All American's Daniel Ezra Reflects on Six Seasons of Playing Spencer James

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[Warning: The following contains spoilers from the All American Season 6 finale "I Do (Part II)." Read at your own risk!]

That's a wrap for Spencer James (Daniel Ezra) on All American, at least for now. While the CW football drama has been renewed for Season 7, series star Daniel Ezra will not be returning as a series regular next season. Season 6 sent the character off in style, focusing the last two episodes on Spencer and Olivia's (Samantha Logan) wedding after Spencer made the game-winning catch at the Super Bowl in the July 1 episode. 

Fans have known that Spencer and Olivia were endgame for many seasons now, but as with everything in their relationship, the wedding came with many hurdles. Olivia was on edge, counting bad omens and stressing that their wedding was doomed. Then the couple found out at the end of the penultimate episode that a burst sewage pipe ruined their wedding venue. Spencer spent the majority of the finale episode trying to give Olivia the wedding of her dreams without having to delay the ceremony for an entire year. He managed to pull it off while the city of Crenshaw came together to give the couple a community bash for their reception. 

It was a heartwarming send-off for the character who has anchored the drama for six seasons now. TV Guide caught up with Ezra to talk about filming the emotional episode, saying goodbye to Spencer, and whether we'll see him next season in a behind-the-scenes capacity. 

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You and showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll have talked about your exit since before the season started. What was on your bucket list for Spencer's arc before you could walk away from this character?
Daniel Ezra: I wouldn't have felt right without completing Spencer's story. And that means getting the girl, that means giving back Crenshaw and everything he set out to do in that first big speech to Billy [in Season 1]. That's actually the first thing I filmed. The first thing I filmed was that big speech about getting into the NFL and wanting to do all of these things. Once I could confirm that he was going to get all of those things, the story was complete. All of that kind of happened in the first two episodes. The last two episodes for me were really what I wanted before I hung it up. 

The finale for this season is such a big event. Do you have a favorite scene or moment from these last two episodes?
Ezra: It's the quiet scenes. I think all the big stuff is beautiful. The wedding itself was wonderful, but there's a couple of moments that just speak to how far we've come. The moment with Spencer and Coop on the swings and that kind of childhood playground, and just seeing a grown man and woman with the world ahead of them, talking about all of these things that people would deem impossible from two kids from South Central. Being able to go back to that swing, in their hood and just sit and have that moment meant the world to me and made me really emotional. And the very final moment that Spencer shares with Olivia. He says how they're part of a family. It was just a big signpost to how far we've come, and how far he's come, what he's done for his family and his community. Those kind of quiet, introspective moments are my favorite. 

Spencer doesn't say where he thinks Coop should go to law school, but do you have a take on whether she should go to GAU or Yale?
Ezra: Anytime that I have relatives that go into college, I always encourage them to get out of their city. You need the experience of living away from home. So as Daniel, I would say pick the one outside of your city so you can have that experience. 

Liv spends a lot of these two finale episodes caught up on how many obstacles she and Spencer have faced, but Spencer doesn't vocalize he's worried about the same thing. What is his take on the journey he and Liv have been through to get to this point?
Ezra: He sees the obstacles, but he doesn't focus on them because Spencer's whole life has been getting over the hurdles. He sees the goal and the goal only. He doesn't see all of the pitfalls and stuff that could potentially get in the way. He is a very driven person. He's different [from Olivia] when it comes to the wedding because once he put the ring on her finger, there wasn't an option of them not getting married. So he's bothered by the [disruption], but the thing that hurts him the most is seeing Liv getting flustered and anxious. He wants to fix that. He goes out of his way to desperately fix that. But there wasn't a thought that they weren't going to get married. That was a done deal, them having a long and happy marriage together. He's not worried about any of that. 

How much coercing had to be done to convince you to do the choreographed dance at their reception?
Ezra: At some point in every season, they have forced me to dance. I am not a dancer. Learning choreography is tough. It's so scary knowing that I have to perform this in front of my friends and peers, but Rhapsody [James], our choreographer, is always amazing. There is always a process that we go through. She shows me the video of what the dance is going to be. I always look at her like she's crazy, and that's impossible. I bitch and moan for a little bit, then we get to work, and this time was no different. It came out great. You can't do a Spencer and Olivia wedding without dancing one more time, so it just made sense. 

What is the biggest difference to you between the Spencer we meet in the pilot and the Spencer in this finale? 
Ezra: He's happy now. That's the biggest difference. When we first met him, there was so much frustration. There was so much pain. There were so many abandonment and self-worth issues. All of those things have kind of been fixed. He's a man now. He knows he's loved. He knows he can handle everything. He knows he has his community. He knows he has his village. He got the girl. He's in love. He's happy. He's accomplished a huge dream. He's a Super Bowl champion. All of those questions that he grew up with, losing his father, losing Billy, and all of those ups and downs created a confident young man who knows how to be happy. 

You're stepping away from playing Spencer in front of the camera, but will you be back to direct in Season 7? 
Ezra: All of that is being decided because I don't know if they've even started writing yet, but they have told me they want me to direct again. I will definitely hold them to that because I love it. I love directing. I love our crew. I love our cast. I'm going to miss everybody, so whenever I have a chance to come back and play, I'll take it. And directing is so new to me that any chance I have to direct, I'll take it, but this one in particular, I'd jump at the chance to direct again. So, I hope so. 

What do you think it is about this character and this show that has resonated with so many people over the seasons? 
Ezra: I was thinking about this the other day. I think All American is the kind of perfect blend of the old and the new. There's something reminiscent about the high school shows of the '90s and 2000s. You're following this group of kids and watching them grow up and go through life day to day, like on One Tree Hill, Friday Night Lights, and The O.C., and those kinds of things. But it's also very for today. It's a response to young people today, and we touch on things like depression and drug addiction. We really told those stories when everything happened with Black Lives Matter. We leaned into the NIL and the NFL. It's very much of today, but there's something old school about it. It's six seasons over the course of COVID and two strikes, and we were almost canceled in Season 1. We survived all of it, and not a lot of shows can say they did that. 

All American Season 6 is now streaming on the CW app. Seasons 1-5 are now streaming on Netflix.