‘All American’ Baas on season 7 Changes, Camees by Vortex members

“All American” might look a bit different when it returned on January 29 for season 7 – but it feels no different. That was the whole goal of maker and executive producer Nkechi Okoro Carroll who made the choice to shake things up in a great way.

“Daniel Ezra and I spoke about the plan for when we found a bit that the Spencer’s journey was complete, and what that completion looked like. We went to season 6 and I knew that I wrote that as his last season. That was a kind of the moment I started thinking, will the show close? But I thought no, there are so many amazing stories, so many characters whose journeys I have still invested, with the transition from young maturity to adulthood for some of our other OG characters, ”says Carroll says Variety.

Then she went to Starbucks for a coffee run and the barista recognized her name – something that rarely happens – and asked her if she was the “all American” show runner. The woman then broke into tears.

“She spoke about how the show changed her life, and how she originally stopped from the university because of things that are going on with her family, and did not feel that her dreams were worth striving. “All American” had let her go back to school, “says Carroll.

They both cried and hugs, and then the woman told her that she hopes that the show will still be when her younger brother gets older, so that he can see such a show, where his dreams feel worthwhile and he represented himself Feels’.

From there, Carroll had a ‘complete breakdown’ and knew that she continued with more ‘all American’ – but bring it back to his roots.

“That really solidified my instinct to keep the show going, to bring it back to high school, to reset it with a new generation of Beverly and Crenshaw Kids who had the same dream, the same heart, new rivalry – and this one Returning the next generation, “she recalls. “I called the studio and the network and shared my vision, and so we got those two extra episodes for season 6, to really complete the journey of the characters and to give me some space to set up that world. “

While Ezra, Samantha Logan (Olivia), Cody Christian (Asher), Karimah Westbrook (Grace James), Monét Mazur (Laura Baker) and Chelsea Tavares (patience) (patience) at the end of season 6 as series of tribal dishes, that does not mean , that does not mean that there are no series of tribal dishes, they are away forever.

Below Carroll breaks out what to expect from the new characters and storylines, and hints to whom cameies will make along the line.

Have you ever considered making this a different spider -off from ‘All American’, because there are so many new cast members?

For us it is logical to keep it ‘all American’, because the heart and the essence of the show are about pursuing the apparently impossible dream and how they overcome the obstacles to get there. They had done that for the most part of our cast. They grew up and they were no longer the youth. This is a YA show with heavy family themes, which I am very proud of, and something that I am grateful for that several generations have looked together, but I did not want to lose the heart of the show.

Let’s enter some of these new characters. The dynamics of the father-son has always been so strong in this show. What is the relationship between coach (Osy Ikhile) and KJ (Nathaniel Mcintyre)?

They are kind of our new anchors to make Beverly. KJ has large D1 dreams, and uprooted from a championship team to something like that is a bit shocking for him, especially because he and his father have always been best friends. They have always been so open and honest to each other, and he feels for the first time, there is something off. They realize that perhaps the expectations of what the Beverly team can do are a bit muted and they both have something to prove. Drawing down Crenshaw as the number 1 team in the state is very, very high on their list.

KJ also quickly connects Amina (Alexis Chikaeze))Who also has a long time of friendship with Khalil (Antonio J. Bell). How is so dynamic?

All three of their storylines are a kind of what I like best about Ya shows, and what I like most about the heart of ‘All American’. Their storylines are not just about who loves whom, but really go over young adulthood, come into their own and the reality of what all that includes. Amina is very stuck in a love triangle of making her own, which is a lot very interesting and fun to explore between Khalil and KJ, but also for her we know the background story of her mother. We know that her mother was Mo, who was shot by preaching when he saved Coop’s life. And now she is 16, at an age where young girls look at their mother for guidance while they step into femininity. Coop stepped into that role, because her aunt and preaching is a great father, but there is a gap created by her mother who is missing. She has many questions about that, because she is no longer 11 years old, and the answers she received were very suitable for a child, but now she is about to have a kind of adulthood and wants some real answers.

Where does Khalil fit in the story?

Khalil is our gang-relied, apparently bad boy who just didn’t really get a chance until Jordan comes into the picture. And for the first time there is someone who does not judge him through his past, but only sees the potential for his future and wants to invest in him.

How does Jordan find the factor there?

There is so much from Billy Baker in Jordan, more than Jordan ever realized until he feels that he sees it for himself. Grandpa Willie tells him at some point: “You are so much like your father, it makes me so proud to see him live with you.” And it wasn’t even something that Jordan deliberately tried to do. It is just out of his generosity of Hart, that he wants to help this child who has not had many opportunities in life, and he sees something big in him.

At the end of last season, Jordan found out that he has a long lost uncle. Will that story come back this season?

There is nothing that Jordan likes more than unpacking a mystery, and there is nothing that Jordan is worse in investigating a mystery. So we couldn’t resist the chance. Knowing that there is an uncle somewhere, someone who is related to his father, that’s just something that Jordan is unable to let go, and his pursuit of answers starts to call a little ravage – both comical and dramatic as he tries To find answers. As colorful as that trip is and as nice as that journey is sometimes deeply rooted that he misses his father and the idea that there is an extension of Billy where he feels a connection and wants to discover whether that person wants to be found or not.

Lauryn Hardy has joined the cast as Tori, a competitive cheerleader at Beverly. Will the show dive more Cheerleading this season?

Absolute. Lauryn does fantastic work as Tori, and she is a kind of our female anchor for Beverly in a recurring role, and also someone who catches KJ’s eye very early. Competitive Cheerleading is his own thing, and the psychology behind our cheerleaders who were athletes was something that I was very interested in exploring via Tori, and via KJ and Tori binding on both his competitive athletes at a very high level. At the moment, competitive cheer has more attention than Beverly Football in recent years, and that is something they have to contend with.

We know that Daniel Ezra returns to Direct and Guest Star, and Samantha Logan is coming back. Can we expect that other members of the vortex will pop up all season?

Absolute. Olivia did not only leave her twin brother behind, she left her best friend. Sam returns a few times this season. In fact, almost every member of the Vortex returns several times this season in a capacity, and for us it has just been so exciting. They have been so encouraging for our new cast, and it has been such a nice expansion of their storyline. They all switch to the big brother, uncle, aunt – sometimes reluctantly – rolls. Daniel Ezra, who is currently opposite me, directs guest stars now. Da’vinchi, who plays Darnell, comes back because they are the success stories – the NFL players who made it big, but they will never forget where they came from. Chelsea Tavares has been back as patience a few times. Monet Mazur’s [Laura Baker] Been back. Karima Westbrook [Grace James] has arrived for directing. It is literally just as we have expanded the family. It was not that someone was replaced, we just grew it.

This interview has been edited and condensed. “All American” returns to the CW on Monday 10 February at 8 p.m.