Abbott Elementary: First Season
April 21, 2022 7:32 AM - Season 1 (Full Season) - Subscribe

Abbott Elementary's first season has finished. (ABC renewed it for a second season.) Talk about all 13 episodes here, from Pilot to Zoo Balloon.

"I know a Jacob, I know a Melissa, I know an Ava. They may not all be teachers in real life, but they’re someone in my life that I have an understanding of. My writers told me they felt the characters were so well defined in the pilot that they were able to know who those people were. That was my goal trying to get the show picked up: to put these characters directly onscreen right away so the audience knows exactly who these people are."
Quinta Brunson Is the New Queen of Sitcoms

If you didn't catch the episodes as they aired, they're all streaming (in the US) on Hulu.
posted by Monochrome (22 comments total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
This has been my new “The Good Place,” “Parks and Rec,” “Schitt’s Creek,” “Ted Lasso” etc for when I really need the escapism of watching something gentle and funny with mostly decent people striving to be mostly decent to each other. I only wish I had made the Hulu episodes last longer! (It’s been a rough 2022 so far.)
posted by blue suede stockings at 9:04 AM on April 21, 2022 [8 favorites]


I loved this. A network sitcom about good people trying to make the best possible impact on the world.

I really liked the characters, who grew on me as the show continued.

I was convinced to watch it by Brian Grubb, who is from Philadelphia:
Maybe you, like me, have had a Parks and Recreation-shaped hole inside you for the past few years. A hole that can only be filled by another similar show, a feel-good endeavor about public servants trying hard to make things better in the face of slow-moving government and lunatic citizens and all of it. Maybe, like me, you are also a lifelong resident of Eastern Pennsylvania and get a little excited when anyone on the television references Philadelphia or Philadelphia-adjacent things. (Go Birds, etc. etc.) If so, or even if not, allow me to recommend ABC’s new sitcom Abbott Elementary.
posted by simonw at 9:27 AM on April 21, 2022 [5 favorites]


The best new network show of the year, and it isn't even close.
posted by Etrigan at 9:29 AM on April 21, 2022 [7 favorites]


How's the pilot? I'm always looking for something new to watch but am wary of first season sitcoms. Is the show fully formed from the start or should we just start three or four episodes in?
posted by thecaddy at 3:21 PM on April 21, 2022


I thought the pilot was good but not great. Totally worth watching. It’s a solid show by episode 2 IMO.
posted by obfuscation at 5:25 PM on April 21, 2022 [2 favorites]


My above statement is accurate re the pilot but totally undersells how much I LOVE this show. It is outstanding and everyone should watch it.
posted by obfuscation at 5:26 PM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]


Okay, I loved Quinta Brunson on A Black Lady Sketch Show, and I was disappointed she left that show for Abbott. But this show hits so many buttons for me, especially since I live in the Philadelphia suburbs. Brunson made a really good thing.

I do love the whole cast, especially the mixing relationships between all of the teachers, but Janelle James is so funny and charming. Ava is a tough character to make horrible and lovable, but she nails it.

As much as Brunson gets right about Philadelphia, she's not been home in a bit, because the Zoo Balloon has been gone for a while. (Also, it was never flying, not once, when I went to the zoo. The barest breath of wind would ground it.)
posted by gladly at 7:21 PM on April 21, 2022 [2 favorites]


This show, I love it so. I am really curious to know what wizardry they've come up with in the writers room to flesh out these characters and relationships so strongly. By the third or fourth episode, they're doing things that some shows don't get to until year three.

It's so hard to pick a favorite episode, though I might have to go with the one where Janine is teaching the kids local words like jawn and hoagie.

Wait, no, the one where we meet Jacob's sneakerhead boyfriend. Wait, no, the one where they build a garden and Gregory HATES it but is incredibly good at it. Wait, no, anything with Melissa and Barbara being awesome.

And Ava. One of the all-time great sitcom characters! "Don't tell me what kind of day to have, getting all presumptuous and rude."
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 9:28 PM on April 21, 2022 [5 favorites]


This show is so good. We moved from South Philly to Holland in November, and discovering this show was such a ray of light. For folks that are not from Philly who may be wondering: everything Philly about this show is extremely Philly and accurate. Especially the criminal underfunding of public education, but I digress. This show absolutely rules.

