All American has returned for season 6 — and viewers are catching back up with characters after a nearly 2-year time jump.
Warning: Spoilers Below for the season 6 premiere of All American.
The CW series premiered in 2018 and centers around Spencer James (Daniel Ezra), a rising high school football player from Crenshaw who gets recruited by Beverly Hills coach Billy Baker (Taye Diggs). As he’s forced to move in with Billy and his family to protect his transfer permit, he struggles to find his footing while balancing football, romance, friendships and his dual life. Samantha Logan, Michael Evans Behling, Greta Onieogou, Bre-Z, Cody Christian and Monet Mazur also star.
Season 5 of the teen drama brought the characters to college, where they faced a whole new set of obstacles — including Billy’s shocking death — causing rifts between formerly solid dynamics.
The season 5 finale saw exes Spencer and Olivia (Logan), Billy’s daughter, finally reconnecting right before she leaves for three months to London. The pair promise to wait for each other, and while season 6 reveals that they’ve had to spend a longer time apart than planned, the duo ultimately keep their promise.
“They’ve had a significant amount of time apart,” Ezra explained to Deadline in a March interview, noting that challenges still lie ahead for the couple despite being back together. “That changes both of them. They’ve been on separate continents for a minute now, so what we’re going to kick off with is the two of them realizing just how much they changed.”
Logan, however, thinks fans will be satisfied with how things play out.
“The season’s been really fun, because we’ve been wanting to see Spencer and Olivia together for a really long time. It seemed that there’s always something getting in the way,” she told the outlet. “We’ll just see them this season coming together as new versions of themselves. There’s going to be some stuff in between, but I think ultimately we are going to see the relationship really transformed to something really beautiful.”
As for the other romances, showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll says Jordan (Behling) and Layla (Oniegou) are figuring out how to become a “new family unit” after getting engaged last year.
“Jordan is a hopeless romantic. When he falls, he falls hard. To him, it’s zero to 1000,” Carroll explained. “With his father passing and having something so monumental like that happen in his life and the way Layla showed up for him, there was already so much love there, but going through what they went through… it’s like, ‘What else am I gonna throw at them that they can’t handle together?’”
She continued, “Getting married, the real-life stakes of that, along with his sister leaving town. The family unit is shifting, and Layla is becoming that new family unit. To Jordan, it’s the thing that made the most sense.”
Keep scrolling to catch up on where the characters stand after the season 6 premiere:
Spencer James
Now a junior in college, Spencer has been crushing it on the field under the leadership of Coach Boone (Mufasa Speaks). He’s now being considered for the Heisman trophy and is officially eligible for the NFL draft. While all seems to be going well, possible tension between him and his quarterback, Jordan, might be bubbling under the surface.
Outside of sports, Spencer reconnects with Olivia after she decided to remain in London for an extra year. When she arrives home a day early, she walks in on the surprise party Spencer had planned for her and the two have an awkward few days before ultimately deciding to stay together.
Olivia Baker
Olivia returns home after more than a year overseas — and nearly 365 days since she last saw Spencer. Although she was meant to fly home after just three months, Olivia ultimately decided to stay so she could get to know the new version of herself.
While she doesn’t hesitate to let Spencer know that she still loves him, a few text messages from her London friends hint she may have plans to head back to the U.K. sooner than she’s letting on.
Jordan Baker
Jordan and Spencer have helped rehabilitate the GAU program, and now both of them are eligible for the NFL draft. However, he’s struggling with how much attention Spencer is getting as he fades into the background. Although the duo are still on good terms, the premiere teases that tension between the longtime friends may kick into high gear down the line.
In his personal life, Jordan and Layla are still happily engaged, but Jordan struggles when Layla hesitates to open up to him about things she’s going through. That struggle is made more complex by Layla’s new business partner, who happens to be young, handsome and rich.
Layla Keating
Layla is gearing up to open her new club, Layla’s, and still running her label, but the guilt of what happened between Patience and Miko (Courtney Bandeko) is weighing heavy. After finally confessing to Patience that she blames herself for the stabbing, the pair work it out and repair their friendship.
Coop
Coop (Bre-Z) is still on her way to her law degree, but her music career makes an unexpected comeback when she takes the stage at Layla’s after Patience can’t perform. She is also still carrying a torch for her ex but isn’t quite ready to be honest about her feelings.
Patience
After heading off to NYC for rehab, Patience (Chelsea Tavares) is healed physically but still dealing with the emotional trauma of being stabbed. There’s also the issue of Miko possibly being let out of jail. Although unable to perform in her first concert back, she finds solace in a slumber party held by The Vortex.
Asher
Asher’s (Christian) life revolves around being a new dad, and both he and Jaymee (Miya Horcher) are struggling to balance school, work and parenthood. As Jaymee embarks on a new job, it’s left to Asher to take care of baby AJ, and it isn’t exactly going smoothly.
It seems like his life is about to crash around him, but his loved ones rally him for support, and he’s able to check all the boxes off his To Do list. However, the premiere teases that this season will be anything but easy for the new family of three.
All American airs on The CW Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.