Abbott Elementary

(our new favorite show)

Bea and I have a show to recommend—one that we both love! It’s the new ABC mockumentary-style sitcom Abbott Elementary, about an under-resourced, majority-Black public school in Philadelphia. Created by and starring comic and writer Quinta Brunson, who plays an idealistic young second grade teacher named Janine Teagues, it’s sweet, funny, and refreshingly realistic. So far we’ve seen episodes about the difficulties teacher face when they don’t have the supplies they need (like glue or working light fixtures), the camaraderie and rivalries that emerge with any high-pressure job, and the painful but inevitable differences between a veteran teacher and a newbie (“Where’s your class?” “Out in the hallway in a single file”). The show has a lot of teachers talking, but we think it makes a good family show too. Plus, Bea immediately recognized Lisa Ann Walter, who played Chessy in The Parent Trap.

Are there things that go over Bea’s head? Absolutely. I don’t think she has any idea what the Illuminati is, or why a “70-year old man who voted for Kanye” subbing in a classroom might be, in Ms. Teagues’s opinion, a bad idea. But she definitely gets the show’s core message about school as a messy, complicated place where kids want to be and need to be, and about all the work that goes into teaching. It’s also a good starting place for talking about equity ideas—from why some schools have plenty while other schools don’t even have working toilets (!) to how gifted programs can make some kids feel left out (“When you give some kids chickens, other kids are gonna get snakes”). Or, crucially, why dedicated teachers are the most important resource of any school.

Plus, as Bea says, “it’s really funny, and it’s real. Like, it’s not an animated cartoon.” (Though she and her sister are fond of cartoons. And snakes, for that matter.) Her favorite characters are Barbara and Janine (pictured below).

Quinta Brunson named the show after her sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Abbott. Here’s a clip of Jimmy Kimmel surprising her with a visit from Mrs. Abbott:

Bea says if she had a show about a second grade class she’d call it “Griffin Elementary.”

Have you seen Abbott Elementary? Any other new shows you love?