In Its Fourth Season, ‘Abbott Elementary’ Shows No Signs of Slowing Down

(spoilers for the fourth season premiere of Abbott Elementary)

There’s no other show currently on air that’s doing the art of the cold open better than Abbott Elementary. The gag is clear the moment we see Ava Coleman’s (Janelle James) shocked expression upon seeing Abbott’s newest (and unique as far demographics go) student and his parents, but it doesn’t lessen the hilarious impact of lines like, “Please tell me you guys see them, too!” With news that a golf course is being constructed in their neck of West Philadelphia, and with it, some unintended effects on Abbott’s daily operations, it seems more than a bit likely this season will show the stalwart employees of Abbott Elementary being forced to deal with encroaching gentrification. Placing my bet now on how often Mr. Johnson (William Stanford Davis) is going to ask if they’re being audited.

Last spring, the Abbott Elementary finale finally gave the people what they wanted: the passionate union of series’ romantic endgame Janine (creator and showrunner Quinta Brunson) and Gregory (Tyler James Williams). There was much rejoicing, as well as speculation over what future seasons could hold, specifically as to whether or not this could spell the beginning of the largely unwelcome off-and-on rollercoaster that tends to ail sitcom couples. This is exactly why my jaw immediately descended to the floor when this week’s episode showed Janine giving her testimonial, sadly informing the audience that she and Gregory fizzled out over the summer, only to reveal seconds later that it was a joke. Oh, Abbott, how I missed you. Please don’t scare me like that again.

Their badly-hidden romance—the inevitable result of two people who are both entirely lacking in chill deciding to couple up—forces Ava to make the unusually rational decision to bring a human resources representative to Abbott (played by Ben Onyx Dowdy, returning from last season) thanks to her “summer at principal school.” Janine’s reticence to divulge her and Gregory’s relationship becomes the episode’s other major source of tension. In classic Janine panic mode, their secret is revealed in an uncomfortably public fashion at one of the worst possible times (“We are not selling drugs! We’re having sex.”).

With four Emmy wins under its belt, including Outstanding Lead Actress for Brunson and a Supporting Actress win for Sheryl Lee Ralph, it would be easy for the cast and crew of Abbott to rest on their laurels a bit, especially considering the breakneck speed the turnaround for seasons has been, in a world where the new norm is to wait years in between seasons. But it would seem that, along with not getting much in the way of rest—in addition to spearheading Abbott, Brunson is scheduled to co-write and star in a comedy alongside Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu (per Deadline, as well as whispers of another comedy series)—Brunson has also maintained a firm handle on the show’s quality at a time when it would be easy to let the crew take their collective foot off the gas and allow the audience hype machine to start doing some of the heavy lifting, an affliction that other lauded network comedies have come down with upon reaching success in their mid-to-late seasons. Happily, Abbott seems to have figured out the perfect balance of superior work delivered in a timely fashion, putting it in a rank all on its own against any of its peers.

The fourth season of Abbott Elementary airs on ABC every Wednesday, available to stream on Hulu.

Kaleena Rivera is the TV Editor for Pajiba and can be found on Bluesky.