Throughout the many weeks of quarantine we’ve all been trudging through, entertainment has been hard to find. Well search no more—the CW show All American will cure your boredom. This 2018 show is a spin on the real life NFL star, Spencer Playsinger. And if you have a Netflix account like many of us do, you can binge the first two seasons now.

All American follows the story of Spencer James, aka Spencer Playsinger, and his high school football career. When Spencer gets the opportunity to play football for Beverly Hills, he doesn’t exactly jump at the chance. Although this means more scouts and opportunities, he’s conflicted over leaving his home of Crenshaw, LA. Spencer’s journey is heartwarming, relatable, interesting, and of course authentic. 

Not only does the show focus on just Spencer’s struggles but there is a plethora of social injustices displayed in the show. From unnecessary police brutality against African Americans, gang violence, addiction, to LGBTQ+ discrimination, and so many more. This adds an important element of inclusion, exposure, and equality amongst people of all races and sexualities. This is just one of the many ways the writers of All American are staying up-to-date and connected to everyone who watches. 

Along with this, each character within the show has their own growth and importance to the plot. This may be “Spencer’s show” but every character is just as important. Each character has to face their own difficulties and struggles. But not only that, these are struggles of substance or importance. For example, acceptance, mental health, addiction, and even integrity. 

In addition to that, All American has a predominantly African American cast with the exception to one or two main characters. This introduces interracial couples, and so many more important issues that seem to be brushed past in most TV shows today. These actors have given phenomenal performances throughout the first and second season. They have even done so well, All American has been renewed for a third season.

As a sixteen-year-old girl I found this show extremely interesting but feel that it would appeal to people from even the ages of mid twenties to middle school. There are many aspects of the show that can apply to everyone.This show is important for people to watch because it exposes us to the discrimination in our daily lives that we might overlook. Watching All American will make you feel a whirlwind of emotions. Inspiration, stress, sadness, joy, laughter–and sometimes even fear. 

Overall I found this show extremely interesting to not only watch but experience. I think that the show does a great job of exemplifying what life is truly like for an African American man in today’s society and I think this is a perspective we need to explore more often. It is for these reasons that I would highly recommend watching All American as soon as you can.