Time after time, I find myself three episodes into a TV show, and I just can’t get myself to continue watching. Pressing play and sitting down to watch 45 minutes of a show can sometimes feel like homework; I simply don’t want to do it. But when I decided to try once more and start a new TV show, All American proved to be one I truly never wanted to stop watching.

As the show begins, the opening scene takes place in California at a South Crenshaw High football game. Spencer James (Daniel Ezra)—the best up-and-coming football star—is proving his insane abilities on the football field. His attention to detail and precision while playing helps him bring home many wins for his team and shows the community that there are positive aspects to their rough, reckless neighborhood. Unfortunately, the game is brought to an end when multiple gunshots fly through the air. The sad reality is that this is nearly an everyday occurrence in the rough neighborhood of Crenshaw.

During the football season, the perfect opportunity arises for Spencer James to escape his hometown’s violence and play for a spectacular high school in Beverly Hills. The team, coached by Billy Baker (Taye Diggs), brings Spencer onto their field in hopes of bringing home a championship for the school. As issues arise and Spencer is forced to move in with coach Baker and his wife and children, their troubled pasts rise to the surface and change everyone’s lives forever.

Throughout the entire show created by April Blair, the characters deal with many of today’s most controversial topics including gangs, diversity, divorce, adultery, and more. The actors handle the topics with a maturity that is not often seen in high schools around our town, and it certainly reminded me of the greater issues people face on a day-to-day basis.

Although the plot of All American stems from Spencer’s dream of becoming a football star, the show does an excellent job of tying in many other aspects of a high schooler’s life. School, social status, friends, and family all play a large role in developing the storyline and creating a final episode that ties each and every actor, along with their issues, into the final minutes.

After spending only a few days watching All American, I was devastated when the 16 episodes came to an end. The one season simply did not feel like enough, but the chances of seeing a second season are very high. In the future, Spencer James will most likely be seen on many TV screens once again.

After watching many TV shows, All American is certainly on my list of favorites. Each and every actor portrayed their role exactly as it should have been done. I was never falling asleep or wishing to turn off the episode but instead dreading the moment the final black screen would pull itself across my computer.