All American ‘Ship Shape: Here’s What’s Ahead for the Show’s Central Couples in Season 6
All American wrapped Season 5 with three of its main couples — #Spelivia, #Jordayla and… may I call them #Jaysher? — in a very good place. But might a forthcoming time jump cause some of those ‘ships to capsize?
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Though we’re not at liberty to reveal just how much time has passed between Seasons 5 and 6, the upcoming sixth season (Monday, 8/7c, The CW) does leap forward, introducing new challenges for (last we saw) the freshly reconciled Spencer and Olivia, the newly engaged Jordan and Layla and the expectant parents Jaymee and Asher. And of those three pairings, it may be Spencer and Olivia who have the highest hurdles to clear when All American returns, having gotten back together just seconds before Olivia boarded a plane to England in the Season 5 finale.
“We won’t keep our audience waiting long [to learn the time jump length],” co-showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll tells TVLine. “But when you’re this age, any time apart — whether it’s months or years — is such a huge difference… It’s almost like they hit pause and now we’re resuming, and they still have all that stuff to figure out about what’s going to be different from the first time they dated.”
Below, Carroll and co-showrunner Jameal Turner give us more intel on #Spelivia’s imminent reunion and tease what’s in store for Jordan, Layla, Asher and Jaymee. Keep scrolling for their hints, then drop a comment with your hopes for the new season.
Spencer and Olivia
When Spencer and Olivia reunite after TBD-amount-of-time, they’ll “come back as new versions of themselves, both with Spencer staying here and Olivia being in the U.K.,” Carroll says. And though their encounter at the airport last season ended on an optimistic note, Carroll tells us that a major question will loom over Spencer and Olivia’s relationship once they’re back in the same country: What do they both want?
“Quite frankly, I think that answer would have been very different if they’d asked it at the airport at the end of Episode 20, versus asking it when [Olivia] gets back,” the EP shares. “And that’s what they’re going to have to navigate. They made a decision and then separated, and they’ve come back as two new people. Does that decision hold?”
Jordan and Layla
#Jordayla is indeed still engaged when All American picks back up, but even this rock-solid pair won’t be immune to the time jump’s effects as they plan their nuptials.
“They’ve evolved, they’ve grown, and Jordan has a very specific take on how things might need to be approached in regards to the wedding, and Layla has a different one,” Turner shares. “They’ll have to learn how to navigate that and balance things out, because they’ll also be doing other things. He has football. She has music and other business interests… But we’ll also be able to reflect the mature choices that they’ll learn how to make together.”
And though Turner concedes “there’s a pattern in place” with Jordan — to put it more bluntly, this is his second engagement before he’s even 20, having previously planned to marry Simone — he’s also quick to point out that Jordan and Layla’s engagement is “different, because there’s a history there between the two of them.” While the wedding planning process will bring “its fair share of drama,” Turner also teases that the couple “will find their way somehow.”
Asher and Jaymee
By the time All American resumes, Jaymee and Asher will have successfully welcomed a baby boy — a massive relief for those of us concerned that Jaymee’s lupus might affect her pregnancy. (On our wish list for All American‘s sixth season, we strongly hoped the show would decide against a pregnancy loss storyline with regard to Jaymee’s illness. Whew!)
That said, Carroll confirms that Jaymee’s lupus diagnosis and Asher’s cardiomyopathy heart condition will still play a role in their storylines, including their approach to parenthood in Season 6.
“What do life decisions look like when you do have an incurable illness that you’re living with?” she says. “How do those decisions change now that you still have that illness but you also have a child that needs you? Becoming a parent when you have preexisting conditions — all of that plays into how they navigate their relationship and parenthood. We will head-on tackle those stories with the two of them.”
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