The original star of the series was written off in dramatic fashion on Monday's new episode.
Taye Diggs is bidding farewell to All American. The actor was written off in shocking fashion during Monday's new episode, "Time."
Diggs -- who plays Billy Baker, and has been a starring original cast member on The CW sports drama since its debut in 2018 -- was killed off in a surprising turn of events involving a tragic bus crash.
Executive Producer Nkechi Okoro Carroll released a statement to ET on Monday, addressing Diggs' departure from the show after five years.
"It has been an honor to work with Taye over these last five seasons and to watch him bring such incredible life to the role of Billy Baker." Carrol shared. "It has truly been a gift for me and my fellow writers to write a character that was equally flawed and heroic."
"Billy was all of us and what a joy it was to watch this character grow as he raised his kids and his football players as one big family," he added. "We wish Taye the very best in this next chapter of his life and he remains a beloved member of the All American family."
Carrol added that fans likely "haven’t seen the last of Billy Baker."
In Monday's traumatic episode, Diggs' Baker is riding on a bus with his team of high school football players, when suddenly a tire blows, causing the bus to crash and end up teetering on the edge of a cliff. Baker emerges from the bus unscathed, but goes back into the bus to save a player who didn't emerge.
Soon after, the unexpectedly grim episode concludes with Billy's family learning of his death.
Diggs addressed his departure in an interview with TVLine, explaining that he "was having a great time" on the show, but felt it was time to move on.
"It was just a feeling that I got [that I was ready to leave], and I just honored that feeling," he shared with the outlet. "It was maybe mid-fourth season. I don’t even remember, to be honest, because the showrunner [Carroll] and myself are close. We’d been keeping in contact, so she had known, and we’d been talking. And we decided how to go about it, and storylines and whatnot, so it was all above board, and everyone was in the know."
All American airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on The CW.
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