The teachers of Abbott Elementary make our national education crisis fun
And there's still time to join the hilarious crew of Grand Crew
TV Lists Abbott
Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Tuesday, January 18. All times are Eastern.
Top pick
Abbott Elementary (ABC, 9 p.m.): For those still harboring mockumentary withdrawal (or who have streamed every episode of The Office and Parks And Recreation multiple times during the pandemic), this new sitcom from creator and star Quinta Brunson arrives just in time. Set in the perpetually underfunded Philadelphia public school of the title, the engaging Brunson (see A Black Lady Sketch Show) plays the new, idealistic, still relatively sane teacher in the building—even as budget cuts, disgruntled parents, rambunctious kids, a clueless principal, and the occasional accidental, school-wide blackout work together to crush her spirit.
Co-starring the ever-formidable Sheryl Lee Ralph as one of the few veteran teachers able to stick it out at Abbott for more than a year, and Tyler James Williams as the longterm substitute teacher who throws Jim Halpert side-eye at all the nonsense going on, Abbott Elementary is, according to our own Saloni Gajjar, “one of the funniest new shows of 2022.” And, since tonight is only episode three, there’s still plenty of time to get in on the ground floor of this simultaneously hilarious and thoughtful workplace sitcom about the daily struggles of beleaguered teachers in a deeply unjust and dysfunctional American educational system. (Think The Wire’s fourth season, but as a sitcom, and without your soul dying inside your body.) Tonight, Abbott Elementary receives a new computer program, which one might think is a win for a poverty-stricken public school, if not for the fact that this is a workplace sitcom and that no potentially good thing comes without shenanigans.
Regular Coverage
This Is Us (NBC, 9 p.m.)
Wild Card
Grand Crew (NBC, 8:30 p.m.): Speaking of new and engaging Black-led sitcoms you can pick up right at the start, Grand Crew takes the ubiquitous “30-somethings hanging out and drinking a lot” formula (every episode so far has “Wine” in the title) and plugs in the very funny likes of Nicole Byer, Echo Kellum, and Carl Tart—with narration from original Not Ready For Primetime Player Garrett Morris! Created by Phil Augusta Jackson, who’s written for Insecure, Key & Peele, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Grand Crew puts a fresh spin on the old formula, with dating, roommate troubles, and professional aspirations all suffused with the glow of a cast brimming with worthy, undersung comic talent (we’re still not over the premature end of Kellum’s TV breakthrough, Ben And Kate) and some reasonably priced wine.
9 Comments
Abbot Elementary does just enough to not feel like a total Office clone. I hope it can stick around for a bit.(I’ve also been watching American Auto and that thing will be recalled by the end of the season.)
Yeah, although the cartoonishly zany principal has it veering a bit towards Officeland, and kinda clashes with the tone of everything else. Hopefully they can flesh her out and round her into a 3 dimensional character at some point.
I hope American Auto doesn’t get canceled, I really like it so far.
All the actors are fine (the one dude who riding the legacy of his family feels like a grocery-store brand Andy from The Office), but I haven’t really laughed at all during any episode.
I hope American Auto finds its way. It’s got a talented cast and I want to like it so much more than I do. I think back to the first seasons of P&R and The Office and I have hope.
I dunno, I watched the first two episodes, and while it’s pretty funny with some good characters, there’s a depressing streak through it about the failure of the education system that kinda feels “too real” to be funny.
That was kinda my thought too; I really wonder if real teachers find it relatable in a funny way or a sad way.
It takes the sad/upsetting parts seriously, so I think it ends up being more cathartic/enjoyable than painful. I quit Silicon Valley very early on because a lot of the stuff that seemed too close to how messed up the real version is were being treated like jokes. *That* was definitely a case where something was too close to the real thing to be enjoyable.
Abbott Elementary is pretty damn solid for show that just started. Stronger than that other Office clone, Parks and Rec, was in its first season (side note: it does feel more Parks and Rec inspired anyway, since it’s about publicly funded employees and features an idealistic lead with a cynical, older coworker she tries to impress.). It’s the kind of show that the old AV Club would be all over.The strength of Abbott Elementary was really apparent after watching Grand Crew, which seems to be improving (I’m sticking with it for the actors) but still feels kind of off to me.