Daniel Ezra Is Directing Episodes for New “All American” Season After Series Exit: ‘That's the Beauty of the Legacy’ (Exclusive)

Daniel Ezra may have made his All American exit as a series regular, but he’s still very much involved in the show.

Nkechi “NK” Okoro Carroll and Jameal “Jamie” Turner, both showrunners and EPs for The CW drama series, recently spoke to PEOPLE in an exclusive interview about Ezra's switch from actor to director.

“He's down on set right now,” Carroll says of 33-year-old Ezra, who left in season 6.

The English actor starred as high school-football-star-turned-NFL-pro, Spencer James. His character was loosely based on real life NFL player Spencer Paysinger.

Carroll tells PEOPLE that fans can see Ezra “both directing, which is something he started doing while he was on the show, and guest starring” in season 7.

Related: Daniel Ezra Is Leaving All American After 6 Seasons: 'Spencer's Goodbye'

“So we get him in front of, and behind, the camera,” she adds.

The showrunner, who also worked on Found and The Resident, says working on a series that has lasted for seven seasons allows growth for everyone involved.

“That's the beauty of the legacy of... a show that's been able to go this long, is there's so many members of the All American family who've been able to transition into the next step of their dreams,” she says.

Carroll tells PEOPLE, “We had Daniel become a director on this show. Karimah [Westbrook] became a director on this show. We've had gaffers who've become our DPs [directors of photography]. We've had DPs who've become directors, assistants who've become producers.”

She adds, “And so we're very proud of not only the legacy of the show on the screen, but the legacy of the show behind the scenes as well, for our crew members and our cast and everyone involved.”

Michael Evans Behling (Jordan Baker), Greta Onieogou (Layla) and Bre-Z (Coop) return as regulars for season 7, while several new cast members continue to push the storyline for the next generation of fans.

Turner tells PEOPLE their crew has “been blessed to kind of tell these full circle stories,” noting that "one of the things that we also try to pride ourselves on is the power of legacy.”

“I thank God every day,” he says of being able to tell impactful stories for seven seasons.

The fresh faces of season 7 include Osy Ikhile as Cassius Jeremy, Nathaniel McIntyre as KJ, Antonio J. Bell as Khalil and Alexis Chikaeze as Amina.

Related: All American Shakeup: 5 Cast Members Exit Ahead of Final Season, Leaving Only 3 Original Stars

“Season 7 is taking it back to where it all began: Beverly Hills High and South Crenshaw High," the show's logline reads. "It’s the same heart, same NFL dream, same crosstown rivalry, same messy hormones, ushered in by a new generation of LA teens, a new Beverly Coach and our OG vortex fam, who are surprised to find they’re supposed to be the responsible adults now.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

In addition to Carroll and Turner, Warner Bros. Television and CBS Studios in association with Berlanti Productions are behind the drama series with executive producers Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and David Strauss.

All American premiered on Monday, Feb. 3, on The CW and new episodes will air on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.

Seasons 1 to 6 of All American can be streamed on Netflix.

Read the original article on People