Hit or Miss: ABC's 'Abbott Elementary'

The staff at Abbott Elementary is back in style in the first promo for the hit sitcom’s second season. After a December 2021 premiere on ABC, the show’s first season filled a thirteen episode order as a mid-season replacement on the network, airing through the winter and spring of 2022.  The half-hour comedy series quickly cemented itself as a favorite with audiences and critics alike, becoming ABC’s #1 comedy with viewers ages 18-49 and the network’s #2 show overall with the same demographic, second only to veteran medical drama Grey’s Anatomy. 

Abbott Elementary follows a group of primary school teachers and staff at an underfunded, central city Philadelphia public school, Willard R. Abbott Elementary, dubbed ‘one of the worst schools in the country.’ The mockumentary style sitcom depicts the set-backs and struggles faced by overworked but dedicated teachers trying their best to support their students. The everyday obstacles they encounter include absentee parents who fail to show up to parent-teacher conferences, a high turnover rate for new teachers, and unsympathetic bureaucrats on the school board looking to shut Abbott down entirely. Despite the often harsh realities faced by its characters, Abbott proves that with a dynamically comedic ensemble cast and fast-paced, clever writing, the path to finding a silver lining is wrought with laughable life lessons and humorous faux-paus. 

The meteoric rise to success of Abbott Elementary has earned the show a full 22 episode order for its sophomore run as well as a new timeslot, moving from Tuesdays 9:00 PM EST/PST to Wednesdays at the same time. The show’s debut season scored an impressive seven Emmy nominations, including three for its creator, executive producer, and star, Quinta Brunson. Brunson’s nominations for the upcoming 74th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 12 include Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, and Outstanding Writing for Comedy for the show’s pilot episode. 

Before creating and starring in Abbott Elementary, Brunson first gained notoriety from a series of self-produced viral comedy videos posted to her Instagram titled Girl Who Has Never Been on a Nice Date in 2014. Subsequently, she partnered with BuzzFeed Video as a content creator to produce and star in a variety of comedic shorts. In 2016, she developed two web series in partnership with BuzzFeed Motion Pictures: Broke, a scripted comedy series for YouTube Red which Brunson wrote, produced, and starred in, and Up for Adoption on Verizon go90 which was a comedy she also produced and starred in. In 2018, Brunson wrote, created, and starred in another BuzzFeed produced web series, Quinta vs. Everything, which premiered on Facebook Watch. 

Brunson’s other previous acting credits include roles in the CW’s iZombie as Dr. Charlie Collier and her twin sister, Laila, various roles in HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show, and a supporting role in TBS’s comedy Miracle Workers as Tig. Her work in animation includes voicing Quinta in Netflix’s Big Mouth, Alex in Syfy’s Magical Girl Friendship Squad, and various roles in Adult Swim’s Lazur Wolf.

Beyond Brunson’s nominations, three other Abbott Elementary cast members have also earned Emmy nods for their performances in season one. The co-stars up for Outstanding Supporting Actor/Actress in a Comedy Series include Sheryl Lee Ralph (Moesha, Motherland: Fort Salem) as kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard, Janelle James (Central Park, Life & Beth) as Principal Ava Coleman, and Tyler James Williams (Everybody Hates Chris, Dear White People) as reluctant substitute teacher Gregory Eddie.

All principal cast members are scheduled to return for the new season while season one regular William Stanford Davis, who plays school custodian and avid conspiracy theorist Mr. Johnson, has been added to the main cast. Additionally, writer-producer Patrick Schumacker (Harley Quinn, Powerless) will join Brunson as a fellow executive producer for the upcoming season. 

The season two promo opens with the main characters from season one walking in slow motion down an urban Philadelphia residential street. As Boyz II Men’s Motownphilly plays, the cast walks in V-formation, led by Brunson’s fourth-grade teacher Janine Teagues. Janine, enthusiastic to a fault, spent season one proving to herself and to her co-workers that, unlike most new teachers, she is committed to staying at Abbott and making a difference for the long haul. 

The teaser goes on to offer individual shots of the remaining staff as they strut down the street, reintroducing the show’s principal cast in preparation for its return. First, there is Ralph’s Barbara Howard, a veteran educator with a no-nonsense teaching style whose mentorship of Janine in season one displayed her deeply caring and nurturing side. Next in line is Melissa Schemmenti, a scrappy Italian-American fourth grade teacher from Philadelphia's southside played by Lisa Ann Walter (The Parent Trap, Bruce Almighty). The following shot features James’ Ava Coleman, the school’s clueless principal whose careless antics often lead to trouble for the rest of the staff. The next shot features Williams as Gregory Eddie, an aspiring school administrator turned reluctant teacher with budding feelings for Brunson’s Janine Teagues. Last in line is Jacob Hill, the openly gay and overly woke friend to Janine and fellow novice teacher, played by Chris Perfetti (Before I Go, Looking). 

After the sequence of individual shots, the characters reach the front steps of the school. James’ Ava goes to unlock the doors only to realize the new keys she had made don’t work. True to form, Ava announces that she blames the locks for not opening rather than admitting her mistake. The teachers groan in annoyance. Sensing a downturn in morale, Brunson’s Janine enthusiastically suggests they take the extra time to discuss what aspects of the new year every teacher is excited about, an idea no one else agrees with. As Janine and Ava continue their attempt to unlock the door, their colleagues sit down on the front steps, slumping in defeat. 

The promo’s final gag shows custodian Mr. Johnson dancing while he mops the hallways inside the school. He has old-school headphones plugged into a mobile tape player attached to his belt and sings along to Motownphilly. Janine and her colleagues, still locked outside, unsuccessfully try to get his attention by banging the doors and waving at him through the windows.

With many critics heralding Abbott Elementary as a signal of the return in supremacy of network comedies, the show’s sophomore season shoulders the high expectations of fans and critics alike. If all goes well, Quinta Brunson may just solidify her much-deserved position in the annals of multi-hyphenate writer-producers-stars of modern television. Abbott Elementary season two premieres on ABC on September 21 at 9:00 PM EST/PST. Episodes will be available for streaming on Hulu the day after they air.