Willard R. Abbott Elementary School is a predominantly Black Philadelphia public school where a documentary crew is recording the lives of teachers working in underfunded, mismanaged schools. Conditions at the school are harsh and most teachers quit after their second year. Optimistic second-grade teacher Janine Teagues is determined to help her students despite the circumstances. She works with awkward, good-intentioned history teacher Jacob Hill; experienced, no-nonsense kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard; and experienced second-grade teacher Melissa Schemmenti, Barbara's close friend, who has questionable connections. They are joined by new school principal Ava Coleman, who is tone-deaf, unqualified, and uninvested, and recent substitute hire Gregory Eddie, who was rejected after applying for the position of principal.
Quinta Brunson as Janine Teagues, a second-grade teacher at Abbott who hopes to improve the lives of her students by making the best of the poor situation the school district makes teachers work in.
Tyler James Williams as Gregory Eddie, at first a substitute for a recently-fired first-grade teacher, but later becomes a full time teacher, and who quickly harbors a crush on Janine.[2]
Janelle James as Ava Coleman, the school's tone-deaf principal who consistently bullies Janine and gives the staff reasons to believe she is poor at her job; a job which she received after blackmailing the superintendent.
Lisa Ann Walter as Melissa Schemmenti, a second-grade teacher at Abbott who has questionable connections with the Philly locals, but uses them to help the school.
Chris Perfetti as Jacob Hill, an eighth-grade history teacher who tries his best to help Janine with her plans to improve Abbott.[2]
Sheryl Lee Ralph as Barbara Howard, a religious kindergarten teacher, adamant about keeping with tradition, and a mother-figure whom Janine looks up to.
The fourth season is scheduled to premiere in fall 2024.[52]
Production
Background
Brunson said that her mother's forty-year career as a schoolteacher inspired her to create Abbott Elementary, named after Joyce Abbott, one of her elementary school teachers.[53] The series is set in Brunson's hometown, Philadelphia. She said that Barbara Howard (played by Sheryl Lee Ralph) is based on her mother.
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.[54]
In February 2021, ABC gave the project an official pilot order, originally with the title of Harrity Elementary.[55] In May, the project was given a series order under a new name of Abbott Elementary.[56][57] Filming for the first season began on August 16, 2021, in Los Angeles, California, and concluded on November 5, 2021.[58][59] In August, three crew members tested positive for COVID-19 but production was not impacted.[60]
The first season premiered on December 7, 2021,[61][62] 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.[63]
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.[64] The second season premiered on September 21, 2022.[65] On January 11, 2023, ABC renewed the series for a third season.[66] In May 2023, the Writers Guild of America strike occurred which impacted on the production of third season.[67] On November 10, 2023, ABC picked up the series for a full third season of 14 episodes.[68] The third season premiered on February 7, 2024, with a two-episode premiere.[69] Three days after the third season premiere, it was also renewed for a fourth season.[52]
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.[70] In November of the same year, William Stanford Davis was confirmed to recur as Mr. Johnson, the janitor.[71] 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.
And then [Warner Bros] said, 'You're crazy if you think we are buying the show without you in it, and I was like, 'Oh, okay. That's fair.' So, I had to put myself in it.[72]
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.[73] 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,[74] 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.
"Gritty was always, from the start, a Philadelphia institution that we wanted to incorporate into the show," "The show takes place in Philly, and we try, as much as we can, to populate the show with the insider Philly, whether that's Philly slang or actual cameos from locals of note, like Jim Gardner, who's the now-retired anchor of ABC News over in Philadelphia. We try to make it as authentically local to Philadelphia as possible. Gritty was a no-brainer, and also at the top of the list."[75]
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.[76]
Release
Broadcast and syndication
In the US, the show airs on ABC and streams on Hulu with next-day availability and Disney+ through the Hulu content hub added by Disney in early 2024. The show also streams on Max after each season completes its broadcast. 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.[77][78]
In Canada, the series airs on Global, with episodes available to stream on the Global TV app the next day.[79] The first two seasons are currently available to stream on Disney+ under the Star content hub.
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."[80]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 80 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[81]
Angie Han of The Hollywood Reporter said "[it] works 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 "[are] a willingness to deal with class head on, while also finding humor in the characters' situations", and concluded that Abbott Elementary is "crowd-pleasing."[86]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has received an approval rating of 100% with an average rating of 9 out of 10, based on 22 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."[82] Meanwhile, Metacritic has reported an average rating of 88 out of 100, based on ten reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[83]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the third season has received an approval rating of 100% based on 10 reviews.[84] Meanwhile, Metacritic has reported an average rating of 82 out of 100, based on seven reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[85]
Ratings
Viewership and ratings per season of Abbott Elementary
Quinta Brunson, Ava Coleman, Riley Dufurrena, Justin Halpern, Joya McCrory, Morgan Murphy, Brittani Nichols, Kate Peterman, Brian Rubenstein, Patrick Schumacker, Justin Tan, Jordan Temple, and Garrett Werner
