Original subtitles

I wanna play in the NFL.

I want a life better than the one I've been living.

You gotta save yourself, cuz out here is every

man for themselves.

You need a family.

I'm hoping you choose to be a part of mine.

'Cause I've already chosen you.

We were just trying to tell a story

that felt authentic about black youth in America

and the pursuit of a dream.

I auditioned in London.

I got the call from my agent at like 10 p.m.

and I had to be on a flight to L.A. the next day.

I thought I was going to get fired

for most of the pilot and like half of season one.

When I had the opportunity to come to Los Angeles,

my parents were, of course, very weary

and thought that maybe this was a scam and I

was gonna get kidnapped.

Fortunately for me and them, that didn't happen.

I just knew it was good and I knew that it was a job

and that I needed one.

So I was very grateful to be working.

I was in LA with my dad on the Santa Monica Pier.

It was like the most surreal, magical moment

to get that news in such an iconic Los Angeles landmark.

And then I met the cast.

The cast was amazing and talented

and youthful and energetic.

Everything about the audition process

just flowed and matched up.

And the synchronicity was crazy.

And so I kind of knew that this was

where I was gonna be for the next few years of my life.

I felt like it was the precipice of something big.

There was this like palpable chemistry.

You could feel that from the very beginning.

We've been blessed to have a really fun, cohesive set.

We gelled instantly.

And the writing held up, and I knew we had a

gift on our hands.

I was so excited to learn that I was gonna be on the show.

It was surreal, truly surreal.

My life changed from that point on.

I'm obsessed with YA shows, have been since I was a kid,

still am as a grown adult.

You know, I remember when we met.

First day of Little League.

Man, I didn't even know you was a girl.

That's 'cause I striked your ass out three times.

Twice, man, you did that twice, all right?

Man, when I first got the news that I got the role,

I was so excited.

I loved it, I loved being Coop.

I loved bringing that to life.

And just giving my girl a platform

and all the girls that look like her.

I don't want you hanging around that Patience girl anymore.

You think Patience's trouble because she's gay?

That would make me trouble, since I'm gay, too.

It was emotional.

It was a little bit of drama.

It turned out to be a lot of everything,

but the experience was like none other.

My very first day, my first episode,

we needed them to ad-lib just a birthday song.

You know, there was nothing scripted.

And so they were like, OK, well, what do you want us to do?

I said, put whatever's your spin on happy birthday.

Happy birthday.

And it was phenomenal.

♪ Happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birth... ♪

And in that moment, I'm like, "Oh, okay, so this is easy."

I'm like, "I just need to give them just a little bit,

and then they can take it to another level."

And that was literally my first scene on the show.

♪ Happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birth... ♪

I was just excited about being able to take the genre

but also honestly reflect what my sons were going through.

Everybody's gone to junior high and high school.

We've all dealt with bullies.

She mean more like you.

Having problems with class.

What does that look like?

I had a 10th of your talent, bro.

I say we get this place and bounce.

There's something in these episodes and these seasons

that people really connect with.

It's taking life situations and giving you options.

Spencer James.

Billy Baker.

Varsity coach, Beverly High.

As a young actor, you watch other actors do scenes,

and you can't wait for your turn to say those lines.

I need you to come play for me.

That was one of those lines.

And it was dark and lit.

It was cool.

I can get your way out, man.

I was a kid that grew up watching TV.

I used to always entertain my family,

telling jokes or imitating somebody.

I was just like, yeah, I want to be on TV.

I want to be an actor.

Meet Preach.

He just got out.

What up, Preach?

Something exciting about being able to step

into somebody else's shoes and try to see

the world from their lens.

What's up with you and this kid, Dad?

Why do you care so much?

I come from Spencer's neighborhood.

You have no idea what that's like.

His understanding of which box do I check.

Guess I don't, yeah.

Jordan definitely struggled with that.

And I kind of struggled with that as a young man.

I was adopted and not understanding

where I was coming from to some degree.

But being able to play Jordan has made me understand that no

matter where you're from, you are who you are.

You sure about this, living in Beverly Hills?

Look, Ma, if you don't want this, I won't go.

