Kaili Spooner’s passion lies in sports journalism and Black TV/Film, and her writing strongly aligns with The Hollywood Insider’s values of delivering factual and in-depth coverage. While her future career goal is to be a sports journalist and do social media work for the NBA/WNBA, for now, she balances her academic pursuits with being a collegiate volleyball player at SSU and unwinding with her favorite comedy and drama sitcoms at home.
Aug 10, 2024
Since October 2018, ‘All American‘ has been captivating audiences with its storylines, including drama, relationships, friendships, hardships, and social issues. The hit CW series returns for its 6th season, ready to deliver even more entertainment, laughter, tears, and surprises. The show features an ensemble cast, including Daniel Ezra as Spencer James, Samantha Logan as Olivia Baker, Michael Evans Behling as Jordan Baker, Greta Onieogou as Layla Keating, Cody Christian as Asher Adams, Chelsea Tavares as Patience, Bre-Z as Tamia Cooper (Coop), and Monet Mazur as Laura Fine-Baker. Inspired by the life of former NFL linebacker and current co-producer Spencer Paysinger, ‘All American’ dramatizes his experiences with “some creative liberties”, as noted by People.
The series follows Spencer James, a talented football player recruited by Beverly Hills High’s varsity coach, Billy Baker (Taye Diggs), to play for his team. To be eligible to play, Spencer leaves his old school, South Crenshaw High, and moves in with Baker and his family, experiencing a significant culture shock while becoming a star athlete. As the episodes and seasons progress, we witness Spencer’s journey through friendships and rivalries, love and heartbreak, depression, family restoration and loss, the trauma of gun violence, and the challenges threatening his football career. Throughout the ups and downs, his closest friends—Coop, Jordan, Olivia, Layla, and Asher—remain by his side, each facing unique struggles crucial to the series’ storyline.
The episode opens with the interviewer’s voice playing over clips of Spencer and his college football team, the Golden Angeles University (GAU) Condors, at practice. “A 7-6 record this past season for the GAU Condors, with a hell of a run on the back half of the season that made everyone else look like trash, and the name on the tip of everyone’s tongue – Spencer Alonso James.” Despite their performance, the team was kept out of the bowl due to a one-year ban resulting from their previous coach’s scandal. As Spencer is interviewed about being a potential Heisman contender, an award very few wide receivers have received, and his draft eligibility, he brings over Jordan, who doesn’t get the same level of attention. Unfortunately, the interviewer wraps up before Jordan can join, leaving him disappointed. Meanwhile, Asher and Jaymee are getting ready for the day with their son, AJ, as Jaymee prepares for a new job, feeling frantic about leaving her son.
A significant part of this episode revolves around Spencer’s stress over his girlfriend Olivia’s return from Europe. After what started as three months of long distance, and turned into 15 months, Spencer has been solely focused on football, and he worries about balancing his relationship with Olivia and his sport. He prepares for her return home with the gang’s help, decorating the house two days in advance to avoid overshadowing Layla’s grand opening of her music club and bar. During the preparations, a news segment about Patience’s stabbing by her stalker fan Miko appears on the TV, revealing that Miko could be released from jail due to erased camera footage. This news worries the friends, especially since Patience is set to perform for the first time since her traumatic incident. The episode continues with Asher juggling the responsibilities of fatherhood, bringing his sick son AJ to work, which displeases Coach Montes. Despite the chaos, Montes steps in to watch AJ so Asher can take his placement test to get into advanced biology.
The tension rises as Layla hears someone enter the house while she’s preparing for her event, only to find it’s Olivia, who came home early to surprise Spencer. The grand opening features a tense moment when Patience, haunted by her trauma, freezes on stage, leading Coop to step in and perform a nostalgic song, ‘You Don’t Ask’, to save the night. Patience struggles with her performance anxiety, believing she sees Miko in the crowd, but eventually finds support from Olivia and Layla. As the characters gather for a “vortex sleepover”, as Spencer describes it, to support Patience, Olivia receives a mysterious text hinting she might not stay home long, raising questions about her future with Spencer. The episode ends with the crew settling in for the night, but tensions are high as new challenges and uncertainties loom, especially with the introduction of a new coach, Mac, who sees Jordan as the team’s best asset, potentially stirring dynamics between Jordan and Spencer.
It was difficult for the cast, crew, and loyal fans to watch Kamar de los Reyes‘ health deteriorate during his time on ‘All American.’ However, his strength and determination to continue his craft and push through with the show were evident. Coach Montes’ character was only able to film until the season premiere episode before Reyes sadly succumbed to his battle with cancer. Season six, Episode 10, titled ‘Mass Appeal,’ was an emotional farewell to Kamar de los Reyes and his character, Coach Montes. The show concluded Reyes’ character’s storyline by revealing he had accepted a job with the NFL. In the episode, Asher Adams, who had kept his distance from his mentor, shares an offscreen phone call with Montes, avoiding a dreaded goodbye. After the phone call between the two, an “in loving memory” tribute card for de los Reyes appeared on the screen.
