Season One

The **first season** of *All American* aired on The CW from October 10, 2018 to March 20, 2019. The season consisted of 16 episodes. It was first announced in September 2017 and was ordered to series on May 11, 2018.

## Premise

Spencer James is a rising high school football player and A student at South Crenshaw High. Compton is the place he calls home. But when Beverly High School’s football coach Billy Baker recruits him to join his team in Beverly Hills, Spencer’s mother, Grace, and his best friend, Coop, convince Spencer it’s an opportunity he has to seize. Now Spencer must navigate two worlds, the south side neighborhood that he knows and the affluent Beverly Hills world that has offered him an opportunity for something bigger. When Spencer is forced to move in with Billy and his family to protect his transfer permit to Beverly, Billy’s son, Jordan (the team’s starting quarterback), is less than thrilled to be sharing his father’s attention — or the team spotlight — with Spencer. While Spencer struggles to find his footing, he makes an unlikely friend in Jordan’s sister, Olivia, who is dealing with her own demons. He also quickly develops a crush on his classmate, Layla, something her boyfriend, Asher, quickly realizes — and so, he sets out to drive Spencer off the football team and out of Beverly Hills for good. Inspired by the life of NFL player Spencer Paysinger.

## Cast and Characters

### Main Cast

* Daniel Ezra as Spencer James (16/16)
* Bre-Z as Tamia "Coop" Cooper (15/16)
* Greta Onieogou as Layla Keating (16/16)
* Samantha Logan as Olivia Baker (16/16)
* Michael Evans Behling as Jordan Baker (16/16)
* Cody Christian as Asher Adams (15/16)
* Karimah Westbrook as Grace James (15/16)
* Monet Mazur as Laura Baker (13/16)
* Taye Diggs as Billy Baker (16/16)
* Jalyn Hall as Dillon James (13/16)

### Recurring Cast

**Recurring Cast is defined as non main cast members who appear in 3 or more episodes**

* Hunter Clowdus as JJ Parker (12/16)
* Spence Moore II as Chris (10/16)
* Demetrius Shipp Jr. as Tyrone Morris (8/16)
* Chelsea Tavares as Patience (8/16)
* Jay Reeves as Shawn Scott (7/16)
* Brent Jennings as Willy Baker (6/16)
* Emily Levine as Lucy (6/16)
* Michelle Hayden as Ripley (4/16)
* Casper Van Dien as Harold Adams (4/16)
* Mitchell Edwards as Cameron (4/16)
* Chad L. Coleman as Corey James (4/16)
* Bill Lee Brown as Alvin Washington (3/16)
* Jordan Belfi as Principal Ed Landon (3/16)
* Judith Scott as Janelle Cooper (3/16)
* James Black as Reggie Cooper (3/16)
* Kareem Grimes as Preach (3/16)
* Michael Wayne Williams as Young Spencer James (3/16)

### Notable Guest Cast

**A notable guest is a non-recurring actor who reprises their role in a later season or has reprised their role from a previous season**

* Bernadette Speakes as Ruth Scott (2/16)
* Asjha Cooper as Kia Williams (2/16)
* Wolé Park as Micah Richards (2/16)
* Elvis Nolasco as JP Keating (2/16)
* Lahmard Tate as Flip Williams (2/16)
* Daryl C. Brown as Pastor Weeks (2/16)
* Antwon D. Jones as Jamal (2/16)

## Production

### Filming

The pilot was filmed during the first quarter of 2018. Filming for season one began the following July.

### Casting

On February 22, 2018, Taye Diggs was cast as Billy Baker, followed a week later with Samantha Logan cast as Olivia Baker, his daughter. The rest of the cast was filled out through mid-March with Bre-Z and Greta Onieogou cast on March 15, 2018 as characters Tamia Cooper and Layla Keating, respectively, with Monet Mazur, Michael Evans Behling, and Cody Christian cast the next day, to play Laura Fine-Baker, Olivia's mother; Jordan Baker, Olivia's brother; and Asher, respectively. Karimah Westbrook was cast as Grace James on March 19, 2018 and British actor Daniel Ezra was cast in the lead role of Spencer James on March 21, 2018. On May 31, 2018, Jalyn Hall was promoted to a series regular as Dillon, Spencer's little brother.

## Reception

### Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an approval rating of 92%, based on 25 reviews, and an average rating of 6.92/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "All American's ambitious attempts to tackle class struggles and classroom drama largely play thanks to its winning cast—an auspicious start to a promising new series". Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 63 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

## Gallery

### Videos

ALL AMERICAN Official Trailer (HD) The CW Drama Series
## References

1. ↑ The CW Picks Up ‘Charmed’ & ‘Roswell’ Reboots, ‘TVD’/’Originals Offshoot, ‘In The Dark’ & Greg Berlanti Pilot To Series
2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 *All American*: Season One Ratings
3. ↑ When will All American premiere on The CW?
4. ↑ Taye Diggs to Star in Greg Berlanti-Produced CW Pilot (Exclusive)
5. ↑ Luke Arnold Joins ‘For Love’ ABC Pilot; Samantha Logan In April Blair/Spencer Paysinger CW Pilot
6. ↑ Bre-Z & Greta Onieogou Join April Blair/Spencer Paysinger CW Pilot
7. ↑ Monet Mazur & Michael Evans Behling Cast In April Blair/Spencer Paysinger CW Pilot
8. ↑ Cody Christian Cast In CW’s April Blair/Spencer Paysinger Pilot; Richard Esteras In ‘Skinny Dip’
9. ↑ Karimah Westbrook Joins CW’s April Blair/Spencer Paysinger Pilot; Justina Adorno Books ABC’s ‘Grand Hotel’
10. ↑ Daniel Ezra Lands the Lead In Spencer Paysinger CW Pilot From Greg Berlanti
11. ↑ ‘All American’: Jalyn Hall Upped To Series Regular On CW Drama Series
12. ↑ All American: Season 1
13. ↑ All American: Season 1