OK, just say the word, and I'll call them.

No, I ask you to give yourself a chance at something more.

This is what's best for you, Spencer.

Welcome to Beverly Hills.

Being born and raised in Inglewood, California,

Los Angeles native, this show I connected with immediately

because I went to a predominantly white school

and then transferred to Dorsey High School,

which is in the inner city.

Crips or Bloods?

Excuse me?

Yo, yo, he's just joking, man, ignore him.

Nah, that ain't sound like a joke to me, bro.

Don't be so sensitive.

Sensitive.

These are stories that I've actually witnessed firsthand.

The hell are you doing?

I'm picking you up in your red car, in your red hat.

Don't get your head blown off.

I'm just playing.

I'm just playing.

Just drive, bro.

Hey.

Come here often?

Seeing this?

We need to get rid of him.

It felt like it was going to be high school

all over again.

It's okay.

If you don't have a computer, just pair up

with a classmate for now.

You can share with me.

Growing alongside Olivia, I was able to bring a

lot of myself into her.

I was so terrified of losing the people I love over a mistake

I can barely even remember.

I've just been so grateful that so many people have been able

to resonate with her character, and that means that

I did my job well and that made it all worthwhile.

So, show Friday?

To date?

To date?

Oh, Spence!

What's good, man?

Hey, what up, bro?

How you feeling?

Okay, you hear me?

For me, I play sports.

That's my connection.

I play football.

I understand where these players are coming from,

dealing with the pressures, especially if you're

a star athlete.

The pressures from home, the pressures at

school to perform.

All right, good work, son.

Thanks, y'all.

Woo!

That's good stuff.

That's how you play football.

Better get comfortable there.

The writers always either have me screaming or crying,

so that's like process number one.

We are very particular with every single look.

Are they underprivileged, or is it super preppy?

Does it look like money, or does it look like hand-me-downs?

I try to sprinkle in pieces that smaller companies design,

companies that don't get the light shined on them too often.

I try.

I wanted to make sure that the music

was really authentic to the series.

And to do that, that meant really recognizing

where we were, that we were in Los Angeles,

that we were in South Central or in Crenshaw.

I insisted that whatever we put in that first pilot episode,

there was going to be a Nipsey Hussle song.

Once slice.

Got to roll the dice.

That's why all my life, I be grinding all my life.

What Spencer did was come from a neighborhood,

work hard to fulfill your dreams,

but then also give back.

That's exactly who Nipsey Hussle was.

So to me, there wasn't a better place to start

than right there.

The most fun I've ever had was probably any football

scene that we ever shot.

Please welcome your Beverly High Eagles.

♪ Back to my ways ♪

We had background players who played college football,

who played in the NFL.

And they are massive.

When you get next to them, these dudes are huge.

What a block by Spencer James!

They hold practices, they put like a package

of plays together.

They base that off of whatever we write in script.

If we're like, okay, this is a full game,

we might need like 10 plays.

They'll organize the 10 plays, they will practice those plays,

they will be beautifully orchestrated when the day comes.

And then they have doubles for all of our actors.

And shout out to Mike Bailey in particular,

because that dude is a baller.

I mean, he can really heave that thing 60 yards.

He is legit.

And then the evolution and growth of Daniel

has been great in terms of a dude who had never

played football before to a guy who worked his ass off

and got there.

We all got to watch the pilot together, too,

when we were on set, and it just...

it was lightning in a bottle.

Welcome to Beverly Hills, Spencer.

I don't think I had any idea of what it would become

or what it would mean to people.

I told my reps between season one and season two,

I don't want to go off any other jobs,

because I feel like this show is coming back.

I'll be damned if I let you back down.

It was a bold move on my part.

That's just me betting on the show.

I was like, OK, this is serious.

I just felt really excited that I got to do a show

that I would have watched.

But beyond that, I had like really no idea what was to come.

When I first discovered All American, it felt

so familiar to me.

It made me lean more into my authenticity because

people connect with what's real and not what's perfect.

That never be the same around here.

Coming back for season two, way more people knew who we were

and just the energy had shifted.

That's just a taste of your new reality.

