The chances ofAll Americanseason 8 get a mixed response from the top executive at Warner Bros. Television, which produces the long-running sports drama. The seventh installment of the popular series, currently airing on The CW, underwent a big change. Several original cast members exited, includingDaniel 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 withDeadline.Dungey offered a measured response when asked whether Warner Bros. Television could continue to produceAll 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 ofAll Americanseason 8, which has yet to be renewed. The CEO acknowledged that it would beeasier to collaborate with The CW and create a new show than it is to bring back a pricier and established series likeAll 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 likeAll Americanbecause 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 ofAll 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 minorityin 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 Americanis the last CW show standingbefore the Nexstar acquisition, with dramas likeWalkergetting 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 ifmany of the originalAll Americanactors have departedpartly as a way of addressing the budget since veteran cast members cost more to keep on board.
Our Take On All American Season 8
It Could Still Happen
Part of the reason thatAll Americanhas 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 Americanseason 7airs Mondays at 8 PM ET on The CW.
