Cody Christian’s Asher Adams missed “All American’s” finale due to budget limits and scheduling conflicts, showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll said.
“Honestly, our hands were tied with budget for bringing people back, and timeline and coordinating everyone’s schedules, and how much storyline we could fit into the show,” Carroll told TVLine. “It was one of those things where it just didn’t line up, and I knew he was off doing other things.”
Budget and scheduling stopped Asher Adams from returning
Carroll said the decision came down to practical limitations. The production had to decide which returning cast members were essential to the story they wanted to tell in the finale.
“We thought, ‘Who, on this timeline, can we bring back that we can afford to bring back, that has to be here for the Baker twins?'” Carroll explained, referencing the birth of Spencer and Olivia’s children as a key finale moment.
She added: “If budget hadn’t been a concern, I would have said, ‘Look, let’s shoot for as many days as we need and bring back as many of the OGs as we can.'”
Who did return for the finale
The final season brought back Daniel Ezra as Spencer James, Samantha Logan as Olivia, and Chelsea Tavares as Patience. Taye Diggs also made a cameo appearance as Billy Baker in the finale.
Where Asher’s story ended
Asher first appeared in the “All American” pilot and evolved from an antagonist to Spencer’s close friend and a core member of the “Vortex” friend group. After learning he had a heart condition that made playing football dangerous, he shifted to coaching.
The last we saw Asher at the end of season six, he and girlfriend Jaymee were raising their son AJ together and had relocated to New York for his coaching position, according to TVLine.
The finale’s happy endings
The series wrapped with resolution for most of the main cast. After a six-year time jump, Spencer stepped away from the NFL as a three-time Super Bowl champion. Jordan Baker earned the NFL’s High School Head Coach of the Year award for his work at South Crenshaw. Coop was sworn in as a lawyer, and Jordan and Layla had a daughter.
All eight seasons of “All American” are available to stream on Netflix, with the final season dropping Oct. 6. Catch season eight on The CW app.
Reporting from The Hollywood Reporter and TVLine contributed to this story.
