired on September 8, 2010, and became the first-ever premiere to match or build on an America's Next Top Model lead-in since The CW began in 2006. The CW later gave a full season order for the series, with executives saying they were "thrilled that it paid off for us". On May 17, 2011, The CW announced that Hellcats would not be renewed for the 2011 fall schedule. Hellcats has been described as "Election meets Bring It On" by critics. It received mixed reviews during its first season, obtaining a Metacritic weighted average score of 51 percent, based on the impression of 22 critics. The series also earned a nomination in the 2011 People's Choice Awards.