Season 2 of All American is picking up after Beverly has won the football state championship. It was a tough road to get there, but Coach Baker ultimately led his team to victory. HollywoodLife talked EXCLUSIVELY with Cody Christian at the Television Critics Association summer press tour about what’s to come for Asher after that tumultuous first season. Cody said that Asher is in a much better place than he was in season 1 and he’s “realizing the mistakes that he’s made” and he’s forging “his own journey to rectify those mistakes and also rebuild. He wants to become the person and the football player that he knows that he can be and that people expect him to be. So this season is a lot about him getting back on track and finding what made him a D1 athlete in the beginning and bringing that home again and nurturing that throughout season 2.”
Asher burned a lot of bridges in season 1, so he knows that he has to work to rebuild the trust with his friends and teammates. “He has to step up and prove to people that he’s worthy of being a leader, that he’s learned from his mistakes, and whether or not he gets accepted, that’s not on him,” he continued. “He’s making all the right choices and the right decisions. He’s trying to remember what it was about football that made him want to start in the beginning and trying to find himself again.”
Just like any high school athlete, Asher’s number one priority is on his future with football. “The thing that we don’t really discuss a lot is the pressure of being a high school athlete. The scouting and the recruiting process starts as early as like sophomore year. There are college scouts who are looking at players and determining their future when these kids are 16 years old. So the fact that he has missed 4 or 5 games and he’s made the mistakes that he has, he has a lot to recover for in order to secure the future that he wants for himself.”
The first season began to explore Asher and Olivia’s past. Almost immediately, fans began shipping two characters who found each other when they least expected it. Asher and Olivia’s relationship is only going to be explored more in season 2. “I think between Asher and Olivia, if you really think about it, they’re really the only ones that know each other truthfully and wholly. Olivia knows Asher with all of his mistakes. I think Olivia is a driving force throughout season 2 to keep Asher on the right track. Because she sees who he is on the inside and constantly encourages him to be that person in his day-to-day. Season 2 gives us an opportunity to explore more and more of that relationship and to see these characters, first and foremost as friends, being so perfect and right for each other. Where that goes, I don’t know. With Asher and Olivia, I see people that put so much effort into portraying a facade because they’re so vulnerable. I think one thing our show has done excellently and hopefully continues throughout season 2 is that we provide a sense of relativity. The show, to me, is about this younger demographic and the very prevalent issue we have of finding one’s own identity in the world amidst all the bullsh*t, amidst the social media, amidst all of these things that are happening. I think Olivia and Asher, as friends, as a couple, whatever they may blossom into, gives us an opportunity to see a very truthful, authentic version of that.” All American airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on The CW.