All American loses a major cast member ahead of season 7

All American fans have been rocked by the news of a Daniel Ezra's exit before season 7! How is the show going to go without Spencer James?

Caution: This article contains SPOILERS for All American Season 6 Episode 13

“Victory Lap” opened with Spencer reeling from how he hadn’t been picked in the first round of the NFL Draft. It seemed Spencer’s secret bad-mouthing of the entire process had gotten around, and teams were avoiding him. Spencer tried to handle that by focusing on officiating the wedding of Jordan and Layla. The reception was interrupted by news that Spencer had been drafted by the New York Bobcats.

The show then jumped almost a year in the future as, after a fantastic rookie season, Spencer led the Bobcats to a Super Bowl victory and was named MVP of the game. He capped it off by proposing to Olivia, whose “Coach Billy” books were bestsellers. 

That could easily have been a series finale, except the CW had ordered two additional episodes for season 6, which will likely focus on Spencer and Olivia’s wedding and show what the rest of the characters are up to. But in a huge shock, these episodes will also mark the end of Daniel Ezra’s run on the show.

Daniel Ezra is leaving All American

Deadline broke the surprising news that Ezra is exiting the series, reporting that it was his own decision made with the creators. 

"After making the difficult decision to leave All American, my sole focus became completing the journey of the most life-affirming character I’ve ever played in the manner he deserves. Thanks to Nkechi and the writers, I got my wish. Season six is ‘Spencer’s goodbye.’ I’ll miss him. I’ll miss our cast and crew. I hope it’s been as fun to watch him as it has been to play him. "

Showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll added a statement thanking Ezra for his great work making the show a hit. 

"Partnering with Daniel Ezra over the last six seasons to bring Spencer’s story to life has been such an amazing, fulfilling, experience. Daniel truly is a gift and brought so much to the character on and off the field. And while Spencer has achieved his NFL dreams, I’m grateful Daniel will still remain an important part of this family, both in front of and behind the camera as we step into a new, exciting chapter of All American."

So, with the show having to move on without Ezra, just how is the series going to handle Spencer’s departure?

How will All American go on without Spencer?

The fact of the matter is that Spencer’s story is pretty much finished. He got into the NFL, he won a Super Bowl and he and Olivia are about to get married. It was even joked that Spencer “might as well retire now, it won’t get better than this.” There’s really nothing more to do with Spencer so having him written out by continuing his NFL career will be easy.

This hints that the plans for a “soft reboot” of the show in season 7 are pretty much a go. The question is how it will be handled as it’s still unknown how many cast members will return. A logical idea is for Jordan to become a coach on his own, perhaps at Crenshaw or some college, to mentor others. This allows the show to keep up the “All American” title, just not in regards to Spencer.

A TV show adding a nearly different cast so late in its run is rare yet there is potential. If anything, the new lead character will be in Spencer's shadow and often compared to him, keeping his legacy going and drawing inspiration from it. It will, however, be tricky as fans have always seen the story as Spencer’s. Ezra is expected to make guest appearance so perhaps Spencer will drop by South Crenshaw High to give a pep talk to whoever the new star player is at some point.

But it is going to be a huge challenge as more than a few shows have faltered trying to pull off such a reboot without the bigger stars around. It does depend on who else comes back yet it would be good if All American can continue without Spencer to show that it’s always about the journey of players more than just one man.

All American season 6 airs Mondays at 8/7c on The CW.