Abbott Elementary

''Abbott Elementary'' is an American mockumentary sitcom television series created by Quinta Brunson for ABC. It stars Brunson as a second-grade teacher at Abbott Elementary, a fictional predominantly Black school in Philadelphia. The ensemble cast includes Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and William Stanford Davis.

The series premiered as a midseason entry in the 2021–22 television season on December 7, 2021, and was met with critical acclaim; the show's first season was nominated for seven Primetime Emmy Awards, winning three. In March 2022, the series was renewed for a 22-episode second season, which premiered on September 21, 2022.

Premise

A documentary crew is recording the lives of teachers working in underfunded, mismanaged schools. One of the places they have decided to document is Philadelphia's Willard R. Abbott Elementary School, a predominantly Black Philadelphia public school. Conditions at the school are harsh and most teachers do not last more than two years. Second grade teacher Janine Teagues and history teacher Jacob Hill are two of three teachers in a group of twenty to make it past one year. They work with experienced kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard, second grade teacher Melissa Schemmenti, tone-deaf school principal Ava Coleman, and recent substitute hire Gregory Eddie.

Cast and characters

Main

* Quinta Brunson as Janine Teagues, an optimistic second-grade teacher who has a mission to help the lives of her students while also managing her own personal life.
* Tyler James Williams as Gregory Eddie, a substitute, later full-time, first-grade teacher who harbors a crush on Janine. Gregory originally applied to be the school's principal and is upset with an unqualified Ava for taking the job he worked hard to obtain.
* Janelle James as Ava Coleman, the school's inept principal who enjoys picking on and bullying her co-workers, specifically Janine. She also harbors an attraction to Gregory, which she does not hide. It is revealed that Ava obtained her job as principal after blackmailing the superintendent.
* Lisa Ann Walter as Melissa Schemmenti, a second-grade teacher with questionable connections.
* Chris Perfetti as Jacob Hill, an awkward history teacher who supports Janine and her mission.
* Sheryl Lee Ralph as Barbara Howard, an old-school kindergarten teacher whom Janine looks up to. She is wary of new technology and prefers to teach the way she has for her entire career.
* William Stanford Davis as Mr. Johnson (season 2; recurring season 1), the school's eccentric, but surprisingly talented, custodian.

Recurring

* Zack Fox as Tariq Temple, Janine's ex-boyfriend who is an aspiring rapper.
* Reggie Hayes as Denzel Collins (season 1), the school's superintendent who, at first, is blackmailed by Ava to keep her job because she caught him cheating on his wife.
* Iyana Halley as Taylor Howard (season 1), Barbara's daughter who briefly dates Gregory.
* Larry Owens as Zach, Jacob's boyfriend.
* Nikea Gamby-Turner and Reggie Conquest as Shanae and Devin (season 2; co-starring, season 1), cafeteria workers at the school.
* Nate' Jones as Amber (season 2; guest, season 1), the parent of a student in Gregory, later Janine's class who brings her son into school late. She also takes a liking to Gregory, flirting with him on numerous occasions.
* Ambrit Millhouse as Alley Williams (season 2; co-starring, season 1), a teacher who has worked at Abbott for nine years.
* Lauren Weedman as Kristin Marie (season 2), Melissa's estranged sister who works at a rival school.
* Keyla Monterroso Mejia as Ashley Garcia (season 2), an easily distracted teachers aide that is sent to Abbott to help Melissa with her combined second and third grade classes.
* Courtney Taylor as Erika (season 2), a friend of Janine from her relationship with Tariq who is the aunt of a student.

Guest

* Kate Peterman as Tina Schwartz, an overwhelmed teacher who is fired for physically attacking a student. She is later hired at a rival charter school.
* Jim Gardner as himself (season 1), a news anchor on WPVI-TV, beloved by the staff.
* Brian Scolaro as Vinny (season 1), a friend of Melissa who is a criminal.
* Bruno Amato as Gary (season 1), the vending machine stocker who Melissa is attracted to.
* Lela Hoffmeister as Courtney Pierce, a student of Melissa who is troublesome for Janine when transferred to her class.
* Richard Brooks as Gerald (season 1), Barbara's husband.
* Sheila Shaw as Mrs. Temple (season 1), a teacher who retires from Abbott.
* Mitra Jouhari as Sahar (season 1), Janine's friend who briefly works at Abbott as a volunteer art teacher.
* Orlando Jones as Martin Eddie (season 1), Gregory's unsupportive father.
* Gritty as himself (season 2), the mascot of the Philadelphia Flyers who Janine hires for a school mixer.
* Zach Evans, Maise Klompos and James III as Tyrone, Megan and Harold (season 2), members of a theatre troupe that visit Abbott.
* Leslie Odom Jr. as Draemond Winding (season 2), the owner of Legendary Schools, a charter organization who plans to make Abbott a charter school.
* Jerry Minor as Mr. Morton (season 2), an eighth grade science teacher who works with Jacob.
* Raven Goodwin as Krystal (season 2), the mother of a student in Barbara's class who wears inappropriate clothing.
* Taylor Garron as Tasha (season 2), a teacher who typically avoids Janine, and is befriended by Melissa and Barbara when she is away.
* Bella-Rose Love as Trinity (season 2; co-starring, season 1), a student of Janine.
* Vince Staples as Maurice (season 2), a close friend of Gregory who takes a liking to Janine.
* Andre Iguodala as himself (season 2), a professional basketball player who Ava is dating.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2021–22)

Season 2 (2022)

Production

Background

In an interview on ''Good Morning America'', Brunson revealed that the fictional school of ''Abbott Elementary'' is named after Joyce Abbott, one of Brunson's elementary school teachers, and that her mother's job as a teacher for 40 years is what led her to create the series. Brunson also stated that Barbra Howard, a character portrayed by Sheryl Lee Ralph, is based upon her mother.