I had people who I really admired

start to come up to me and say, "I'm a really big

fan of the show."

It was really cool being called coach

outside of the set.

Yeah. - I will never forget Daniel

taking Breezy by the hand and bringing her up to

me on set and going, "Hey, Madonna, did you

know that Breezy can rap?"

And I went, "No."

And lo and behold, it became "You Don't Ask."

♪ You don't ask So I don't say none ♪

Which I think is an incredible anthem for the LGBTQ+ community.

I mean, it's a huge theme about whether your parents

are willing to talk to you about who you really are.

The core of this show is about people building

dreams and achieving them.

So why wouldn't I want to give an unknown artist or give

someone starting out exposure?

And we've had people go on to become Grammy-nominated artists.

After the fires in Los Angeles, I was paying special attention

to artists who lost their homes.

And I got an artist who lost her home.

I got one of her songs in an episode.

There's a bigger picture.

It's people, it's lives, it's dreams.

That's better than any paycheck.

Secretly, I snuck in a couple parental lessons.

If there was something I wanted my son to hear,

occasionally I'd put it in Grace's mouth.

Most of us don't even start the race until it's over.

You've been given a chance to start on time.

He'd be like, "Mom, it's crazy.

Do you know what Grace said to Spencer?"

And I'd be like, "Oh, what'd she say?"

Go win that race for the rest of us.

It's what you do with your success that matters.

I had kids sending me messages through social media

asking me like real life questions.

It really kind of reflected back to me

how serious kids were looking up to Grace James.

I would get these paragraphs from fans,

like, "Oh my gosh, my son and I haven't discussed

the loss of his father until we watched the episode

where Spencer lost Corey."

I lost my dad when I was in my 20s,

and I'm still processing 20-something years later,

and so to hear that something we did

was helping families heal was incredible.

I was like, "Oh, we might actually be doing something

that's connecting people in a way deeper way

than we even realized."

It's a culture shifter.

Mothers have told us this show is appointment TV

for a mom and her son or for a dad and his daughter.

I've had a ton of single fathers come up to me and say,

"Man, I love that relationship between your daughter.

I'm a girl dad."

And they totally relate to it.

You about to teach me another lesson, huh?

We don't see too many Black fathers on television

as far as fighting for custody of their kids.

They're gonna take her away, and I can't let that happen.

And I think that's something beautiful

that this show tackled.

The messages hit major points in life,

in sports, in parenting, and in friendship.

I thought I was talking to my best friend,

not a treacherous bitch.

It's hard, but at the end of the day,

like if someone is your friend, I think there should

be an effort there to make repair and show

grace to the other person.

Maybe now you can finally admit

that you're a messy human who screws up like the rest of us.

And if the friendship means a lot to you,

I think you will find your way back to each other.

I really don't wanna lose my best friend.

There was a scene that I had written

in like season three, Preach had this

conversation with Spencer.

I don't know why you and Cooper still beefing,

and honestly, I don't care, but I know this much.

He basically broke down, like, if you're lucky,

you might get three true friends your entire life.

I'm talking about sandbox.

Day ones, ride or dies.

Do everything possible to keep them in your circle.

There was a fan who was gonna use that

in this speech that she was delivering

for her school graduation.

You never know when she kind of releases it into the world,

the impact it would have.

♪ You're looking for love ♪

We had teachers reach out to us

to tell us they started incorporating it

into their classroom, and it changed how they

related to their students, and it changed how

their students were showing up to class.

That was beyond anything we could have imagined.

We focused on issues that people

in our generation deal with.

It's meant to be seen by whoever it's meant to reach.

♪ Reach out, reach out, reach out, reach out ♪

My favorite fan moment, I had a guy approach me

on the beach who told me that Coop allowed him to come out.

The 60-year-old white man inspired

by a young black teenage girl.

And there was other things like the opioid epidemic

and depression.

Addiction is a very real disease,

and when it takes over, it's a very scary place to be in.

I found some pills in my room.

What?

I was tempted, but it's fine.

I threw them away and met with my sponsor, so...

Can we talk about something else?

No.

Please?

Please? - It was a flashback moment

where Olivia overdoses, and, uh...

