The CW's All American seems more like a commercial for a show than an actual show itself

The New York Times

On The fish-out-of-water teen CW drama, based on the real-life football player Spencer Paysinger, "there’s no spark here, no big moment and most egregiously, no authenticity," says Margaret Lyons. "There’s a flat phoniness to all the behavior, and a patness to everything." She adds: "Friday Night Lights isn’t really about football; it’s about American manhood. All American isn’t really about football either; in the three episodes made available for review, it’s poking around ideas about race and occasionally class. Spencer endures both overt racist taunts and not-so-micro micro aggressions, and in the third episode he and Jordan face police harassment. Still, the stories feel stale and have been told far better elsewhere. In addition to its fish-out-of-water tale and football saga, All American also includes a family-secrets dimension. There’s nothing wrong with a mystery, per se, but keeping a secret is less interesting than spilling one. Over and over, All American goes for the less interesting story."

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• All American deserves credit for reminding viewers of many of their favorite shows, even if it doesn't come close to equaling them
• It's not a revelation, but a step forward in reviving a teen genre that could use some refreshing
• All American works because the writers often push its predictable plot lines further than you'd expect
• All American shows real promise, but it needs to have a focus between its Beverly Hills and Crenshaw settings
• British actor Daniel Ezra "just watched NFL" as part of his research for his All American starring role
• Meet Spencer Paysinger, the Super Bowl-winning former New York Giants linebacker who inspired All American