The handshake and sad making it rain in the last episode may be the hardest I’ve laughed so far this year.
posted by lazaruslong at 11:51 PM on April 21, 2022 [4 favorites]


Actually that’s not true last night I was stoned and the apple screensaver came on and I misread the location of the slow mo video as Nutsack Peninsula and nearly choked to death.

(It was Nuussuaq Peninsula, Greenland)
posted by lazaruslong at 11:54 PM on April 21, 2022 [3 favorites]


Goddamnit lazaruslong I just aspirated my oatmeal.
posted by obfuscation at 5:34 AM on April 22, 2022 [2 favorites]


Sheryl Lee Ralph's entire career has been leading up to "My desks have been desked!" and it was worth it.
posted by Etrigan at 6:33 AM on April 22, 2022 [7 favorites]


I saw a tweet from a writer on the show I think that said that her diction is always so incredibly on point that they try to intentionally challenge her from time to time and this is one of them, hahah
posted by lazaruslong at 6:41 AM on April 22, 2022 [3 favorites]


Melissa taking off her earrings and handing them to a child when she saw the Peter Rabbit book art project. Gregory sliding down into his car trying to hide and eat his boiled chicken sandwich in peace. Jacob desking to ruin it for the children. Ms. Howard exclaiming "sweet baby jesus and the grown one too! my desks have been desked!" Mr. Johnson's 80s movies theme days when the teachers are away on a field trip. Tariq's anti-drug raps and his ability to accurately count kids via call and response. Literally everything Ava says and does, and everytime Janine gets too excited and runs out of breath.

This show is great, I hope they get more episodes next season.
posted by the primroses were over at 6:45 AM on April 22, 2022 [14 favorites]


Baltimore pizza. Extra crunchy and wet.
posted by General Malaise at 8:10 AM on April 22, 2022 [6 favorites]


Ohhh I needed another try hard dork lady main character so bad, thank you forever Quinta Brunson. And yes, if you haven't seen the first season of A Black Lady Sketch Show on HBO, watch now! She's got RANGE.

My mother and sister are both phenomenal and dedicated teachers and I usually cry at some point in each episode because I miss them. Such a lovely show.
posted by Isingthebodyelectric at 12:33 PM on April 22, 2022 [7 favorites]


It's a little bleak and has gotten a little close to retreading stuff I think other spitzer shows covered, but, for the most part I've really enjoyed it and the cast of characters, look forward to seeing them next season. Except the principle, I want her character around but I want her to lose that job haha, although not sure where they'd put her, so I take it back, if she wasn't in an inappropriate position she couldn't be as funny. I'm interested in this world of theirs, which is good.
posted by GoblinHoney at 12:46 PM on April 25, 2022 [1 favorite]


It took me 3 or 4 episodes to get into this but once I got to know the characters, things were funnier and then I think the writing gets sharper in the second half of the season. The characters might be there in ep 1 but the humour works better once you get to know them all.
posted by crossoverman at 1:38 AM on July 7, 2022


Quinta Brunson becomes the first Black woman with three Emmy nominations in the comedy categories (Outstanding Comedy Series, Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, Writing for a Comedy Series), but most importantly, Janelle James finally gets to talk in the group chat without getting yelled at because she has an Android.
posted by Etrigan at 7:45 AM on July 13, 2022 [4 favorites]


Quinta Brunson won the Emmy for best writing for a comedy series and Sheryl Lee Ralph won for best supporting actress in a comedy series. The latter gave a hell of a speech!

New season starts September 21st!
posted by the primroses were over at 4:57 AM on September 13, 2022 [3 favorites]


When Gregory described himself as, "a Grape Nuts fan... although, they can get a bit sugary...", that's when I was sold on this show forever and ever.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:02 AM on September 26, 2022 [4 favorites]


Finally finished this season and enjoyed it. I really feel like it's "Parks and Rec: School Edition," but there's nothing wrong with that. It's really sweet and fun and everyone works well together and it combines different characters from time to time and it works. Even Ava (sorta).
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:15 PM on October 16, 2022


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