Daniel Ezra Closes All American: 'Spencer's With Me Forever' — SkimNews
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Daniel Ezra directed the series finale of "All American" on The CW, which ended its eight-season run on Monday — his first time truly saying goodbye to Spencer James since leaving the cast in Season 6.
- The finale wraps Spencer's arc with a trade from New York to LA timed to the birth of his twins with Olivia, followed by a six-year flash-forward showing Coop sworn in as an attorney, Amina getting her dad Preach elected, and Spencer playing his final Super Bowl before retirement (with KJ also in the NFL).
- Ezra got to say "That's a wrap on All American" — after cast members who weren't even working that day showed up and the packed Baker house set took over an hour to empty because nobody wanted to leave.
- Showrunner NK gave Ezra a choice of episodes to direct; he picked the finale because it felt right to close his arc, and Ezra said he felt more secure behind the camera after directing a chunk of earlier episodes plus his own short film.
- Ezra and Michael Evans Behling (Jordan) couldn't get through their read-through without crying, and Ezra said the scene blurred the line between Spencer and Jordan and between Mike and Daniel himself.
- Ezra described Spencer as a character who'll "always, always, always be with me," ranking the role at the apex of his career and crediting it with changing every aspect of his life over the past eight years.
Why it matters: For Ezra, directing the finale — not merely appearing in it — marks a clean pivot from series lead to behind-the-camera work after anchoring the show for six of its eight seasons. For The CW, the conclusion closes out one of its longest-running current dramas and ends an era for an ensemble cast that grew up on screen together.
Ask SkimNews
