Abbott Elementary is presented in a mockumentary format similar to one of The Office and Modern Family, and follows a documentary crew recording the lives of teachers working in underfunded schools including the fictional Willard R. Abbott Elementary School, a predominantly Black Philadelphia public school.
Quinta Brunson as Janine Teagues, a second-grade teacher at Abbott and hopes to improve the lives of her students by making the best of the poor situation the school district makes teachers work in.
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 in 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.
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 series was renewed for a third season in January 2023, months prior to the conclusion of the second.[5] The renewal was announced by Craig Erwich at the Television Critics Association's Winter 2023 press tour. When speaking of the third season renewal, Channing Dungey, Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television Group had this to say:
"This renewal is a richly deserved feather in the cap of Quinta Brunson, Justin Halpern, Patrick Schumacker, and Randall Einhorn, as well as the rest of the cast and crew of Abbott Elementary. Each week, this talented group of artists celebrates true unsung heroes — public school teachers. And for some extra icing on the renewal cake, our favorite group of teachers was honored this morning with two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations and last night with three Golden Globe Awards. 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."[5]
Brunson, Halpern, Schumacker and Einhorn are all expected to return as executive producers.[5][6] Writing for the season was originally expected to commence on May 1, 2023; however the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike and 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike postponed this date indefinitely.[7][8] Brunson, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Lisa Ann Walter are among those from the cast who have publicly supported the strike,[9][10][11] and as confirmed by writer Brittani Nichols, the strike affected the number of episodes and start date of the third season.[12][13][14] In May 2023, it was announced via a press release by ABC, that the season premiere would be pushed back to an early 2024 air date.[15] On November 10, 2023, ABC picked up the series for a full third season of 14 episodes.[16]
While being interviewed by Deadline Hollywood, Sheryl Lee Ralph revealed that principal photography for the third season was originally expected to commence in July 2023; however this date was pushed back indefinitely due to the strikes.[19] After both strikes were resolved, the third season was confirmed to begin filming on November 27, 2023.[20] Like the first two seasons, the interior scenes of the series are filmed at Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank in Burbank, California, with exterior shots of the series being filmed in front of Vermont Elementary School in Los Angeles.[21][22]
