Until recently, you'd be mistaken for thinking workplace sitcoms were a thing of the optimistic past.
In lieu of stapler-in-jelly pranks and other cheery office hijinks, the last few years have seen darker shows exploring disillusionment with workplace culture and corruption, with Severance and The Dropout finding big audiences.
Enter: Abbott Elementary.
Now in its second season, the show — set in a chronically underfunded and mismanaged Philadelphia school, with a memorable cast of teachers and staff keeping the place afloat, against the odds — offers something we haven't seen in a while: a wholesome workplace sitcom.
It's a celebration of educators in the guise of a mockumentary, serving eye rolls and lols alongside insights into the public education system, and offering sweet advice on broadly relevant workplace dilemmas (such as how to have a "difficult conversation").
It's also an easy binge if you're catching up: At 22 minutes each, the 13 episodes of season one will flash by. (NB It wasn't conceived as a show to binge — episodes are released weekly; season two, streaming on Disney+, is up to episode 10).
Having already won three Emmys in 2022 (with that show-stopping acceptance speech from Sheryl Lee Ralph), the show just won three Golden Globes (including Best Television Series: Musical or Comedy) — taking home more awards than any other series at this year's ceremony.
"Help!" you cry, "There are too many TV shows to watch and I haven't made time for this one."
Shhh! It's time to get out your notebook, pencil case and sharpener: We're going back to school to catch you up now that Abbott Elementary is back in session.
Who is Quinta Brunson?
Abbott Elementary's creator and star is 33-year-old writer, producer, actress and comedian Quinta Brunson, who got her start in sketch comedy via a self-produced series on Instagram, before graduating to a job at Buzzfeed, first as an actor, then a producer of series including Broke and Up for Adoption.
That led to gigs writing for Adult Swim series Lazor Wulf, voicing the character of Quinta on Netflix's Big Mouth, and being cast in HBO's A Black Lady Sketch Show.
Her performance in Abbott Elementary just netted her the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series: Musical or Comedy.
Why did she make a show about teachers in Philadelphia?
Brunson was inspired by her mum, who was a kindergarten teacher in a West Philadelphia school for 40 years.
Speaking of her knack for teaching, Brunson told NPR: "It's something I've watched her do for years and continue to do, to just get a room of children to act right with nothing more than a look. I just think it's a gift."
Interestingly, Brunson originally conceived Barbara, played by Sheryl Lee Ralph and modelled on her mum, as the "driving force" of the show.
Another fun fact (this is school, after all): The show was named after one of Brunson's teachers: Ms Abbott.
So who does the show revolve around?
Our heroine is pint-sized rookie teacher Janine Teagues (played by Brunson), who as season one starts is returning for her second year at Abbott Elementary, teaching second grade.
Throughout the series, Janine goes to great lengths to serve her students — from DIY plumbing to trying to replace her classroom's rugs and embracing TikTok to raise funds for basic supplies.
Basically, she's the equivalent of a less-annoying Leslie Knope: optimistic, kind, helpful — without being irritating. (Don't @me, Leslie Knope stans).
Who else is in the Abbott Elementary cast?
We've already mentioned Sheryl Lee Ralph (who plays the stern-yet-wise kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard, who Janine accidentally calls "mom"). You might remember her powerful, partially sung speech at the 2022 Emmys, when she became the first black woman to win outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series in 35 (35!) years.
Yes, she's a singer — Tony Award-nominated no less, for her performance in the original Broadway production of Dreamgirls in 1981. And if you remember Sister Act 2 (who doesn't?) she played Florence, the mother of Lauryn Hill's character. She's a veteran of screen and stage who is finally getting her dues with Abbott Elementary.
The show also stars Tyler James Williams, playing sub-turned-full-time teacher Gregory Eddie — Janine's love interest. The pair have a will-they-won't-they-have-a-fling romantic tension (à la Pam and Jim from The Office). You might have seen Williams on Saturday Night Live, or in Everybody Hates Chris, playing Chris Rock.
Williams won the 2023 Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical-Comedy or Drama Television Series.
There are strong performances also from Janelle James, playing hilariously inept (and unprincipled) principal Ava Coleman; Lisa Ann Walter (best known for her role as Chessy in The Parent Trap) as the streetwise teacher Melissa Schemmenti; and Chris Perfetti (who played Brady in HBO series Looking) as Janine's well-meaning (but cringe-inducing) fellow newbie teacher, Mr Jacob Hill.
So it's like The Office and Parks and Rec … but in a school?
Kind of! There’s more look-to-camera eye rolls than you can throw a Philly cheesesteak at.
The show’s mockumentary style has been shaped by EP Randall Einhorn (who, not-so coincidentally, worked on The Office as a director and cinematographer).
But under Brunson’s helm, the subgenre feels renewed as something unique to Black television.
Brunson told Deadline: “It’s one thing to laugh at teachers, it’s another thing to laugh with them. And I feel like having that mockumentary style gives our audience the ability to laugh with them, they are a part of the school.”
How realistic is Abbott Elementary?
Lynnette Mawhinney, a former Philadelphia school teacher, now associate professor of Urban Education at Rutgers University, has written about how the show "humorously speaks to the real-life experiences of teachers".
For example, the pilot episode points to high rates of teacher turnover by mentioning that Janine is one of only three teachers left from a group of 20 from the previous year.
The show also gets top marks for showing how newbie teachers can burn out quickly when they overstretch themselves in the face of an unrelenting system (definitely something pandemic-era teachers in Australia can relate to).
As Barbara says early on in season one, "We are admin, we are social workers, we are therapists, we are second parents, hell, sometimes we're even first."
Xiomara Robinson, a third grade teacher and member of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, described the show as an "accurate portrayal" of the public education system, and said that like the teachers of Abbott Elementary, she brings her own resources for the students when the school runs out (in her case, soap).
The show's realism has a lot to do with the research its writers undertook: talking to teachers, and reading news and academic articles on the education system in Philadelphia.
They also drew on their own experiences. One writer, Brittani Nichols, told NPR: "I went to a high school that was, you know, 94 per cent Black and underfunded. We had to put a ballot measure to try to get funding so that we could just have a normal school experience."
I gotta ask: What is this 'Philly cheesesteak' they mention all the time?
A sandwich made from thinly sliced beefsteak and melted cheese. It's a Philadelphia special.
What's the report card from the critics?
It's an A+ from television critics, with season two scoring a 90 per cent approval rating on Metacritic and a rare 100 per cent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Vulture voted it one of the best shows of 2022, and Lucy Mangan, in her five star review for The Guardian, wrote: "The pace never flags, the character portrayals are note-perfect, the actors' timing immaculate."
So where can I watch Abbott Elementary in Australia?
Seasons one and two are both streaming on Disney+. New episodes land on Wednesdays.
You ask any more questions and you'll be receiving detention.
