The coronavirus pandemic has kept people around the world cooped up in the confines of their homes but instead of watching the same old shows, here is a new action-packed series on Netflix that has a positive rating of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes — “All American.” 

All American premiered on the CW network in 2018 and is loosely based on the life of former NFL player Spencer Paysinger. The show depicts Paysinger’s move from the city of Crenshaw California, to Beverly Hills to play high school football. 

In the show, after being recruited by Head Coach Billy Baker, played by award-winning actor Taye Diggs, Spencer James, played by Daniel Ezra, moves in with Baker in his Beverly Hills home to further his academic and athletic career.  

The series currently wrapped up its second season on the CW and released all 16 episodes on Netflix March 17. As of Friday, it is ranked in the number two spot in Netflix’s top ten list which ranks the streaming service’s most popular television shows and movies. 

A major reason the show is so beloved is it does an exceptional job of blending the hard-hitting action of American football with the complications of balancing James’s time of finding himself in Beverly Hills while his roots are in South Crenshaw. 

Throughout the show, James struggles with his identity trying to maintain his love for his hometown while trying to adjust to the glitz and glamour of Beverly Hills. 

Ezra is a solid performer in the lead role and does a spectacular job of giving emotional scenes while accurately portraying a star football player on the field from savvy route-running and the terminology spoken in the show.  

Other standout actors and actress in the show include musician Bre-Z who plays James’s best friend Tamia “Coop” Cooper, Karimah Westbrook who plays James’s strong-willed mother Grace James and “Teen Wolf” star Cody Christian who plays Asher Adams in the series.  

If you’re not into sports, the show offers a great deal of high school and relationship drama that is enticing and brings in viewers to watch the next episode due to numerous cliffhangers throughout the series.  

At times some of the drama may be overreactions to various subjects or can come off as boring to the prolonged nature of various subplots which may cause some viewers to stop watching after the first two episodes. 

The character development most notably from Cooper and Adams in the second season is a positive aspect throughout season two that makes up for any subplots that may be viewed as boring to some viewers. 

Both seasons of All American are now available on Netflix.  

Isaiah Ramirez may be reached at [email protected]