The chances of Daniel Ezra as Spencer James. They shifted to guest stars instead, with the focus shifting to a new group of characters. Although the move was said to be creatively driven, it was also regarded as being in sync with the budgetary realities of managing an established show.
Channing Dungey, Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television Group, spoke to those realities in an interview with Deadline. Dungey offered a measured response when asked whether Warner Bros. Television could continue to produce All American, with a license fee that's said to be around or under $1 million an episode.
The CEO didn't rule out the possibility of All American season 8, which has yet to be renewed. The CEO acknowledged that it would be easier to collaborate with The CW and create a new show than it is to bring back a pricier and established series like All American. Still, Dungey does sound confident in the production studio's ability to produce shows under a certain budget:
We’ll see. Could we produce something for the CW if we were starting from scratch, yes, absolutely. It’s tough when you have a an established show like All American because there are some costs built into that multi season. But we’re going to put our best efforts towards it. And as for Fox, we are still working there quite avidly and we’re figuring it out. But again, it feels like it’s one of those things where you have to build the show correctly to be able to produce it for a budget. And luckily, that’s something that we have many, many years of experience doing.
What This Means For All American
There Are Different Factors At Play
When considering the future of All American, there are a few things to keep in mind. The first is that, since 2022, The CW has been under the new ownership of Nexstar. The new ownership took over from WB and Paramount, each of whom retained a minority in the network. Nexstar has aimed to make The CW profitable by replacing its established series, which were often produced by WB or Paramount's CBS Studios, with lower-cost international series and sports programming.
A license fee refers to what a network pays a production studio to air a show.
All American is the last CW show standing before the Nexstar acquisition, with dramas like Walker getting cancelled in part because of disagreements over the license fee. Dungey alludes to this being a potential issue in her response since long-running shows tend to cost more, even if many of the original All American actors have departed partly as a way of addressing the budget since veteran cast cost more to keep on board.
Our Take On All American Season 8
It Could Still Happen
Part of the reason that All American has been able to stay on with Nexstar, while other shows have not, is because the sports drama has a long-standing deal in place to stream on Netflix in the U.S. The deal is beneficial for Warner Bros. TV, according to analysts, which could potentially incentivize the studio in negotiations over season 8. For now, season 7 is drawing up its remaining episodes, but it will surely have viewers on the edge until a decision is made about the show's fate, which could happen very soon.
All American season 7 airs Mondays at 8 PM ET on The CW.
Source: Deadline
All American
- Release Date
- October 10, 2018
- Network
- The CW
- Showrunner
- Nkechi Okoro Carroll
Cast
Samantha Logan
Cody Christian
WHERE TO WATCH
- Directors
- Nkechi Okoro Carroll
- Writers
- Nkechi Okoro Carroll
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