Abbott Elementary season 1 explained

Season Number:	1
Bgcolour:	213A79
Network:	ABC
Num Episodes:	13
Episode List:	List of Abbott Elementary episodes

The first season of the American television comedy Abbott Elementary created by Quinta Brunson, premiered in the United States on ABC on December 7, 2021, concluded on April 12, 2022, and consisted of thirteen episodes. The series sees the introduction of characters portrayed by Brunson, Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, and Sheryl Lee Ralph. 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.

The season holds a 98% approval rating from critics and audiences alike on Rotten Tomatoes, gaining universal acclaim. The success of the season ultimately led to a second season renewal in March 2022.^[1]

Cast and characters

See main article: List of Abbott Elementary characters.

Main

• Quinta Brunson as Janine Teagues, a second-grade teacher at Abbott who hopes to improve the lives of her students by making the best of the poor situation the school district makes teachers work in.
• Tyler James Williams as Gregory Eddie, a substitute for a recently-fired first-grade teacher who quickly harbors a crush on Janine.
• 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.

Recurring

• William Stanford Davis as Mr. Johnson, the school's janitor who is seen as lazy, but consistent with his job.
• Zack Fox as Tariq Temple, Janine's boyfriend since middle school who is an aspiring rapper.

Guest

• Kate Peterman as Tina Schwartz, a second-grade teacher who is fired for assaulting a student.
• Naté Jones as Amber, the mother of a student in Gregory's class.
• Lela Hoffmeister as Courtney, a troubled student in Melissa's class who is transferred to Janine.
• Bruno Amato as Gary, a vending machine stocker who begins dating Melissa.
• Richard Brooks as Gerald, Barbara's husband.
• Mitra Jouhari as Sahar, a college friend of Janine who briefly works at Abbott as a substitute art teacher.
• Orlando Jones as Martin Eddie, Gregory's father.
• Iyana Halley as Taylor Howard, Barbara's daughter.
• Reggie Hayes as Denzel Collins, the school's superintendent who is after Ava for blackmailing him about an affair he had with his now-wife.
• Larry Owens as Zach, Jacob's boyfriend.

Additionally, Jim Gardner appears as himself, Levi Mynatt appears as Will, Brian Scolaro appears as Vinny, George Sharperson appears as Wendell, Ambrit Millhouse appears as Alley Williams and Shirley Jordan appears as Delisha Sloss.

Episodes

Production

Development

In May 2021, Abbott Elementary was given a series order.^[2] The season is distributed by Disney Platform Distribution and Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, while being produced by Delicious Non-Sequitur, 20th Television and Warner Bros. Television.^[3] The first season released onto DVD and various online platforms including Amazon Prime, Apple TV & Vudu on October 18, 2022.^[4]

In an interview, director and producer Randall Einhorn spoke about how the series works with the mockumentary format:

On March 14, 2022, due to the success of the series, a second season was green-lit by ABC months before the first season was set to conclude. Brunson, Einhorn, Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker all returned as executive producers.^[5]

Casting

In March 2021, Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, and Sheryl Lee Ralph were announced to star as regular cast members; alongside Brunson, who was confirmed to star upon the series announcement.^{[6] [7]}

In addition to the main cast, the series sees William Stanford David and Zack Fox recur as Mr. Johnson and Tariq Temple respectively.^{[8] [9]} Tariq is Janine's slightly selfish and so-called "feminist" boyfriend, whom she dates throughout the duration of the season. After backlash from the staff of Abbott, Janine ultimately breaks up with him during the season finale. When asked about the relationship of Tariq and Janine, and why she wrote him the way she did, Brunson stated:

The second episode of the season, "Light Bulb", features a short cameo from Philadelphia ABC Channel 6 Action News anchor Jim Gardner, who appears during the cold open; beloved by the staff of Abbott.^[10] Another Philadelphia celebrity, Gritty of the Philadelphia Flyers, was originally supposed to appear during the pilot episode, but was unable due to scheduling conflicts.^[11]

Filming

Filming began on August 16, 2021, in Los Angeles, California, and concluded on November 5, 2021.^{[12] [13]} The interior scenes of the series are filmed at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, with exterior shots of the series being filmed in front of Vermont Elementary School in Los Angeles.^{[14] [15]} In August, three crew members tested positive for COVID-19 but production was not impacted.^[16]

Reception

Critical response

For the first season, Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 80 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[17] Angie Han of The Hollywood Reporter said the first episodes "[are] a willingness to deal with class head on, while also finding humor in the characters' situations", and concluded that Abbott Elementary is "crowd-pleasing."^[18]

