All American: The Timeline Issue That May Sink The Show
As a fan of All American, I often wonder where the storylines are going to take us? How far will they go into Spencer James’ football career? High School has been fun, but what’s next? This is where shows based on high school students often miss. With All American: Homecoming becoming a spinoff, it puts the original in a tight spot.
What I mean by that is this. The crew will not attend the same college. What may have to happen is they all stay in California and the camera switches between each individual or they will meet up on holidays, spring break, and during the summer. That’s the only way this will work thanks to Homecoming.
The smart move would have been a time jump of sorts. Let’s see where the characters are 7 years after graduation. We know Spencer makes it to the NFL but what about the rest of the cast? With Simone having her own show in college, that throws out any plans of a time jump.
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There is no way the writers can skip 7 years ahead while Homecoming is in either its first or second season. What’s the point of giving Simone her own, only to phase her out as if she never existed? So that means we’re forced to watch her struggles and growth at Bringston while the rest of her friends are in LA are doing what?
How will the writers work this out?
Is Spencer supposed to hop in a car and visit every campus to meet up with Jordan, Olivia, JJ, and Asher then get back in the car and get a good night’s sleep before class and practice? Spencer is the star of the show. But cutting time between the others and what they’re doing in school will offset what the original show is about.
With All American, everyone was in close quarters. Although they managed to spread it between two cities and eventually two schools, it worked but still had its issues. But how is this supposed to work going forward? I guess there will be plenty of calls, texts, emails, and face-timing going on. Maybe, we’ll get another trip for the gang to head out to Atlanta to see Simone.
I believe there is a plan in place. This had to be well thought out in the writer’s room. But a look at Homecoming, and Simone is already in school while the rest of her friends are still in California living in a beach house. See, already, the timeline is a little funky.
According to the storyline, Simone was granted early check-in at Bringston but looking at the first few episodes, it appears that every student is there. I attended an HBCU and I’ve never seen anything like this. But this is TV and the rules can be bent a little.
My issue moving forward is how will All American move forward and still provide fans a great storyline? As I stated earlier, High School was fun but I do not want to follow six different people at their respective colleges trying to come under one storyline while still giving my attention to Homecoming.
For all the success All American has, a spinoff could very easily put this great show at risk all because of a non-structured timeline.
Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.
