Abbott Elementary is a very critically successful show and is winning lots of awards. I was hesitant to check out the show due to the fact that a show about teaching in a United States city is something I have been doing for a long time, and I just assumed the show would annoy me more than entertain me.
4. Season 3: District Job
In a strike-shortened season, Abbott Elementary finally made a switch-up to change the dynamic of the show. The show deserves credit for that. Janine left the classroom to take a district job. For starters, this is such a serious and true situation to education. If anything, Abbott Elementary‘s biggest strength is that they manage to – despite all odds – create a moments that truly speak to the truth of education in oppressed environments in this hellscape of a country. Secondly, it just really freshened up the stories and situations on the show. Now, there was another side of this coin unfortunately. The show is (or should be) about a small school that is completely ignored by the world. It should not have cameos from real-life famous people playing themselves except in the most bizarre and infrequent of circumstances. It was so much more impactful to have anonymous appearances from the weekly sub character they had covering Janine’s class than going for the cheap pops of Bradley Cooper, Kevin Hart, and Philadelphia Eagles players. This is very Parks & Rec core of them in the worst way. It really sprinkled a bunch of sour moments in to what should have been a step forward of a season.
3. Season 4: Always Sunny at Abbott Elementary
After season 3 tried to really change up the show, season 4 was a reversion to the status quo. This was for the best, and the show settled into an acceptable rhythm. It is not the best show. There are not *enough* laughs. But it is good enough. The Always Sunny crossover episode was especially charming and notable. The one big negative of the season was how the show started positioning Ava. Much like Michael Scott in The Office, she started to be loved by the characters in ways that felt not true to the world of the show. Alas. Everything must become comfort hangout television.
2. Season 1: Schur-Ism
I avoided Abbott Elementary for a longer time than was probably necessary. Very few movies or televisions capture what it really feels like to be a teacher in an oppression community school, and I figured the should just annoy me too much. Despite the reviews, I was just frankly very on guard about it.
Much to my (pleasant) surprise though, I have found (so far) that the show really does managed to recreate the spirit of what it feels like to be one of these teachers. That is not the issue. The issue is that this show is a descendant of Michael Schur-ism and all that that entails.
That means the show is well-executed, fun, easy to watch, and has a handful of moments that make you laugh out loud. Undoubtedly. It also just feels far too nice-core for its own good and at the expense of the comedy. It is a show designed to make you feel good rather than be good. And it was frankly just way too damn distracting just how similar the characters and their arcs were to characters on The Office and Parks & Recreation.
1. Season 2: At Least It Understands Charter Schools Are Evil
Abbott Elementary is a show that just decided exactly what it was before the show started and just sees no reason to leave that comfort zone. They leaned more into the idea that they can just do the most popular bits and arcs from Parks & Rec and The Office. They continued to settle more for “feel good, easy watching” than funny. This season picked up a little just in that they expanded the cast of characters effectively to keep things fresh in its first full season. It’s a show that depressed people in their twenties are supposed to base their entire personalities on. If you can keep things in perspective though, it’s perfectly solid. And very anti-charter school.
The Reel World 