Ratings

The series premiered on December 7, 2021.^[19] New episodes aired at 9:30 p.m. (EST) weekly prior to the premiere of new episodes of Black-ish; which was in its final season.^{[20] [21]} Including viewership recorded over a 35-day period through "linear and digital platforms" (known as MP35) after its original broadcast, the pilot episode on December 7, 2021, increased to a 2.4 demographic rating, with 7.1 million viewers. ABC said the 300% increase was its "largest percentage growth for any new comedy premiere".^[22] The viewership of the second episode, "Light Bulb", increased by 5.6 million viewers to 9 million after 35 days.^[23] Per The Hollywood Reporter, the first season of Abbott Elementary ranked 66 in broadcast television ratings for the 2021-22 season, and scored a 3.84 average million viewers.^[24]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Abbott Elementary:Season 1 (2021–22) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220205063606/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/abbott_elementary/s01 . February 5, 2022 . September 6, 2022 . Rotten Tomatoes.
2. Web site: Wonder Years, Queens Among Four ABC Series Orders. May 14, 2021. Lesley. Goldberg. The Hollywood Reporter. May 18, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210518160215/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/wonder-years-queens-maggie-abbott-elementary-abc-series-orders-1234953624/. May 18, 2021. live.
3. Web site: The Wonder Years, Queens, Maggie & Abbott Elementary Picked Up To Series At ABC. May 14, 2021. Nellie. Peter. Andreeva. White. Deadline Hollywood. May 18, 2021. May 14, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210514232019/https://deadline.com/2021/05/the-wonder-years-queens-maggie-abbott-elementary-picked-up-to-series-abc-1234756301/. live.
4. Web site: ABBOTT ELEMENTARY SEASON 1 DVD RELEASE DETAILS. Thomas Miller. August 18, 2022. February 2, 2023.
5. Web site: Abbott Elementary Renewed for Season 2 at ABC. March 14, 2022. Lesley. Goldberg. The Hollywood Reporter. March 14, 2022.
6. Web site: Tyler James Williams, Sheryl Lee Ralph, 3 More Join Quinta Brunson In Her ABC School Comedy Pilot. March 26, 2021. Denise. Petski. Deadline Hollywood. December 28, 2021.
7. Web site: Andreeva . Nellie . September 3, 2020 . Quinta Brunson Teacher Comedy Set At ABC As Put Pilot; Justin Halpern & Patrick Schumacker Exec Producing . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200904021919/https://deadline.com/2020/09/quinta-brunson-school-workplace-comedy-abc-put-pilot-commitment-justin-halpern-patrick-schumacker-1234570479/ . September 4, 2020 . December 28, 2021 . Deadline Hollywood.
8. Web site: Dahl . Amanda . March 9, 2022 . St. Louis Native William Stanford Davis Joins Cast of ABC's New Sitcom Hit, Abbott Elementary . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220412131220/https://www.laduenews.com/arts-and-culture/entertainment/st-louis-native-william-stanford-davis-joins-cast-of-abc-s-new-sitcom-hit-abbott/article_e9f4ff10-9f15-11ec-ac89-835ea68d1880.html . April 12, 2022 . April 3, 2022 . laduenews.com . Ladue News.
9. Web site: Abbott Elementary's Quinta Brunson On Why She Doesn't View Tariq As A Villain. June 13, 2022. December 29, 2022. Adreon Patterson. Cinema Blend.
10. Web site: Jim Gardner makes appearance in ABC's new sitcom 'Abbott Elementary'. January 4, 2022. January 12, 2023. December 1, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221201012754/https://6abc.com/jim-gardner-abbott-elementary-new-abc-show-philadelphia-sitcom/11424269/. live.
11. Web site: Lauren Merola . September 22, 2022 . Gritty Makes Appearance on 'Abbott Elementary' Season 2 Premiere . November 11, 2022 . NHL.
12. Web site: issue one thousand two hundred sixty-one. August 26, 2021. Production Weekly. December 2, 2021. October 10, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211010072602/https://www.productionweekly.com/082621gp.pdf. dead.
13. Web site: Film and TV Projects Going Into Production – Abbott Elementary. Variety Insight. https://web.archive.org/web/20210518185454/https://www.varietyinsight.com/production_restart_full_view.php?track_id=191103. May 18, 2021. live. May 18, 2021.
14. Web site: Stephanie Harper . April 19, 2022 . 'Abbott Elementary' Is Supposed to Take Place in Philadelphia — Where Is It Filmed? . January 11, 2023 . Distractify.
15. Web site: Vermont Elementary School – Directory . January 11, 2022.
16. Web site: Abbott Elementary Records Positive Covid Tests; Production On New ABC Series Not Impacted. August 25, 2021. Nellie. Andreeva. Deadline Hollywood. August 25, 2021.
17. abbott-elementary. 1. tv. Abbott Elementary. March 14, 2022.
18. News: Han . Angie . ABC's Abbott Elementary: TV Review . December 7, 2021 . . December 7, 2021.
19. Web site: ABC 2021-22 Schedule: Big Sky On Thursday & Comedy Block In Fall, Black-Ish Farewell In Midseason. May 18, 2021. Nellie. Andreeva. Deadline Hollywood. May 18, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210518160220/https://deadline.com/2021/05/abc-2021-22-schedule-big-sky-move-thursday-blackish-final-season-wonder-years-goldbergs-80s-comedies-1234758907/. May 18, 2021. live.
20. Web site: ABC Winter Premiere Dates: Bachelor, Black-ish Final Season, Three New Series & More. November 1, 2021. Erik. Pedersen. Deadline Hollywood. November 1, 2021.
21. Web site: 'Abbott Elementary' Becomes First ABC Comedy Premiere To Quadruple Ratings In MP35. January 25, 2022. January 26, 2023. Deadline Hollywood. Alexandra Del Rosario.
22. Web site: Darwish . Meaghan . Abbott Elementary Becomes ABC's First Comedy Debut to Quadruple Its Ratings . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230112222606/https://www.tvinsider.com/1030140/abbott-elementary-season-1-quadruple-ratings-abc/ . January 12, 2023 . February 9, 2022 . TVInsider.
23. Web site: Andreeva . Nellie . February 23, 2022 . Abbott Elementary Episode 2 Nabs ABC's Strongest Comedy Ratings Since Modern Family Finale In MP35 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220223204314/https://deadline.com/2022/02/abbott-elementary-episode-2-best-ratings-modern-family-finale-mp35-1234958745/ . February 23, 2022 . February 23, 2022 . Deadline Hollywood.
24. Web site: Porter. Rick. 2021-22 TV Ratings: Final Seven-Day Numbers for Every Network Series. The Hollywood Reporter. June 8, 2022. August 17, 2022.