Taye Diggs Returning to ‘All American’ — How Can Dead Billy Baker Come Back?

Taye Diggs is returning to All American as Billy Baker! The thing is, though… Billy Baker died. Here’s all there is to know about this mysterious return to The CW sports series.

Diggs will return as Billy for a guest-star appearance in All American Season 6, which is currently airing on Mondays on The CW following its May 6 premiere, according to Deadline. Diggs will appear in the episode that airs on Monday, May 20, and the appearance perhaps makes more sense when you realize that this will be the week before All American‘s 100th episode (airing May 27).

The father and football coach was last seen in All American Season 5 Episode 11, “Time,” when he died saving his players after their bus got in an accident. While plot details about Diggs’ return are being kept under wraps for now, it will presumably be in some kind of flashback scene (or scenes!). Bringing Billy back does make sense for this season, of which a lot of time has been dedicated to grieving the loss.

All American Season 6 will consist of 15 episodes as opposed to the originally planned 13. It’s one of the few shows to make it through the massive cuts The CW made to its catalog in recent years as it began to transform its network narrative and aesthetic. Daniel Ezra, Michael Evans Behling, Samantha Logan, Greta Onieogou, Bre-Z, Chelsea Tavares, Cody Christian, Monét Mazur, and Karimah Westbrook all star in the series.

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Diggs’ exit was solely a narrative decision made by showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll. She told Variety in 2023 after the shocking episode aired that she knew while working on Season 4 that Season 5 would be Billy’s last.

Diggs was informed of the decision early on and also told TVLine that he “was having a great time” on the show, but “it was just a feeling that I got [that I was ready to leave], and I just honored that feeling.”

All American, Mondays, 8/7c, The CW