Kamar de los Reyes, best known and loved for his roles on ‘One Life to Live’ and ‘Call of Duty,’ passed away on Christmas Eve in 2023. Shortly after being diagnosed with cancer, he died at the age of 56 in Los Angeles. The actor made his debut on the CW series in 2022 during Season Four and portrayed the husband of the original female Coach Montes.
For those who aren’t aware, Taye Diggs, who brilliantly portrayed Coach Billy, is not in Season Six of ‘All American.’ To refresh your memory, at the start of Season Five, Episode 11, titled ‘Time,’ an unfortunate series of events leads to the end of Diggs’ time on the show. In the episode, Billy grapples with the decision to return to or leave his coaching position at South Crenshaw High. By the end of the combine, he decides to stay, but the subsequent events take a tragic turn. As they depart, the school bus’s tire blows out and it teeters on the edge of a cliff during the ride home from the showcase. Everyone exits safely, but Billy goes back onto the bus to save a student trapped inside. Billy’s death is not explicitly shown on screen, but Spencer’s mom, Grace (Karimah Westbrook), visits the Baker house at the end of the episode to break the unfortunate news to his family.
In the following episode, titled ‘Lost One,’ Billy’s friends and family honor him with a heartfelt funeral, as well as a candlelit vigil with the community on the football field at South Crenshaw, which had been named after him in a previous season. Before his departure from The CW, Taye Diggs addressed his exit in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, sharing that the timing of his departure “was just a feeling.” He added, “I approached [Nkechi Carroll] very tentatively and said, ‘I haven’t made any decisions, but this is what I’m thinking,’ and she understood. From that point on, she started giving me ideas of how I’d exit and they were so great. As soon as she told me what she was thinking, I loved it. I love being on the show. Actors just have an inner feeling. I had done all that I could and this chapter had kind of closed, and I was willing to try something else.”
Episode One of ‘All American’ offers an engaging introduction to last season’s unresolved issues while setting the stage for the chaos to come this year. Currently ranking number seven in TV shows today, you can watch all the drama unfold by streaming Season One through Six on Netflix right now.
Cast: Daniel Ezra, Samantha Logan, Michael Evans Behling, Greta Onieogou, Cody Christian, Chelsea Tavares, Bre-Z, and Monet Mazur | Executive Producers: April Blair, Greg Berlanti | Producer: Robbie Rogers, Robert D. Doty | Cinematography: Ramsey Nickell, Nikhil Paniz
Click here to read The Hollywood Insider’s CEO Pritan Ambroase’s love letter to Cinema, TV and Media. An excerpt from the love letter: The Hollywood Insider’s CEO/editor-in-chief Pritan Ambroase affirms, “We have the space and time for all your stories, no matter who/what/where you are. Media/Cinema/TV have a responsibility to better the world and The Hollywood Insider will continue to do so. Talent, diversity and authenticity matter in Cinema/TV, media and storytelling. In fact, I reckon that we should announce “talent-diversity-authenticity-storytelling-Cinema-Oscars-Academy-Awards” as synonyms of each other. We show respect to talent and stories regardless of their skin color, race, gender, sexuality, religion, nationality, etc., thus allowing authenticity into this system just by something as simple as accepting and showing respect to the human species’ factual diversity. We become greater just by respecting and appreciating talent in all its shapes, sizes, and forms. Award winners, which includes nominees, must be chosen on the greatness of their talent ALONE.
I am sure I am speaking for a multitude of Cinema lovers all over the world when I speak of the following sentiments that this medium of art has blessed me with. Cinema taught me about our world, at times in English and at times through the beautiful one-inch bar of subtitles. I learned from the stories in the global movies that we are all alike across all borders. Remember that one of the best symbols of many great civilizations and their prosperity has been the art they have left behind. This art can be in the form of paintings, sculptures, architecture, writings, inventions, etc. For our modern society, Cinema happens to be one of them. Cinema is more than just a form of entertainment, it is an integral part of society. I love the world uniting, be it for Cinema, TV, media, art, fashion, sport, etc. Please keep this going full speed.”
Kaili Spooner's passion lies in sports journalism and Black TV/Film, and her writing strongly aligns with The Hollywood Insider's values of delivering factual and in-depth coverage. While her future career goal is to be a sports journalist and do social media work for the NBA/WNBA, for now, she balances her academic pursuits with being a collegiate volleyball player at SSU and unwinding with her favorite comedy and drama sitcoms at home.
Kaili Spooner’s passion lies in sports journalism and Black TV/Film, and her writing strongly aligns with The Hollywood Insider’s values of delivering factual and in-depth coverage. While her future career goal is to be a sports journalist and do social media work for the NBA/WNBA, for now, she balances her academic pursuits with being a collegiate volleyball player at SSU and unwinding with her favorite comedy and drama sitcoms at home.
Kaili Spooner’s passion lies in sports journalism and Black TV/Film, and her writing strongly aligns with The Hollywood Insider’s values of delivering factual and in-depth coverage. While her future career goal is to be a sports journalist and do social media work for the NBA/WNBA, for now, she balances her academic pursuits with being a collegiate volleyball player at SSU and unwinding with her favorite comedy and drama sitcoms at home.
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