'Abbott Elementary' Might Be Your New Favorite Workplace Comedy

By Kaleena Rivera | TV | January 6, 2022 |

By Kaleena Rivera | TV | January 6, 2022 |

Although the mockumentary-style sitcom has been a television fixture for quite some time now—to give you an idea, NBC’s The Office has been off the air for nearly ten years, and it’s nowhere near the first tv program to use the style—many of us still find the format to be a source of amusement. This goes double for workplace comedies, thanks to the soul-crushing nature of most jobs. It can be argued that few jobs are quite as soul-crushing as being a teacher in the United States, a profession that is somehow lauded as one of the most important roles in society while consistently being the most disrespected in regard to treatment and pay. Between apathetic (at best) governing bodies and the daily struggles that come with spending a not-insignificant time with kids, the profession makes for a perfect mockumentary subject. Thankfully, writer/comedian/producer/actor Quinta Brunson has obliged us by developing Abbott Elementary for ABC, a weekly comedy series about a group of teachers as they cope with the relentless challenges that come with working in the public school system.

Brunson stars as Janine Teagues, a second-grade teacher at the titular public school. Janine is still in the early days of her teaching career, which means that she’s still able to raise the shield of optimism against the slings and arrows of an education system that seems purposefully designed to impede itself. She’s powered by good intentions and wants nothing but the best for her students, but her eagerness makes her prone to more than her fair share of screwups. One of the first people she manages to antagonize is Principal Ava Coleman (Janelle James), a character who’s cartoonishly self-absorbed to the point of near villainy, though her hilarity cannot be denied. Janine has a handful of (at times, hesitant) allies, such as fellow teachers Chris Perfetti (Jacob Hill), Melissa Schemmenti (Lisa Ann Walter), and Barbara Howard (the legendary Sheryl Lee Ralph), a veteran teacher who’s long accepted the inadequacies of the public school system, who nonetheless finds herself well on the way to becoming Janine’s unwitting mentor.

Only two episodes have been released, but the snappy writing and cast chemistry are already garnering a fair amount of social media buzz. It seems to be positioning itself as a comfort watch despite the hardships of the profession. There’s plenty of material that feels extremely familiar here, including the sweet substitute teacher Gregory Eddie (Tyler James Williams), who’s clearly the other half of what will surely be a ‘will they/won’t they’ dynamic with Janine, who just so happens to be in an unfulfilling long-term relationship (you would be forgiven for thinking of Pam and Jim with this scenario). But thus far, none of the more recognizable elements are to the show’s detriment. There’s too much promise on offer here, and even if there wasn’t, the pairing of Walter and Ralph alone is worthy of a half-hour sitcom. I’m looking forward to many jokes regarding Melissa’s ability to score classroom necessities from stuff that ‘fell off a truck.’ Happily, that’s not the case as Brunson, a familiar face for those who are fans of A Black Lady Sketch Show or iZombie, brings a winning personality to a show that, due to the nature of the subject matter, is destined to dole out more defeats than wins. I like to think that not too far in the future, this country will collectively decide to fund public education (let me be optimistic, okay?) sufficiently enough that exhausted teachers don’t have to pool their money together to buy everyday items or worse. Until then, Abbott Elementary is a welcome inclusion into the workplace comedy subgenre, even if the laughs are often designed to work through the pain.

Abbott Elementary airs Tuesdays at 9pm on ABC, with episodes available to stream on Hulu the following day.

Kaleena Rivera is the TV Editor for Pajiba. When she isn’t advocating for teachers to be paid six-figure salaries (she can often be found screaming “just pay them a million dollars, already!”), she can be found on Twitter here.