Jordan finds her on the couch, and then, you know,

brings her to the foyer, and next thing you know,

Billy and Laura come in and they try to revive her.

Sorry, Mom, Dad.

What's going on?

I mean, that was really heavy and so difficult to film,

and I just remember feeling like a weight of responsibility,

like I really just, I want to get this right.

I can remember the director on like the wide.

The wide was like, "Hey, so you know, you can save it," right?

But I was just uncontrollably sobbing.

That was quite a scene, quite a day,

and I can just remember really feeling heavy after that.

But there is hope and always a chance to get better.

You did it.

I just remember filming the scene where

she got her one year of sobriety.

That was a really, really beautiful moment.

I'm really proud to have played Olivia.

And I'm proud of myself, too.

There have definitely been times where this show

is art imitating life.

It's helped me personally, like, work through and heal

through things.

Your mom, she suffered from

depression. Depression can be hereditary, sweetie.

I think the biggest lesson that

Layla has taught me is to prioritize my mental health.

I'm gonna need help to get through this.

And not feel the stigma or shame that

I think a lot of people do still feel.

Layla Keating, checking myself in.

So that was a beautiful lesson she taught me

and continues to teach me.

Hey, who's ready to play football?

It's TV, of course we want the drama

and we want all the things.

But if we can also show how relationships

and friendships heal, how families can heal,

how families can come back together.

You know, Billy and Laura, the affair,

separating, coming back together.

If we can show even a slice of that,

maybe we're helping the world sort of realize

that it's okay to say, "I messed up, I'm sorry."

I always say I wanna create content

that leaves the world a better place than how I found it.

And when we realized on kind of a mass scale

how much that was happening, we were like,

"This is crazy."

And then it's like, "We have to keep going."

The numbers really started to pop at the end of season two.

And then everybody got locked inside.

The man was being treated for COVID-19.

And that's when things really took a turn.

When I found All-American, it was during the pandemic.

I was in high school, and people were very scared.

You never forget a show that brings oneness and hope

in a time that feels hopeless.

♪ All American ♪

COVID was tough, man.

Screening operation.

Going through all the testing protocols.

We had to go through zoning protocols.

Actors gotta be in their zone, crew have to be in their zone.

If we ever had an actor who tested positive,

we would have to pivot.

And sometimes we'd have to pull actors who were available.

We'd have to pull scenes from future episodes.

We'd have to bring in that director from that episode

and you had to kind of work through all of that stuff.

We only had like maybe one shutdown,

but we were always hit with different actors

who would get it.

It was one of the most challenging times,

but I think one of the greatest rewards

is that every step of the way, we always found a pivot.

And at the end of the day, it worked.

COVID changed the way we did things,

but we had to just get right in gear

to talk about what was real.

The heart of downtown LA.

Everyone was like, "Oh, is there gonna be a.

Black Lives Matter episode?"

I'm like, "Our entire series is taking a stand

on Black Lives Matter, Black Joy Matters,

Black Dreams Matter, Black Kids, no matter what neighborhood

you come from, matter."

The way in which we talked about that issue,

Jordan being a biracial kid from Beverly Hills

and not really knowing how to interact with police officers.

We've done nothing wrong, man.

Jordan, this is harassment.

That, to me, was a scene that we did so well.

We did it in a way that didn't feel like it was

being shoved down your throat as a viewer.

Just keep looking at me, all right?

Just keep looking at me.

We did our best to not be preachy

and not tell people what to think and what to feel,

but we also wanted to shine light

on the very real experiences that a lot of kids in America

were going through at the time.

If even one person looks at those situations differently

and now interacts with Black youth differently,

then that's why we do it.

Tamika was a 21-year-old girl from South LA.

I've been really shy in my whole life.

When Liv had her podcast, "Liv the Truth,"

she taught me how to use my voice.

There has to be a better way to serve and protect.

That was very healing, just during those

really difficult times.

I would have gone crazy if I didn't have an outlet for that.

Writers' rooms are super cathartic.

We're pulling from personal experiences.

It is our therapy in a lot of ways,

and anyone is free to sit at the table.

