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King of the Hill
King of the Hill returns for another season, filled with propane, some content concerns and episodic adventures highlighting cultural change.
For some, football can be a way to escape problems. For others, it’s where the problems begin.
And for a few, it’s both.
Take Spencer James, the character at the heart of The CW’s All American when it began in 2018. In that first season, Spencer feels more like himself under the lights of the football field than anywhere else. He sees everything. He watches the twitch of the opposing players’ fingers, the shifting of their cleats, and the bending of their knees. These subtle indicators allow him to create scoring opportunities out of thin air.
Nothing can stop Spencer on the field. But off of it, everything is against him. His neighborhood is riddled with gang activity and injustice. More good kids there get pulled into that darkness every day.
Head Coach Billy Baker offers Spencer a way out by playing on the Beverly Hills football team. Spencer manages to become nearly unstoppable as a player and person, despite the challenge of balancing his love for his community and his NFL dreams.
As the seasons progress, Spencer makes sacrifices and fights for the good of his loved ones and his future, eventually moving on to his first season playing football in college—and then, by the end of Season 6, the NFL.
In the show’s seventh season, we’re introduced to a whole new cast of characters—the next generation of American football players. To be clear, some of the old characters stuck around, but Spencer isn’t one of them. Now, in the eighth and final season, we follow KJ, a Beverly High School quarterback grappling with many of the same issues Spencer faced—especially since, with his dad as the school’s coach, his performance could result in his father losing the job.
Throughout the show, All American’s characters go through various romantic relationships. Spencer’s best friend, Coop, is a woman who dates another woman. The characters her have strong chemistry, and the drama is entertaining. But just as Baywatch once famously did, this show’s popularity is tied to the fact that good-looking characters, both male and female, often aren’t wearing much. Men frequently shed shirts, while women don revealing outfits. Romantic interludes happen primarily offscreen. That said, many characters kiss and are shown before and after implied intimacy.
Amid the victories and defeats of the football team, the players learn how to fight for themselves and each other. The racial justice issues are heavy and center around important themes. But the stories this popular series tells obviously involve some sexual themes, as well as scattered coarse langue and some violence.
Despite some inspiring messages, this engaging football drama may not win All-American accolades in every family.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
KJ overworks himself in the gym, causing others to worry about his mental state. Meanwhile, KJ’s father discovers his coaching job might be in jeopardy.
A man references masturbation. Male and female couples kiss. Coop tells a man to wear protection whenever he has sex, and the man responds that he’s “not sleeping with all of” the women he sees. A woman wears tight, form-fitting workout attire. Someone wears a dress revealing cleavage.
People drink beer. A woman brings wine to an event.
We hear instances of “a–,” “d–n,” “h—,” “p-ss,” “ho” and “crap.” God’s name is used in vain once.
Spencer and his friends are having a Halloween party when a S.W.A.T. team shows up with guns at the ready. Olivia thinks the phone call that brought them was made by one of Spencer’s college football teammates, a player named Wade. Oliver suspects Wade because because she had been investigating his past for her job as a journalist. Meanwhile, Coop points out that the S.W.A.T. team’s unannounced entrance was against the law.
Spencer and Olivia struggle with their loyalty to each other and their respective fields. People in two other relationships have important conversations. Jordan gets himself into trouble defending his sister from Wade. Spencer and Jordan have a good homecoming game.
Spencer and a former high school teammate who plays for the opposing college team make bet over who is will win the homecoming game. Coop hold hands with Paitence. They kiss, and she they slept together and talk about going away to work on their relationship. Coop later kisses a different girl before telling her that she slept with Paitence. Jordan punches Wade in the face and breaks his hand.
We hear “h—” and “a–” a few times.
Spencer, his family and friends go through a gang-related tragedy once again. Olivia Baker, who’s now Spencer’s girlfriend, pushes him to take the football scholarship he has been offered to Toldeo State. Layla tries to cope with the aftermath of a traumatic encounter. Billy and Spencer fight over Spencer’s choice to keep training Jordan Baker, Billy’s son and star quarterback.
Onscreen, Coop is shot, and the person who shot her is killed. Coop’s girlfriend, Patience, worries about her alongside Spencer in the hospital. Layla’s friend Carrie is shown trying to convince her that it is a good idea to commit suicide together before Layla talks her down. The characters mention that the person who shot Coop had been involved in a drug set up.
We hear “d–n” a few times.
Spencer is faced with a difficult decision when Coach Baker asks him to start playing with Beverly High. Even after he accepts, everything feels steeped in conflict as he attempts to win over the new team and find his footing in such a different environment. Spencer forms a quick connection with Leila, a teammates’ girlfriend, which creates tension between the two players.
After the game, there is a drive-by shooting, and a man is shown lying on the ground shot. The statistics behind gangs and the dangers they bring to the neighborhood are discussed. Spencer’s mom says that his struggle to choose Beverly is tied to his fears about becoming like his father, who left when he was young.
Billy Baker’s daughter, Olivia, makes a joke about smoking pot, and a few other suggestive comments are made. Olivia tells Spencer about her past with substance abuse. A party is shown that includes drugs and alchohol, characters take shots together and aderall is mentioned. The football boys convince Spencer to drink so that they can out play him in practice the next day.
Cheerleaders dance in revealing uniforms. Coop, Spencer’s female best friend, flirts with another woman.
The words “d–n” and “a–” are said a few times.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He’s also an avid cook. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
King of the Hill returns for another season, filled with propane, some content concerns and episodic adventures highlighting cultural change.
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