For its seventh season, All American is going back to the basics. Series veterans Michael Evans Behling and Greta Onieogou return as regulars to reprise their roles as Jordan Baker and Layla Keating.
For the actors, who often looked to people like Taye Diggs (Billy Baker) and Karimah Westbrook (Grace James) for guidance when they first began on the show, having the current young newcomers do the same for them is a complete 180 and proof that time flies when you’re having fun.
On being the new adults on the block
“It’s really exciting,” Onieogou told Blavity’s Shadow and Act. “This season is definitely like a sort of back-to-basics moment, but it’s returning back to what made the show so great to begin with. It’s cool to be back, but sort of getting a fresh take on some of those stories we’re more familiar with, but of course, with new faces, new twists and new turns. It’s nice to be involved from a little bit of a different perspective as well, so it still feels really fresh and exciting.”
“To be able to come back and work again and play again with this crew and our writers and everybody who’s involved in the creative side of things, and then to also bring this new, fresh energy with these young, hungry actors has been a lot of fun,” Behling added. “To just kind of watch them work, and watch them kind of soak up everything, and, you know, ask questions about the experience, to come back in that regard is always a good time.”
This isn’t your high school, Layla and Jordan
Not only has this been a full-circle moment for the pair as actors, but the same rings true for their characters, who navigate life with a new outlook on some of the things that used to trouble or worry them when they were teens.
From the beginning, Onieogou’s character, Layla, has been a reference point for mental health and the importance of conversing with those who struggle to balance their well-being while attempting to appear as the “perfect” teen.
“I think a lot of the shows are better now, but growing up, a lot of the shows I would watch, if there was a sort of mental health storyline, it really did feel like a storyline. It felt like something that would sort of come and be wrapped up, and you wouldn’t really hear about it again,” she stated. “I feel like our show does really well. It really makes it clear that this is a journey.”
Onieogou added, “This is something that you continue to deal with your whole life in different ways, and you have new tools, and so you have better ways to deal with problems that may come up. I think Layla is a really good example of how we do that on our show. Mental health is something that is always on the forefront, something she’s always conscious of, and this season is no different.”
Behling says his character, Jordan, has much more patience than he had during his teen years.
“I think he’s got a newfound understanding for all the hardships and just the pressure that Billy was facing,” he shared. “And so I think he gives Dad grace, and in giving his dad grace, he approaches life, and being this mentor, really trying to step into Billy’s shoes in a different way, whereas, I think before, he was trying to be Billy. And to do all the things that he thought Billy wanted. Now, we’re kind of seeing him grab bits and pieces of what Billy was and kind of the things that he brought, but at the same time, making it his own, and just focusing on the kids mostly, and just being there.”
When asked to summarize their character’s vibe for Season 7 of All American, Behling and Onieogou say it’d be Aretha Franklin’s “Respect.”
New episodes of All American air on The CW every Monday at 8 p.m. ET.
The post ‘All American’ Stars Michael Evans Behling And Greta Onieogou Talk Full-Circle Moment In Season 7 appeared first on Blavity.