We have our support staff, our writers' assistants,

assistance to EPs, we'll have them in a room,

'cause, and I can't emphasize this enough,

best idea wins.

We did an episode where the South Crenshaw players

and the opposing team take a stand in solidarity.

It was one of those moments where you're like,

this isn't a TV show, like this is a moment.

Like for a moment I forgot that it was a show.

It was so eloquently done.

To this day, like, that moment still has an impact on me.

It spoke about things that were very current.

I think you need that in society.

You need to hold the mirror up as much as you can.

These past couple of months have been really hard.

So because it's hard, you don't want to do it no more?

I didn't say that.

It's a show that gives hope.

Was very grounded in reality in regards to the challenges

you may face, but despite of, you still can overcome.

I know you're going to find a way back out on that field.

You always do.

My girlfriend is pregnant, coach.

You'll be ready.

How do you know?

Because you're the most prepared player I've ever coached.

The power of coaches.

I unfortunately just lost my high school football coach.

He's yet another person that I was

able to kind of draw from in terms

of building Billy Baker's arc.

Look, you tell Layla, she officially has my approval.

OMG. How did you know?

I'm your father.

I love you, Dad.

Bring it in.

Love you, too.

My love for my dad and the impact

that he kind of had on my life has

been incorporated in this show.

You asked me what the secret to coaching was.

It's simple, man.

I just try to act like a father to the players.

You were all my kids.

I'm gonna be honest.

You were one of my favorites.

Have you not gotten your messages?

My dad's bus crashed.

What? The news is saying they

think everyone's okay.

When we lost Billy... brutal.

Brutal.

I think I cried for, like, five episodes.

Where's Jabari?

Billy, don't.

I have to.

Tell my family that I love them.

He's gone.

My dad is gone.

I was fortunate to receive a phone call from Taye

before we started that season.

Taye really took me under his wing

and tried to just show me all the things of this crazy world,

this crazy business.

Getting the call from him was, I think, more sad

than Billy's death for me.

I just wanted to tell you some things.

Being your coach had become one of the best parts of my life.

And I know I'm not your pops, but I do consider you my son.

You are my All-American.

It was very tough.

Taye is an amazing human being and an amazing actor.

I'm really close to these people.

This was an amazing and very important time of life.

And it's nice to be reminded.

The scenes where Spencer's struggling with Billy's death,

it's spread across multiple episodes.

You're in this very uncomfortable place

for a while.

I directed an episode within that, too,

so I got to be very present for Sam's part of the grieving

when she was playing Olivia.

Talk to him.

In here.

Samantha and I are super, super close.

I've watched her grow up for eight years.

That's as close to having a daughter

as I'm gonna experience.

You've been handling everything so well, and I'm...

I have not been handling my grief well at all.

Taye and I had spent six years together every day.

So when Billy died, I was losing my

partner on the show, so my heart was broken.

I'm so sorry that you didn't have more time in it.

Grieving is not linear, and it felt like I was grieving.

I decline Coach Baker's call.

My hero, the man who saved my life.

I had a scene with Daniel where he screamed at me.

I really don't need you on my bumper right now, man.

And he punched a hole in the cabinet.

Leave me alone!

That one for me was kind of like, all right,

I really feel that, like this isn't fake.

Everybody's journey in grief is different.

We kept saying, you don't get over it,

you learn to live with it.

That was the motto.

We're not gonna make them get over it,

we're gonna create sounds and music

that shows how they're gonna live with it.

You know, I thought I had to like run away and heal alone.

Thank you guys for proving me wrong.

I love y'all.

We love you too.

If you don't figure out how to whisper,

I can tell you someone who's not going to love you.

I'm sorry.

Over the last year, I think I've finally

gotten to a place where I can think about dad

and not feel my gut plunge.

The growth and continued metamorphosis

of our other characters were able to happen,

inspired by all the things that he had taught them.

Raise a hand if, like me, you are shocked but happy

that these two finally got their act together

after all these years.

My heart and soul always made it back to you.

You may now kiss your damn bride.

The Spencer and Olivia wedding,

to me that felt like the end because we really didn't know

and we were all together and so I did a lot of

grieving in that moment.

