As far as sports dramas go, especially in the US, few can compete with the hustle of All American. The TV series is now five seasons deep, and still as popular as ever, even though we had to suffer through a tragic character death in the latest instalment.
For the uninitiated, All American is a drama series centred around the sport of American Football, and how main character Spencer James tries to balance his love of the game with his chaotic personal life. All American season 5 was full of epic plot twists and, sadly, a big character death. Warning, spoilers will follow, so if you haven’t caught up with the latest from Spencer and the gang, stop reading now.
Speaking to TV Line recently, showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll explained the thought process behind the tragic scene.
We are of course talking about the death of Billy Baker (Taye Diggs). Carroll said: “If you notice, the minute [Billy] helps Jabari up and the bus keeps rocking, that’s the minute he tells Jabari that he should go first. It’s the minute Billy knew, ‘Two of us don’t make it off.'”
“But if he told Jabari that in the moment, Jabari never would have left the bus. So he had to tell him, ‘I’ll be right behind you.’ And it’s not until Jabari turns back around [that he] realises Billy isn’t moving. And it’s not shock on Billy’s face. It’s almost acceptance, because he realised a couple minutes ago that that was his fate,” Carroll added.
The death of Billy has had a huge impact on the subsequent episodes of the hit show, too, with different characters getting the chance to stand in the spotlight and grieve in their own different ways, like Laura for example. “It’s a very important part of your healing process when you decide you do want to know the details. We wanted to take that journey with Laura where she had reached that place of wanting to know what his final moments were like, and we would experience it at that time with her,” the showrunner explained.
If you like sporting content, check out our guides to the Welcome to Wrexham season 2 release date or the Creed 4 release date. Alternatively, dive into our list of the best sports movies, or simply look ahead to all the new movies heading your way this year.