When I first heard about the show, Abbot Elementary, I could not help but attach to it the stigma of network TV comedies that were not as bold or funny as their premium channel counterparts like Insecure or Barry. But I started to watch and once I finished the first episode I realized that every joke had landed.  Whether that be the first scene where Janine (Quinta Brunson) goes around her 2nd grade classroom and reviews one of her students’ sentences and it says  “My favorite movie is American Gangster. And my favorite character is Frank Lucas.” and Janine replies ” And I will be having a third talk with your mom about what you’re watching at home,” or when Barbara Howard (Sheryl Lee Ralph) says to a break room full of frustrated teachers ready to quit, “there are more turnovers here than a bakery”, each joke lands and is able to keep a consistent and honest tone of what teachers really experience in their daily workdays.

Quinta Brunson, the show’s creator had been a comedian turned online personality and then started gaining a Twitter following that rivaled most bestselling authors, gaining fame for a series of memes.these and even titled her critically acclaimed book of essays, She Memes Well.  While all of these different mediums show different aspects of Quinta’s talents it seems like Abbot Elementary is the perfect culmination of  these experiences. Brunson used the experiences of her mother, a public school teacher with 30 years of experience in the Philadelphia school system, to develop the show, taking us an Office-style route that creates all new archetypes in an honest environment. Brunson writes her role Janine Teague as a genuine character who wants to desperately make an impact in her students life but, like so many real teachers, is restricted by her $35,000 salary. With every noble goal in the education system comes three times the problems.  In the first episode Brunson shows her comedic chops by creating funny but honest scenarios that teachers have to deal with on a regular basis when Janine  realizes the lack of school supplies and how it affects their abilities. While the topic can be bleak, it never gets too dark and the cast’s comedic cadence allows for a good balance between dry humor and absurd predicaments.  In the US most teachers are responsible for purchasing supplies in their own classrooms on their meager salaries and in a great gesture, the show’s creators commissioned  a bus with the show’s logo on it and handed out school supplies to Philadelphia public schools.  

Abbot Elementary excels at giving popular network tv archetypes an updated facelift and motivations that feel honest to their characters and personality.  One of these updated archetypes is seen in the character, Jacob.  Unlike a lot of teacher shows of the past like Boston Public and even Welcome Back, Kotter, the white male isn’t the white savior of the show but actually the foil in most of the situations and is usually on the butt end of the jokes.  Like a real majority black public school, the goofy white teacher is constantly teased for his neuroticism and lack of understanding in how his students communicate.  For example in episode 5, we see Jacob  bring up to his black male colleague that his students keep insulting and running the dozens with him.  Instead of telling Jacob some inspirational quote to deal with this he says that the only way they will respect him is if he comes back with witty roasts back.  And little things like this in the show make it so honest to real life.  One of the archetypes they rework into the context of the show is the one of the incompetent boss that is constantly delusional but has a clumsy charm i.e. Micheal Scott.  This character is the Principal of Abbot Elementary, Ava Coleman (Janelle James).

The first time I watched Abbot Elementary I couldn’t help but cackle with constant laughter at the character of Ava Coleman (Janelle James).  A principal who is equal parts gorgeous and ditzy with a tad bit of delusion sprinkled in, she steals every scene she is in with her selfish and comedic solutions to the very real world problems that her staff of teachers bring to her on a daily basis.  She is Micheal Scott if he was a woman who went to Essence Fest or if Claire from Clueless was picked to administer the environment for young minds to learn.  Every time Ava is in a scene she instantly steals it.  In episode 3 when Ava teaches Janine to manipulate TikTok to get school supplies donated to her class, it has the essence of classic network comedy episodes such as “The Soup Nazi” episode of Seinfield or the fire alarm episode of The Office.

Not to be upstaged, the other members of the cast really shine and will be fan favorites for different reasons, such as internet sensation Zack Fox’s character of Tariq, who is Janine’s boyfriend.  Somehow he is the personal embodiment of every “ain’t shit boyfriend” meme, i.e., driving his girl’s car while going to the studio for a delusional rap career.  Then there is Barbara Howard ( played by the ageless Sheryl Ralph), the most tenured teacher who is the teacher with the most tenure at Abbot Elementary but also ]is the second most cynical about the public school system next to Gregory Eddie (Tyler James).  He plays the role of a teacher who is just using this job as a stepping stone to a career as a principal but he is able to give an honest angle to what the position of teacher means to a lot of education professionals, namely a jumping point into a higher paid administrative position in the education system.         Quinta Brunson is able to extend the honesty of the show into the genuine acts of philanthropy she has been able to generate through it, not only with the school supplies bus but also last week when she had the show sponsor a free book fair at her old elementary school.  That previous feel good moment is only rivaled by a surprise facetime call from her 3rd elementary teacher, Ms. Abbott, which the series is named after, during her Jimmy Kimmel interview.  With Quinta Brunson’s bright talent she is bound to be the next tv star to spin off her fame and talent into a media empire and ecosystem with people that honestly fit her world.