I thought it was done.

I watched season six and I was like,

Oh man, I'm gonna miss this show.

So when the audition came in, I was shocked and excited.

I had auditioned for this show since the pilot.

I think it was eight or so auditions.

Finding out that I was gonna be a part of it,

I was excited, I wasn't even really nervous.

I was just ready to go.

I couldn't wait to meet everyone and get on set.

One of the defining moments for me personally as an actor

is being able to transition to something new.

I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to be a director

until I asked to try it.

I'm so glad I took the leap because I was among friends

and I was among people that wanted to see me win.

I could take risks and it was always met with love.

It forced me to evolve in ways that I wasn't prepared for,

which is the best way to evolve.

Just when I thought this show couldn't give me any more,

it gave me some more.

Girl, when I tell you I love football, I love football.

Blue 32, say go.

I'm fresh.

I'm the new guy in town.

I didn't know how big of a role I had.

I think I found out during the table read.

I'm like, OK, yeah, I'm in this, OK.

I didn't know I was going to be taking on a lead role like this.

We got royalty around here.

Coaches, son.

That explains the power trip.

It was tossed around by some people like,

oh, you're the new Spencer or whatever.

And I'm like, oh, wait, hold on now.

I can't be the Spencer.

I can't do what Daniel did.

But it was cool to find out that me and Antonio

are kind of making up for Spencer's role

as the new hopeful dreamer.

Oh, my bad.

Watch where the hell you're going, dog.

Hey, relax.

I said my bad.

I thought I'd come in, do a couple episodes,

and everybody would move on with their lives.

Your dad is some big deal crip.

You think that makes him untouchable.

I didn't think that I'd be still sitting here

20, 30 episodes later.

I've just been really grateful to play a character like this

because he represents a lot of kids in a lot of places,

similar to the places I grew up.

Clearly, a cast like you need to be taught some respect.

About who?

A brother that's apparently too stupid to graduate?

What's up?

It's been really cool to have old cast come back

and sort of tie the two worlds together.

Spencer James.

I can't believe I'm actually meeting you right now.

I just hoped everybody would be nice.

You know, often times you come into a show

and it's like been on for six, seven years

and cast is burnt out, crew doesn't want

to be there anymore.

No one cares about the story or the plot.

It was beautiful to find that none of those things were true.

KJ came in like, "I'm from Oakland."

Guess I just got the Bay written all over me.

No, but your hat does.

Oh, yeah.

You see the bright colors, the bright patterns.

They're loud.

They're in your face.

He walks around with his head held high.

He's very sure of himself.

Must be nice knowing everything.

He's adapting to this new environment,

new friends, and this new football team.

I'm from New York.

I moved out here for the show.

This is my first time ever living on my own.

I made this big move, just like KJ.

So we're similar in that way.

And if I'm not 100% on something, I give myself grace.

We're not perfect.

We're all human, and KJ is a perfect example of that.

I owe you a big apology.

I insulted you and made all my teammates hate me.

Even though people hurt us and we hurt people,

that's not where the story ends.

You look like you could use a friend.

Amina, Amina Sims.

I think people underestimate what it's like

to have somebody believe in you.

How do you know so much about football?

I used to play a little.

Yeah, why'd you stop?

I don't know, I just did.

He's not a bad person, he's just a kid

with a rough past who's made some mistakes.

Does that remind you of anyone?

Khalil, you have something very special in you.

What would you say if I wanted you to come play for me?

That scene was special because it was like the first time

someone saw Khalil and believed in Khalil

and wanted him to do better and saw more for him than what

his circumstances may allow.

Yeah. Yeah, coach, I'll

come play for you.

It reminds me of a lot of people over the course of my life

that saw something in me and, you know,

want to help me do something.

We have an opportunity here to build something great.

KJ and Cassius have a best friend, brotherly kind of bond,

even though they're father and son.

All the way into a bubble screen.

Nice, OK.

But that's how I am with my dad.

We clown on each other.

We joke.

I see what you're doing.

My dad is my best friend.

And I try to bring that into KJ.

I just want to be certain that I'm putting

you in a position to succeed.

I love that about Cassius.

