Set at Bringston University, the All American spinoff follows college students, including Geffri Maya's Simone Hicks and baseball prodigy Damon Sims (Peyton Alex Smith), as they navigate the transformative experience at a historically Black college or university.
"This is my way of hoping I can introduce the HBCU experience and widen the horizon for our youth as a whole," shares show creator Nkechi Okoro Carroll, who wants young Black viewers to see more examples of this critical period of life on screen.
Through its characters, All American: Homecoming plans to show how young adults find themselves at college. From Black Greek life to music and art to Black excellence, Carroll is excited to explore all of what college, and an HBCU in particular, has to offer its students.
Through Bringston alum and journalism professor Amara, audiences will learn more about HBCU's legacy. "[Amara] sees herself as being a life educator for her students and the responsibilities that come with that," Carroll explains.
As a member of the show's fictional fraternity Kappa Epsilon Kappa, Jessie "JR" Raymond will be viewers' way into the world of Black Greek life. All American: Homecoming will depict life in a frat house, the pledging process, and finding a sense of brotherhood or sisterhood.
With Simone and Thea, the stories of Naomi Osaka and Serena and Venus Williams served as an inspiration. Simone's tennis career will be explored as a way to pay homage to what those groundbreaking athletes have achieved.
Nuanced conversations and writing about race also factor into All American: Homecoming. "My writers [and I] take a lot of pride in infusing both shows with additional facts about us as a people, our history, our culture because it's important,” says Carroll.
–Geffri Maya