It may have taken a while, but Abbott Elementary is reopening for the year! After sweeping several awards ceremonies with its stellar first season (and picking up several more nods for this year's Emmys with season 2), ABC's beloved workplace comedy was renewed for its third season back in January 2023. “Each week, this talented group of artists celebrates true unsung heroes—public school teachers,” Channing Dungey, chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television Group, told Variety in January 2023. “Abbott Elementary is the gift that keeps on giving, and I look forward to many more magnificent episodes of this brilliant, authentic, and just plain funny series.”
Abbott season 3 was perhaps the most heartbreaking delay of last year's WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, as the sitcom was originally planned to return to air last fall. Fans have been waiting with bated breath for their weekly dose of serotonin (as well as an answer to the season 2 finale's romantic cliffhanger) ever since. Now that the strikes are well behind us and season 3's officially on its way, here's what we know about the new episodes so far.
When does 'Abbott Elementary' season 3 premiere?
Mark your calendars: ABC has announced that Abbott Elementary's third season will premiere on February 7, 2024, at 9 p.m., returning to its Wednesday night time-slot with a special hour-long(!) episode. The season will come in at 14 episodes total, per Deadline, down from season 4's 22 (sigh).
Is there a trailer for Abbott Elementary' season 3?
The first teaser for the new season promises a new set of antics to deal with, including Principal Ava (Janelle James) planting new cameras all over the school and Janine (creator Quinta Brunson) receiving new iPads for her students, most of which aren't working.
Where can you stream 'Abbott Elementary' season 3?
If you don't have access to your local ABC channel, new Abbott episodes will be available to stream the next day on Hulu in the U.S. and on Disney+ internationally. Seasons 1 and 2 are also available to stream if you'd like to rewatch or catch up before the new season arrives.
What will 'Abbott Elementary' season 3 be about?
While Abbott is primarily about the dedicated group of teachers and their day-to-day lives keeping their underfunded Philly public school afloat, the show also keeps a bit of romantic angst going with the will they/won't they pairing of Janine and Gregory (Tyler James Williams). In an interview with TV Line, Quinta Brunson broke down their big moment at the end of season 2, where Janine and Gregory confessed that they liked each other, but Janine decided she needed some time to herself before entering a new relationship.
"Especially Janine, at the end of this kind of growth path we’ve had for her this season, I wanted her to be able to make a decision that she felt was best for herself after learning new information about herself," Brunson told the outlet. "It’s more about maturity. She’s maturing, he’s maturing. We wanted that mature path to continue for them both as individuals. I kind of want the characters to be able to grow a little bit more as individuals, so we can see where they land."
So, expect season 3 to continue the long road toward Janine and Gregory finally getting together. (Or possibly not, if you're against that endgame.) Either way, Brunson also confirmed that their relationship won't be the main focus of the show. “Our show isn’t about dating. It’s about this school, it’s about the kids, etc. So Janine and Gregory are not the No. 1 storyline of Abbott. It’s the school and the kids. So it feels good to kind of have them be a mess in the background, because it’s very often how dating goes.”
