When NBC’s Stumble premiered earlier this season, it didn’t take long for DiMarcus to stand out. Confident, athletic, and unapologetically himself, the character, played by Jarrett Austin Brown, brings both humor and eventually heart to the network’s new mockumentary-style comedy centered on a junior college cheer program.
Stumble debuted this season on NBC and follows an underdog cheer squad navigating competition, identity, and chaos in a format that mixes documentary confessionals with scripted comedy.
After a brief midseason break, the series returns tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC, with new episodes picking up the back half of its 13-episode first season. Six episodes have already aired, with episodes 7 through 13 still to come.
Ahead of the show’s return, Brown spoke with The Quintessential Gentleman about why the role felt like destiny, what it means to play a Black male cheerleader on network television, and how the mockumentary format allowed him to bring the full scope of himself to the character.
QG: What stood out to you when you first read the script for Stumble?
JAB: Often times, as an actor, you get a script and our job is to bring it to life. So you’re always trying to find the in-between the lines where you can make it really hit. But this script came across, and I was like, I can kind of just walk through this. It came off the page in a way that I haven’t seen before, truly. Reading the script, I was like, ‘That pilot episode… this is insane.’ Hats off to Liz and Jeff Astrof, just incredible writers.
QG: Did you always know how to tumble?
JAB: I started dancing and flipping when I was six. I was professional by the time I was eight. So I spent roughly 20 years in a professional dance space. So when this came across, it was kind of just like, Oh, I get to act, do comedy, and a mockumentary. As an actor, you rarely get those. To be able to break character and look directly into the lens is… beyond fun. So when it came across, I was like, ‘It’s kind of a no-brainer.’
QG: Was tumbling a requirement for the role?
JAB: It wasn’t a requirement, but I did show them during my first tape and my callback that I could do it.
QG: How was it filming in mockumentary style?
JAB: It’s just ridiculous every day on set. You’re just like, ‘OK, this is my life. This is amazing.’ Every day, you’re just taking crazy chances. And it’s fun because we film our scene. So you get to stay very immersed in the scene. And then the confessionals are filmed separately. So you kind of have a break in between them. But then, when you watch it play out on screen, it effortlessly flows through.
QG: Talking about your character, what’s up with the third person?
JAB: He loves himself, and he wants to make sure you know who he’s talking about. He’s like, ‘We both on the same page’ cause I’m talking about me.
QG: What are some of the similarities between you and DiMarcus?
JAB: Hope this doesn’t come off as narcissistic. But that sense of chasing stardom and chasing that spotlight and chasing the ability to be authentic. I love messing around. I love giving people a little pushback sometimes. Having just some fun in that way. But also just the level of love that he shows as the season goes on. I grew up with sisters as well. So episode three, when you get to watch it, there’s so many layers of me in there where I’m just like, ‘Oh yeah, take care of our ladies, make sure they’re okay.’
Check out the full interview below. New episodes of Stumble air Fridays at 8:30 pm ET on NBC.
Photo by: NBC
