‘All American’ Showrunners Break Down KJ’s Choice and That Season 7 Cliffhanger

Spoilers ahead for “All American” Season 7, Episode 13

In some other showrunners’ hands, it would be tempting to end Season 7 of “All American” by focusing on this long-running drama’s fan favorites rather than its new cast. That’s not the approach Nkechi Okoro Carroll and Jamie Turner took. It’s a deliberate choice that shows how committed they are to this new story and the central ethos of their show.

“While it’s a multi-generational show, always our entry point and main focus is through the lens of our youth. For us, bringing the story back around to the youth and how they deal with the fallout from the decisions the adults made was very much intentional,” Carroll told TheWrap.

Every season of “All American” has ended on a major cliffhanger, but Season 7’s is especially shocking. After spending a season chronicling the relationship between South Crenshaw High coach Jordan (Michael Evans Behling) and the promising player who idolizes him KJ (Nathaniel Logan McIntyre), Episode 11 revealed that the two men are actually cousins. KJ’s father Cassius (Osy Ikhile) came forward with the truth after a stabbing left Jordan in need of a blood transfusion. Cassius later told his son that his grandfather Frank was the child Grandma Mary put up for adoption. But that’s not the only secret Cassius had up his sleeve. One of the reasons Cassius uprooted his family to come to Beverley Hills was to discredit Billy Baker’s (Taye Diggs) reputation as revenge for his father.

It’s a revelation that undoubtably shocks the adults of this football-obsessed universe. Nearly all of Episode 12 is devoted to this generation’s reaction to the news, from Olivia (Samantha Logan) returning to tell Jordan to give his cousins a chance to Jordan realizing he shouldn’t take his anger out on the innocent KJ. But Episode 13 fully belongs to the kids.

“At the end of the day, the fallout of Cassius, Jordan’s decisions about whether to forgive or not and what is happening with that Baker-Jeremy clan provides the the rocky ground that our teens are trying to just function on,” Carroll said.

Understandably, KJ, who just learned the coach he idolizes is actually his cousin, has the biggest storyline in the finale. Throughout the episode, the selfless KJ allows himself to believe he may actually win the coveted Player of the Year award. But when he doesn’t while his father win Coach of the Year, KJ spirals.

“We’ve got to remind ourselves that he’s 16 years old, and that’s such a bomb,” Turner told TheWrap. “He’s thinking in the moment that his dad wins this award based on being somewhat of a fraud. You immediately understood why he felt the way he felt, and we really wanted to showcase that. We really wanted to take him on a journey of being mad but also one of understanding.”

It’s ultimately Jordan, the man angriest at Cassius, who convinces KJ that this father is still a good dad. The rival coach tells KJ that Cassius may have taken this job to destroy the Baker family’s reputation, but he also took a job coaching at an acclaimed high school to give KJ the best chance possible at having a football career.

“We really wanted to land the sacrifice of everything his dad has done for him, while also understanding and reorienting KJ in his journey,” Turner said.

This family drama also causes KJ to finally make a romantic decision. Though he’s had chemistry with both the supportive Tori (Lauryn Hardy) and the outspoken Amina (Ella Simone Tabu) throughout the season, KJ asks Tori to be his girlfriend. This decision comes right as Amina realizes she sees KJ as more than a friend.

“[Amina] realized by the end of this season that maybe her feelings for KJ are real. That has contributed to her taking off the rose-colored glasses when it comes to Khalil [Antonio J. Bell]. But the bigger journey for her was that it was her own love she was seeking,” Carroll explained. “[Her insecurities] stemmed from her feelings of not being enough to keep her mom out of trouble and not being enough to keep her mom alive.”

Carroll sees Amina’s decision to go to take her prestigious scholarship as an act of self-love and acceptance. “Her journey now is about the growing up that she was so desperate to do and that she ended up doing in a most unexpected way this season,” Carroll said. “That’s the journey she’s going to be on moving forward, and quite frankly, the boy or the young man who recognizes that and is able to speak to that version of Amina is going to be the one who gets her.”

Speaking of what’s ahead, Season 7 ends on a major cliffhanger centered around what else but football. During a high-stakes game between South Crenshaw High and Beverly Hills High, Cassius tries to make a joke with Jordan. Jordan instantly makes his stance clear, telling his cousin “We’re a long way from being good.” Despite Jordan’s hostility, Carroll assured TheWrap there’s not a unresolvable war brewing.

“[I’m about] unicorns and rainbows and putting out content in the world that is helping to heal our community, heal our Black youth. So for Jordan and Cassius, yes, there’s a rivalry there. But for us, the storyline is how do we get them to healing? How do we get them back to family so that Olivia’s twins and Jordan’s kids — when he has them — and KJ and everyone else get to benefit from this large, beautiful family that stems down from the Billy Baker lineage?” Carroll said. “It is going to take a lot for [Cassius] to rebuild that trust, but he’s invested in doing it. He’s invested in in rebuilding that bridge between the Jeremy and the Bakers because he understands he’s part of what torched it.”

“The other thing on the other side of this is Cassius and his dad. What does that look like? How do they reckon that thing? And how does that impact and/or help the healing and the rebuilding of his relationship with Jordan,” Turner said.

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