'All American' Star Daniel Ezra Spills 7 Spoilers for Season 6
Daniel Ezra and Bre-Z star as Spence James and Coop in 'All American' Season 6
All American returns on Monday, April 1, after a year off the air. When we last met up with the vortex, Patience (Chelsea Tavares) was left bleeding on the Baker house doorstep after her stalker stabbed her. Jordan (Michael Evans Behling) and Layla (Greta Onieogou) got engaged. Spencer (Daniel Ezra) and Olivia (Samantha Logan) confessed they are still in love, but separated so that Olivia could attend an exchange program in London.
With the show returning, fans are anxious to know how Patience is coping after being stabbed and how the rest of the vortex is stepping up in this next stage of their early adulthood. The premiere episode is titled "Things Done Changed," which implies that there are going to be some growing pains as the group gets back together.
Parade sat down with Daniel Ezra ahead of the Season 6 premiere to get the tea on what we can expect from Patience's recovery, Spencer and Olivia's relationship, whether Jordan and Spencer's friendship can survive the pressure of an impending NFL draft and who in the vortex is the best babysitter for Asher (Cody Christian) and Jaymee's (Mayia Horcher) baby son, A.J. The football drama star provided us with seven spoilers for the upcoming season.
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7 'All American' Spoilers for Season 6
1. How the vortex is dealing with Patience's stabbing
Patience is definitely the character that fans are most worried about going into Season 6. Ezra talked about how tough the journey has been for characters like Patience, Spencer and Coop (Bre-Z), who have grown up around violence their entire lives. However, there is a rainbow at the end of the current storm.
"It hasn't been easy. The saddest part for me is the normality of some of these traumas that have happened to them. These kids, especially Spencer and Patience, coming from where they come from, this is something that's normalized about trauma and the thin line between life and death," Ezra said. "We get to see what Patience is going through and what an experience like that does for someone. Patience goes on an unbelievable journey of trying to reclaim who she is in dealing with the aftermath of everything that happened. It's a tough journey, but the end of it is really, very exciting."
2. How Patience's stabbing changes the Baker house
It's not just that Patience was stabbed. The horrible incident happened at the Baker house, which has been a safe haven for the vortex since the series began. Ezra revealed that the group is going to have to work extra hard this season to associate new memories with the house they've grown up in.
"What's poetic about that is that a big part of the reason that the Baker house was such a safe place was because of Billy, and Billy is not here anymore. Then this happens, so it is kind of the birth place of new beginnings," he said. "It's bittersweet and there are a lot of ghosts in that place. The way the writers have been writing to those things and playing certain scenes is really intricate."
3. Spencer is a little too over his savior complex
Spencer has been told for years now that he can't keep sacrificing his needs and wants for the sake of his friends and family. He spent a lot of Season 5 learning how to look after himself, but it appears he may have taken that advice too well in the new season.
"He swings too far on either side, which is real. That is usually what happens when we are trying to change something fundamental. It's something that's been there since Spencer was a child. You tend to overcorrect, and that's what he's done. He put everyone before him and this season, you see him put himself before everyone. But he's part of a team, so he's trying to figure out what the balance is," Ezra revealed. "There's a really cool scene we have where his friends call him out on being selfish, and he says, 'You guys told me to!' It's a beautiful scene. It is such a good portrayal of how confusing growing up can be. It's that mental journey of you think you're doing it wrong, then you go past your mark and you have to go back again. It's tough, but I am glad we are showing the reality of it."
4. Spencer and Jordan are fighting, on and off the field
Spencer and Jordan are like brothers, but they are also on the same football team that is in the spotlight after a controversial season. With the NFL draft looming, they both have a chance to shine, but are they going to let each other? There's going to be a lot of friction between the two as they try to achieve their own dreams.
"Spencer was the ultimate team player. Now we're talking about the NFL and we're talking about college and the draft. All of these things have infiltrated Spencer's head and the question of how much of.a team player are you supposed to be against pursuing your individual dreams?" Ezra continued. "Some of Spencer's actions on the field rub Jordan the wrong way. It takes a second for them to reconnect and for them o figure out what actually is the most important to them in that moment. Is it their own individualistic needs or is it the needs of a team? And they realize just how fluid that can be."
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5. Spencer and Olivia can't go back to the way things were
Spencer and Olivia promised that nothing would change when she got back from London, but it's not a promise that either of them could keep. Ezra teased that the two need to get to know each other again when Liv returns, and it won't be as easy as either of them hoped.
"She's back from London. They've been forced to exist without each other basically for the first time since they've met. Life is a little different and they're both going to be surprised by how different the other person is. That is coupled with all the pressures of the real world. They have to navigate that and it gets messy. It gets difficult. There's a lot of voices and a big part of the season is them just desperately trying to find time for just them to focus on what they need to focus on, and what the future looks like," Ezra explained. "I feel like when they left the airport when we last saw them, they were so sure of what the future was. They both came back, and it's a tough conversation to have, and realize, 'Oh, we actually don't know. You're different now. We don't know what the future is like.' That's really scary for these kids."
6. A 100th episode surprise
All American will reach a major landmark in Season 6—100 episodes. Ezra was awed by how much these characters have grown since the start of the series and revealed a big behind-the-scenes secret.
"To get to 100 episodes is a signpost of how far we've come and how much these characters have grown this season. We celebrate Spencer's 21st birthday. That's crazy. When I started playing this character, he was in high school and now he is turning 21," the actor recalled. "What makes it extra special is I am going to be directing the 100th episode...I'm blown away and very humbled. It's going to be a big one."
7. How Spencer is dealing with a new baby in the house
There's a baby in the beach house! Asher and Jaymee are officially parents at the start of Season 6, and the gang is all chipping in to help with diapers and babysitting. Ezra warned that having a baby in the beach house is not causing Spencer and Liv to catch baby fever though.
"He is definitely not looking at Liv. He's like, 'We've got enough on our plate,' but everyone is kind of in love. Everyone is stepping up and into that babysitting mode," Ezra revealed. "The babies are great. They are so much fun. Those scenes are just so much fun to shoot. You never know what that baby is going to do...Spencer loves it. Jordan is taking the uncle role more seriously, but they both stepped up and have been there for Asher and Jaymee.
All American Season 6 premieres Monday, April 1 at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.
