Photo: “Abbott Elementary” Poster via IMDb
With season four already confirmed, “Abbott Elementary” (2021) made quite the impression on Feb. 7. “Abbott Elementary,” the mockumentary about a series of teachers and a principal in a Philadelphia public school, drew in over five million viewers the first night it premiered. Compared to season two, which drew in 5 million viewers after the first three days. The comedy started the season off with a double-episode premiere.
After season two’s cliffhanger about Janine and Gregory’s will-they-won’t-they relationship, everyone was left wondering what would happen in season three. The first episode begins with a four-month time jump from the last scenes in season two. Janine has a new career working for the district and things don’t seem to have gone well for her and Gregory. Three new district employees are introduced into Abbott: Manny, Simon and Emily. Each employee was brought by the district to help Abbott become a better school and assist when they can.
I wasn’t sure how to react when Manny ended up offering Janine a position working for the district, as Janine wasn’t working at Abbott Elementary anymore and still wasn’t dating Gregory. I definitely think that Quinta Brunson, creator of Abbott Elementary, is trying to build up suspense regarding the two of them. Even with the flashback scene when they talked about their relationship, it seemed really awkward but I won’t lose hope that they’ll end up together. Ava spent the summer at Harvard and she was on her game as a new and improved principal, until she heard a City Girls song.
Fast forward to Career Day, where Melissa is surprised with a proposal. Melissa and Gary end up breaking up after a talk about their relationship and Melissa’s opinions about getting married again.
In the third episode of “Abbott Elementary,” Janine is struggling to find an ASL interpreter for Jacob’s student. Gregory has become the ‘cool teacher,’ something he is not happy about. He actually ends up giving them advice unaware of the consequences and drama that ends up stirring amongst the eighth graders. Janine ends up almost giving up on finding an ASL interpreter but finds a loophole. Barbara even finds an unexpected “set parent” picking up one of her students every day, Tariq, Janine’s ex-boyfriend of 10 years.
In episode four, TikTok comedian Sabrina Brier guest-starred as one of the temporary third-grade teachers for Janine’s class. I was so excited when I heard she was going to be on “Abbott Elementary.” After watching so many of her TikToks, it was like she was the same person on “Abbott Elementary” and on TikTok. In the episode, a false fire alarm ended up going off and one of the firefighters said that it was caused by a cigarette in the bathroom, leading to an unexpected conversation with all of the teachers in the break room regarding smoking. A kid ended up overhearing and recorded everyone admitting their guilty pleasures. Scrambling, they put together F.A.D.E., Friends Against Drug Exposure. Not only was the presentation chaotic, but hilarious.
“Abbott Elementary” has become one of my favorite shows, from the references to Philadelphia or PA in general to Quinta Brunson: the girl who was from Vine and Buzzfeed is now a Golden Globe winner for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series-Comedy. Janine’s new career in the district has opened up a whole new chapter of plots to come and I cannot wait to see where this season goes. You can stream “Abbott Elementary” on Hulu and ABC, Wednesdays at 9 p.m. EST.
Lauren Flynn-Miller is a third-year Interdisciplinary Studies Major with minors in Journalism, Media & Culture, and Professional & Technical Writing. LF954013@wcupa.edu