Nkechi Okoro Carroll admits that the long-running series of the ’90s influenced her in the series she directs lately.
Carroll is the executive producer and host of All American, which tells the story of Spencer James, a standout South Los Angeles football player who was recruited to play at one of Beverly Hills’ top schools, who now discovers himself in college, navigating campus life and his personal life. The screen comes alive through the life of professional footballer Spencer Paysinger. Daniel Ezra plays James in the series.
“I grew up with the original Beverly Hills 90210 that had 12 seasons, 14 seasons and anything like that. I’ve lived to be with them from the best school to adulthood, to parenthood, all of that,” Carroll says of how he sees American progress.
He adds, “If it were up to me, we’d be here to do All American Grandparents. I love [these actors] so much, they’re incredibly talented. Each season, they bring something new and surprising to the series. So, yes, it can happen as long as everyone else drops it. I’m like the mafia, I told them that at the beginning, that they were stuck with me for life.
Carroll had a vision for the exhibition, which is now in its sixth season, from day one. The purpose is to take this story, animated through a remarkable real-life person, and use it as a way to authentically paint our youth, and especially our young Black men in America, regardless of their community of origin, and show what it takes to pursue an unrealistic dream.
Admitting that she’s more than emotionally invested in the exhibition, Carroll reveals, “My editors laugh at me because I look at the exhibit and I cry and they say, ‘You wrote it. ‘I say, ‘I’m so emotionally invested in those stories that I write and convey along the way. ‘
Ezra is rarely too afraid to say he’s very nervous when, “I have to play a football game in front of all those former high school and NFL athletes [who work on the show]. But whether all goes well or not, they, us, and Us inspire tremendously. You drop a pass, they’re right there with you, like “they’ve given it to you, they’ve given it to you. “
But he also says, “I love it. These are still some of my favorite days. “
As for the progression of the narrative, Carroll says she and her writers are well aware of what’s really going on in the world of football.
“[The program] is a living, breathing organism. We have a tendency to discover, without even actively trying, that “oh, this happened in the Super Bowl, or this happened in any game, we incorporate it. “
Executive manufacturer Jamie Turner says writers bring realism to the screen by tackling real-life sports-like issues. “One of the things that we’ve literally tried to explore over the last year and part of it is the explosion of [use of name, symbol and likeness] in school sports. And as we move forward in terms of where our characters are in the school, the next step is the NFL and the agents, all of that. So we literally make sure that everything we do reflects what’s going on. . And right now in school sports, athletes are king. So it’s only fair that we take a look at that.
From that, Carroll says that in order to be real, the show had to be big. “College football is huge. There is no such thing as a small edition of school football. So, most of the conversations we had with the studio and the network said, “If we’re going to tell this story, then it’s got to be football in a stadium. And we were able to do it. “
With all the content available lately, Ezra says the audience deserves to sing along to All American because “[This exhibit is] a dynamic reflection of what kids are going through today. When you look at the way we’ve explored intellectual health, the way we’ve explored addiction, the way we’ve explored the pressures of student-athletes, it’s a smart way to perceive the spirit and tribulations of young Americans today. “
But he also says, “But there’s the smart and the bad: the love, the fun, but also the struggle of being a kid today, and the joys, the ups and downs that come with it. For that reason, alone, it is valuing observation.
It’s not just the male actors on the show, Carroll adds: “I think I would also tell our young women that there are these dynamic, phenomenal, tough female characters who are breaking stereotypes and pushing the boundaries of what’s going on. “Television has shown us photographs, especially of young black women. “
Overall, he believes that “in our show, the truth of the world we live in here in this country will continue to be reflected through [the character’s] life, through football, through all of this. And if, through the way we take Taking Care of Things in the program, we can help teens understand what’s happening in the real world, that’s our hope.
“All American” airs Mondays at 8 p. m. on The CW and is available to stream on The CW app.