by Sophia Wooden’ 20                                                               

The new CW show, “All American,” depicts the life of Spencer James (played by Daniel Ezra), a black high school football star living on the wrong side of the tracks in Southern California. Despite his harsh upbringing, with a deadbeat father and harassment from gangs Spencer stays off the streets by playing football and being really good at it. In the opening scene of the first episode, Spencer scores a touchdown, and the next thing you know, a man is being shot on the street. After the game, he is scouted by a coach from Beverly Hills High School and eventually transfers to get a better education and a chance at going to the NFL.

 “All American” combines a couple of well known actors and brand new actors, which creates a widespread community and audience for the show. Most new shows today are very unrealistic and have horrible acting. However, this show is quite a deviation. You can tell when watching this show, that it will be sucessful as it keeps the viewers on their toes. Although it may seem unrealistic because these teens live a very over privileged life in one of the most affluent cities in America, they still experience the same things that everyone else does.

 In the first three episodes, Spencer’s life has been flipped upside down. He moves to Beverly Hills in the coach’s house to qualify to play in the district. Coach Billy Baker (played by Taye Diggs) grew up in South Crenshaw, where Spencer is from, but seems to have lost his roots. Spencer and his new team start off unable to work together, but later on when the coach’s son and team captain, Jordan Baker (played Michael Evans Behling) accepts Spencer, the team comes around. After Spencer decides to scrimmage his old team with his new teammates for his Crenshaw state championship ring, Spencer finally realizes that his new teammates have his back when they prove to be as good as his old team.

 One great example of a relevant topic shown in “All American” is in episode three when Jordan and Spencer get pulled over by the police and are physically harassed when they didn’t do anything. This particular incident is very evident in America currently and the way that they show decided to incorporate that is very admirable.

 Based on a true story, this classic rags-to-riches plot offers a relatable teen show. A familiar face you might notice is Cody Christian, who played Mike Montgomery on “Pretty Little Liars” and also Theo Raeken from “Teen Wolf” on MTV. CW has been known to produce very successful TV shows, like the hit series “Gossip Girl” and “The Vampire Diaries,” that won a total of 56 awards combined. Debuted on October 10, you can tune in to “All American” every Wednesday at 9 p.m.

Grade: A-