Development

On September 3, 2020, an untitled workplace comedy pilot starring Brunson landed a put pilot commitment at ABC with Brunson, Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker serving as executive producers.

In February 2021, ABC gave the project an official pilot order, originally with the title of ''Harrity Elementary''. In May, the project was given a series order under a new name of ''Abbott Elementary''. Filming for the first season began on August 16, 2021, in Los Angeles, California, and concluded on November 5, 2021. In August, three crew members tested positive for COVID-19 but production was not impacted.

The first season premiered on December 7, 2021, and concluded on April 12, 2022, consisting of 13 episodes. On March 14, 2022, just before the first season was set to conclude, the series was renewed for a second season.
According to a tweet made by Quinta Brunson, the first day of filming for the second season began on July 18, 2022. On July 21, 2022, ABC ordered the second season of 22 episodes, giving it a full-season order.

Casting

In March 2021, Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, and Sheryl Lee Ralph were announced to star in the series alongside Brunson. In November of the same year, William Stanford Davis was confirmed to recur as Mr. Johnson, the janitor. Brunson portrays Janine Teagues, the optimistic second-grade teacher who leads the series and its ensemble. Williams portrays Gregory Eddie, a substitute first-grade teacher who harbors a crush on Janine. James portrays Ava Coleman, the school's inept principal. Walter portrays Melissa Schemmenti, a second-grade teacher alongside Janine. Perfetti portrays Jacob Hill, an awkward history teacher, and Ralph portrays Barbara Howard, an old-school kindergarten teacher whom Janine looks up to.

In an interview with ''Insider'', Brunson revealed that her character of Janine Teagues was originally planned to be just a side character in the series, as a staff member of Abbott. During the initial visions of the series, Barbara Howard was meant to be the "driving force" of the series.

In July 2022, just months prior to the series returning for its second season, it was announced that Davis would be promoted to series regular for the season. Additionally, a week before the season premiere it was announced via ''The Wrap'' that the season would see the introduction of various recurring guest stars, including Lauren Weedman as Kristen Marie, Leslie Odom Jr. as Draemond Winding and Keyla Monterroso Mejia as Ashley Garcia. All of whom appeared within the first eight episodes of the season.

The second season also featured a cameo from Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty in the premiere episode, which garnered a large amount of online attention. When asked by the National Hockey League, executive producer Patrick Schumacker stated that Gritty's appearance in the series was "a long time coming." He revealed that Gritty was originally due to appear in one of the early episodes of the first season, but scheduling conflicts delayed the cameo.

Music

The series does not use any original music or score written or recorded for it, instead using pre-existing and/or library music, often used as diegetic music (or source music), often performed "live" by cast members. The previously released song, "Hold'em", performed by Maker, was used as its main title theme.

Release

In the US, the show airs on ABC. In Australia and New Zealand the show was first released on Disney+ under the Star content hub on February 16 as a Star Original with a 6 episode premiere with new episodes weekly before airing in several countries in Europe such as UK, France, Italy and Germany.

In Canada, the series airs on Global, with episodes available to stream on the Global TV app the next day. The first season is currently available to stream on Disney+ under the Star content hub.

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an approval rating of 98% with an average rating of 8.3 out of 10, based on 45 reviews. The site's critical consensus said, "''Abbott Elementary'' earns top marks for its empathetic yet sidesplitting critique of the U.S. education system, plus some extra credit for a deftly handled will-they-won't-they dynamic." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 80 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Angie Han of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' said " tworks well enough to deliver a consistent good time — and I suspect that given time, ''Abbott Elementary'' could blossom into something truly special". Han also said the first episodes " rea willingness to deal with class head on, while also finding humor in the characters' situations", and concluded that ''Abbott Elementary'' is "crowd-pleasing."

On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has received an approval rating of 100% with an average rating of 9 out of 10, based on 11 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Class is back in session and the plucky teachers of ''Abbott Elementary'' remain an absolute delight, with creator/star Quinta Brunson's savvy and sweet sensibility honed to perfection." Meanwhile, Metacritic has reported an average rating of 90 out of 100, based on eight reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

Ratings

Including viewership recorded over a 35-day period through "linear and digital platforms" (known as MP35) after its original broadcast, the pilot episode on December 7, 2021, increased to a 2.4 demographic rating, with 7.1 million viewers. ABC said the 300% increase was its "largest percentage growth for any new comedy premiere". The viewership of the second episode, "Light Bulb", increased by 5.6 million viewers to 9 million after 35 days.

Season 1

Season 2

Accolades

Notes

References

External links

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{{ABCNetwork Shows (current and upcoming)

2020s American workplace comedy television series
2020s American school television series
2020s American black sitcoms
2020s American mockumentary television series
2020s American single-camera sitcoms
2021 American television series debuts
American Broadcasting Company original programming
English-language television shows
Television series by 20th Century Fox Television
Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios
Television shows set in Philadelphia
Television shows set in Pennsylvania
Television series about educators
Elementary school television series
American LGBT-related sitcoms
Primetime Emmy Award-winning television series