All American Homecoming Addresses Casting Shake-Up And Simone's Love Triangle In Season 3 Premiere

When the news broke that Peyton Alex Smith and Kelly Jenrette would be exiting All American: Homecoming as series regulars going into the third season, it sparked questions about how the exits would be handled. All American: Homecoming's season 3 opener, "Ready or Not," spends its time as a flashback episode, taking place between the end of freshman year and Simone's arrival at the beginning of junior year, to explain the series of events that brought about Damon and Amara's departures.

In the end, Simone chose to pursue a romantic relationship with Damon at the conclusion of her freshman year. After all that they had been through together and the connection that has existed between them since they met, ultimately, giving this relationship she has wanted for a long time a real chance was the way to go.

But, although Simone and Damon start out happily together, it does not take long for things to go sideways after the Bringston Lions become champions. Bringston wants to be known for academics in addition to athletics, and that means moving some of the money away from sports teams.

Ultimately, it is revealed that the baseball team will be cut, which leaves Damon still a year away from eligibility to play for the MLB. Since he already used the transfer portal, Damon remains uncertain about where his future is going.

But, when Damon discovers that he has an offer to continue playing baseball for a year that will bridge the gap between Bringston and the MLB, and give him a real chance at his dream, Damon has to take it, even though it means leaving Georgia for the Dominican Republic.

As for Amara, determination to stand up more for HBCUs and the students of Bringston has Amara leave for a part-time position working for the Vice President's HBCU committee in Washington D.C., even though she still holds her job as Bringston's President. Amara's departure makes way for Simone, Keisha, and Nate to move into her apartment for their junior and senior years.

As Amara and Damon were massive parts of Simone's journey, losing them both as constant presences at once will certainly be a big loss to her. However, this is All American: Homecoming's opportunity to prove that the rest of its ensemble cast is strong enough to keep its chosen family strong and alive

The time jump also hints at a stronger emotional bond between JR and Keisha after she donated her bone marrow to help his recovery. Although playing baseball is no longer at the forefront of JR's mind, he is dedicated to bringing the sport back to Bringston.

Although All American: Homecoming still has plenty of episodes left, its premiere episode of the final season spends most of its time giving context to what will follow rather than jumping headfirst into the storylines that this new school year will take on. It will be interesting to see how All American: Homecoming's final season wraps itself up in its last installment of episodes.