His ability to learn from his mistakes

and do what's best for the people that he loves.

I wanna be more like Cassius in that respect.

Some of his actions are questionable.

Are we related to the Bakers?

How long have you known about this?

All my life.

When he finally fought for his family,

that's when he really started to become his own man.

My son is destined for great things,

but his legacy, that's his own.

Khalil's often misunderstood.

He is very undefinable in so many ways.

Zero, that's the number I want.

It's all yours.

Nowhere to go but up from here.

I pitched that.

That was the second or third pitch I've ever made

that actually hit the page.

He chose number zero because zero is the one character,

numerically, that is undefined.

It's a number, but is it really a number?

It's time to bounce.

Khalil is in the middle of taking a test.

What you trying to say?

I can't take my son out of school?

I get a lot of DMs about how Preach stepped up to the plate

to watch out for Khalil.

I know where you really from, Teach.

You should know my whole get-down, partner.

He kind of steps back into his old ways to let him know,

"Hey, listen, Street Preach hasn't gone too far.

He's still there if you want to push that button."

Take it easy, Teach.

Don't call the hall monitor on me.

When he decides not to support his father,

he becomes a man, in my opinion.

I can't go with you, Pop.

It's just more important than some game.

Now, come on, let's go.

Just 'cause it's your responsibility

don't make it mine.

You feel like, because you love someone,

you have to be loyal to them, but you also have to

be loyal to yourself.

It's all about evolution, and it's all about growth.

Amina was standing up for the people

who couldn't stand up for themselves,

which is something that her mother taught her.

We are worthy, we are powerful, and we are everything.

Delivering the speech was very nerve-wracking.

I, Alexis, felt all of her real emotions.

I was really proud to help her take that stance.

She's 16, Preach.

On the cusp of adulthood and all that comes with that.

Keep balling and making us proud.

Thank you.

I made my choice.

I want Dinsburg.

We're down to the final play of the game,

and they're going to need a miracle.

Boom! 32!

We know KJ wants to win.

When you see him throw that ball,

it's a relief because it's the final play.

I'm releasing the ball, like whatever happens, happens.

But we also feel that pressure of it at the same time.

When we got the chance to do a season eight,

it was really about completing the journey for these kids.

That everything they've been through was worth it.

I've been a crying mess for the last three weeks.

I literally delayed writing the final scene

because if I wrote that scene, I was gonna write end of series.

I just couldn't write those final three words.

It was 3:30 in the morning, and so I finally

wrote the final scene.

And I was crying, and my husband was looking at me,

and he's like, "Honey, just hit send."

And I was just like, "Oh, my gosh.

We're really doing this.

Like, we're really ending the series."

And then I hit send and slammed closed my laptop

like it was gonna implode or something.

All American's family, it's football,

and it's the friend vortex.

So I really wanted this final chapter

to climax in a way where all of those things

reach the best version of themselves.

There's a lot of turns this year that I didn't see coming

when I read these scripts.

Some of these characters are gonna find themselves

in positions that they're not gonna see coming.

This season challenges Khalil in every way.

A lot of skeletons from the past come up.

Hi, son.

He really has to make some choices about who he is,

who he wants to become.

It's been you, me, and Dylan against the world

since day one.

This ain't no different.

Today's either gonna be one of the best days in my career

or one of the biggest mistakes I'll ever make.

This season is about Spencer becoming a father himself.

That peace is the peace I wanted for him this whole time.

He had a severe superhero complex.

One of several things that we shared.

My favorite storyline, Spencer was learning to put that down,

and it helped me put that down a little bit

in my own personal life, too.

Season eight for Coop's all about stepping into her power.

You and me are going to rule the world.

Damn right we are.

There's more law.

There's more of a suit and tie.

There's a more professional aesthetic.

This season is challenging for Jordan

because he's met with an incredible opportunity.

At the same time, this opportunity

may be the downfall for others.

If season seven for Cassius was all about him trying

to do right by his father, season eight

is more about doing right by his son.

I am proud of you, son.

The KJ that we all know is very confident, borderline arrogant

sometimes. This season, we see a crazy

amount of pressure for KJ.

