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‘All American’ Season 5 Is a Must-Watch for Fans of ‘Friday Night Lights’

Ready for kickoff

All American Spencer James CAT2
The CW

Back in May, the newly released spinoff, titled Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, premiered on Netflix and quickly claimed to the number one spot on the top ten shows list. But, it didn’t take long for the regency era series to get dethroned by season five of The CW’s football teen drama, All American

All American initially airs on the CW, but once a season is complete, it gets added to Netflix’s database. The streaming service released season five on May 23 and it took only three days for All American to rise in popularity. From the plot to the cast, here's everything you need to know about the most recent installment of the sports drama, All American season five.

Spencer All American CAT
Troy Harvey/The CW

About All American

The first season of All American debuted on The CW in October of 2018. While the series received low ratings on the network, the teen drama experienced a rise in popularity upon its arrival on Netflix. In April 2019, The CW renewed the series for a second season. Since then, the show has spawned a total of five seasons (with a sixth season renewal) in addition to a spinoff titled All American: Homecoming.

The fifth season of the teen sports drama debuted on Netflix on May 23, 2023. And much like previous seasons, the newest installment of All American climbed to number one on Netflix’s ranked show list. (FYI, it surpassed shows like S.W.A.T., Selling Sunset, XO, Kitty and—of course—Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.)

all american season 5 netflix taye diggs
Troy Harvey/The CW

All American Explained

Inspired by real-life football player, Spencer Paysinger, the plot of All American centers around his journey to the NFL. In season one, star football player and South L.A. native Spencer James (Daniel Ezra) receives the offer of a lifetime when coach Billy Baker (Taye Diggs) asks him to come play for Beverly Hills High.

At first, Spencer doesn’t want to accept the offer. But his mother Grace (Karimah Westbrook) and his best friend Coop (Bre-Z) advise him to reconsider. After giving it much thought, Spencer makes the transfer from Crenshaw High to Beverly Hills High. But his worlds begin to collide as he tries to adjust to his new life at Beverly.

all american season 5 netflix
Troy Harvey/The CW

Is All American Worth Watching?

From paternity tests to surprising deaths, All American has all the chaos you’d expect in a drama series, making it an absolute must-watch—especially for those who enjoyed watching Friday Night Lights back in the day.

Don’t believe us? Let the reviews speak for themselves. According to IMDb, All American has a 7.7/10 rating. Upon its release, the first season received a 92 percent on Rotten Tomatoes (with an 85 percent audience rating).

All American S5 Spencer Friends and Family CAT 1

Is All American Making a Season 6?

You betcha. Back in January 2023, The CW announced that All American has been renewed for a sixth season.

Brad Schwartz, who is the President of Entertainment at The CW, released a public statement that read: “Over the last five seasons, All American has established itself as one of the all-time CW flagship franchises. All American is not only the network’s youngest series, but also the strongest performer when combining all our platforms. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, the entire creative team and the incredible cast for another season of captivating family drama.”

Who’s in the Cast?

The cast of All American includes:

  • Daniel Ezra as Spencer James
  • Taye Diggs as Coach Billy Baker
  • Samantha Logan as Olivia Baker
  • Michael Evans Behling as Jordan Baker
  • Greta Onieogou as Layla Keating
  • Cody Christian as Asher Adams
  • Chelsea Tavares as Patience

All five seasons of All American are streaming now on Netflix.

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