With All American's third season coming to an end, the budding career of superstar wide-receiver Spencer James is still up in the air. At last glance, Spencer James was dealing with a host of off-the-field issues while dealing with a shady college scout trying to compromise his moral center. With pressure mounting from all angles, Spencer is challenged to do the right thing and avoid the path of least resistance.
Since its debut in 2018, All American has drawn comparisons to Friday Night Lights, a similar drama revolving around the players and coaches of a high school football team. While both have their merits, here's where the former excels more than the latter.
Based On True Story
While the cinematic version of Friday Night Lights is based on a nonfiction book by Buzz Bissinger, the TV adaptation is a much looser adaptation. Moreover, the book chronicles the town of Odessa, Texas, and their beloved high school football team rather than one specific player.
By contrast, All American tells the very specific true story of Spencer Paysinger, a football player who realized his dream by becoming an NFL player for the New York Giants. Paysinger is represented by Spencer James (Daniel Ezra) in the series, giving a much more detailed backstory and intimate portrait of the main character than Friday Night Lights.
Broad Appeal
Written by famed sports journalist Buzz Bissinger and set in a state and town where football is a second religion, having a base level knowledge of the game is a near-necessity when watching Friday Night Lights. On the contrary, All American can be enjoyed by fans and non-fans alike.
All American fosters a broad appeal by never getting too bogged down with the ins and outs of football itself. With dramatic storylines that run the gamut off the field, viewers do not need to know much about football to enjoy the show. Friday Night Lights, on the other hand, relied on such football fandom.
Family-Centric
Piggybacking off the broader appeal of All American, the show does a far better job at not just addressing, but also digging deep to explore important family drama than does Friday Night Lights. By focusing less on the on-field football action, All American has more room to address what really matters.
As such, the dramatic arc of Spencer James and his close friends and family members become far more compelling than that of the star players in Friday Night Lights. Because of the strong storytelling, fans care just as much about how Spencer will provide for his single mother as we do his on-field triumphs.
Racial Diversity
One major improvement All American makes in the wake of Friday Night Lights its inclusive racial diversity and proud depiction of wide-ranging Black characters. Set in Texas, Friday Night Lights by comparison was a predominantly white show with Black characters taking a backseat.
All American offers a realistic portrait of diverse Los Angelenos. The non-monolithic characters range from affluent Beverly Hills coach Billy Baker (Taye Diggs), who has former ties to Crenshaw, to violent gangster Tyrone Moore (Demetrius Shipp Jr.), and everyone in between.
Socioeconomic Divide
In addition to the racial diversity among the cast and characters, All American does a much better job than Friday Night Lights at addressing interrelated socioeconomic issues. While the latter briefly touched on poverty, All American establishes the stakes of Spencer's future by becoming a top college recruit.
While Friday Night Lights primarily focused on Coach Taylor and the on-field success of his team, All American explores the consequences of being raised in a rough neighborhood like South Central.
Depiction Of Gang Violence
For better awareness at the very least, the depiction of street crime and gang violence in All American is far more present, realistic, and visceral than anything of the sort shown in Friday Night Lights. The subject is important for educating the masses on such issues and reinforcing Spencer's character.
By showing what a tough environment the characters grew up in and often try to avoid as adults, a more well-rounded portrait leads to greater sympathy and understanding for their situation. Friday Night Lights had no such dramatic backdrop.
Social Issues
Made during a much more socially conscious time period than Friday Night Lights, All American reflects such in the wide-ranging topical issues addressed in the writing. Beyond crime, poverty, gang violence, and racial diversity, a host of salient subjects are also explored on the show.
By focusing less on the football action, such serious topics as mental health awareness, student-athlete drug testing, off-field addiction, sexual indiscretions, police brutality, Black Lives Matter, and LGBTQ+ issues are often raised. This ensures a wider audience for something for everyone to relate to without feeling alienated or unseen.
Superior Coach
Although he has appeared in 26 fewer episodes than his Friday counterpart so far, All American boasts a more compelling main character in Billy Baker. As a former second-round pick in the NFL, Baker's intense desire to lead his team to victory as a coach stems from a playing career cut short by injuries. Friday's Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) has a much less interesting back story and character motivation.
Adding to the complexity, Baker is torn between the Crenshaw football team he played for as a student and the Beverly Hills team he currently coaches. By Season 3, Baker switches positions to coach his alma mater, giving him a fully-rounded 360-degree character arc.
Dramatic Stakes
The dramatic stakes in All American are much higher than Friday Night Lights, making the show far more suspenseful to watch. If someone makes the wrong move or talks to the wrong person in All American, they could lose their life. If the same thing happens in Friday, they might lose their starting football position.
By increasing the hazardous nature of the characters' everyday lives, the drama becomes much more engaging from week to week. There's an inherent danger to the show that gives the drama more weight than Friday Night Lights.
Soundtrack
One lighter improvement All American makes over Friday Night Lights is the eclectic soundtrack full of contemporary pop music artists. While Friday featured the likes of The Killers and Outkast, most of the music was limited to music composed by Texas post-rock band Explosions in the Sky.
By Contrast, All American reflects the diverse nature of the Los Angeles music scene with tracks from Snoop Dogg, Nipsey Hussle, Bre-Z, Doja Cat, Shawn Mendes, Lizzo, Khalid, and many more. In fact, every episode of All American is named after a famous rap/hip hop song.