He's learning how to persevere through different obstacles

that he's never had to deal with.

Amina is trying to stand for where

her moral compass is pointing.

I did the right thing, and I would do it again.

Hey, wait.

Wait, wait, wait, wait.

But instead, everyone else's opinions

on the choices she's making in her life are very harsh.

KJ, it's bad.

And I don't know what I'm going to do in the minute

but I gotta find Tom.

Come. Come here.

Come, come, come.

She's back.

I'm a little scared that I function a little too well

on the road without him.

What if I'm turning into my dad?

I think the really beautiful thing about her journey

is that where her mental health is concerned,

it wasn't sort of like a storyline

that we did and wrapped up in one episode.

Every season we see how that evolves.

This season, she's reverting back

to some of her old patterns.

And it's very much about her learning to be vulnerable again

and lean on the people closest to her

and not sort of take everything on

and feel like she has to do that alone.

Welcome home.

As individuals, we get caught in our own thing of just,

it's about me.

And it's not.

It's about others that may not have the voice to fight.

You two sit down.

I'm going to handle this.

This season, I think Preach does a good job

standing up for people.

This year, it's forcing people to move

a little bit out of their comfort zone.

Enough, everyone, go to a corner and cool off.

There's a huge episode coming up.

At the very start of the season, I said to the studio,

I was like, I'm just gonna be honest,

this is the one I'm gonna fight for.

It's important to me that we tell this story.

I watched friends, I watched kids I know

have to deal with this.

I think it's important that we show our kids

dealing with it, but I'm not gonna say what it is.

I'm gonna let people guess.

The fans, they're getting ready to graduate with all of us.

Everyone kept saying, "It's the last scene in

the Crenshaw hallway."

That was when I think I finally realized

it was coming to an end.

There was like a lot of amazing people

who have walked those halls.

It completely changed the course of my life

in really beautiful ways.

There are many, many moments that was very accurate

to what was happening in our lives.

People got married, people got divorced,

people had babies, people lost parents.

Hey, Layla, thank you for the dance.

This week, we did the final read-through.

It was like the longest read-through we've ever had

because we kept having to stop and start

'cause people were just crying and tearing up.

We were wrapping sets every other day.

Which means the wrapping of a writer and a director.

It really, like, moved my heart, 'cause these people have been

here since the beginning.

This place was a very special family.

You can't say that about everything you work on.

I have a family, and I have friends.

I was one of the youngest people at the time I came in.

I felt like a little caterpillar.

Now I feel like I can fly.

I will never let go of Spencer.

This is the most significant character I've ever played.

I'll go on and I'll wear different costumes,

but he'll be with me all the time.

I don't think our fans are ready for this to end.

I don't.

I think they will love what's coming.

Hands down, they will not be ready for the ending.

It's game time.

Game time.

We finished strong.

Oh my gosh, to our fans, I'm a writer, so

I'm supposed to know how to say thank

you, succinctly.

But truthfully, I don't know that there are enough words

in the English language to say thank you.

Especially if you've been there since the very beginning,

October 2018.

You made this ride so special, so thank you.

Thank you for believing in the show from day one,

like I did, but also giving us a shot.

Simply thank you from the bottom of my heart

for really sticking and staying with us.

We filmed during really trying times,

but we pushed through and I am so thankful for your love

and your support and your passion.

So thank you.

Everyone that's ever messaged me

or stopped me in the street to tell me a story.

Sorry. See, this is not fair.

I was trying not to do this.

Hold on, let me finish.

This show affected so many people's lives

in so many different ways that I never ever

could have imagined.

It wouldn't exist without you guys.

So thank you.

When we first came out, we were limping a little bit

and you guys showed up and continue to show up.

So thank you.

And I hope it continues to live with you forever.

Thank you.

You guys blew the show up.

Truly became a word of mouth success.

And it's the reason why we went as many years as we did.

So thank you.

It just meant the world that you were with

us on this ride.

No show is perfect.

Is ever gonna get it all right, but I could not be more

proud of what we did.

And if there's anything to take away is we tried damn hard.

All American is you.

You are All American.

There is no All American without you.

So thank you.