---
title: "Abbott Elementary"
year: 2021
kind: "series"
canonical: "https://film.one/tv/abbott-elementary"
fi1m_score: 82
critics_score: 85
critics_reviews: 9
published: "2026-09-17T04:28:51.418769+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-17T04:28:54.940536+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Abbott Elementary (2021)

Created by Quinta Brunson · MPA TV-14 · Comedy

**Fi1m score: 82** · Critics 85 from 9 reviews

*In a sentence:* A principal who does not want the job, teachers who want it too much, and a camera crew nobody asked for

> Quinta Brunson’s mockumentary sitcom about an underfunded Philadelphia school is quick, warm and better acted than network comedy usually manages. It softens as the seasons pile up, but Sheryl Lee Ralph and Janelle James keep it sharp.

## Synopsis

West Philadelphia, the start of a new school year. A documentary crew has arrived at Willard R. Abbott Elementary, an underfunded school with flickering lights, a leaking ceiling and a classroom rug that needs replacing. Janine Teagues (Quinta Brunson), a second-grade teacher in her second year, still believes she can fix all of it. Barbara Howard (Sheryl Lee Ralph), who has taught kindergarten for decades, has watched people like her burn out. Melissa Schemmenti (Lisa Ann Walter) knows a man who can get anything. Jacob Hill (Chris Perfetti) means well, loudly. Gregory Eddie (Tyler James Williams) is a substitute who wanted to be principal, a job that went instead to Ava Coleman (Janelle James), who has no interest in doing it.

## Review

Quinta Brunson has built a sitcom out of a form most people assumed was used up. A documentary crew follows the staff of Willard R. Abbott Elementary in West Philadelphia through a school year, and the teachers talk to the camera between lessons about what went wrong and whose fault it was. *The Office* and *Parks and Recreation* wore the glance at the lens down to a reflex; Brunson uses it anyway, and she is right to. *Abbott Elementary* is quick, warm and acted with more precision than network comedy usually bothers with. We recommend it, with the caveat that its lead can wear on you and its later seasons run long.

Aiyana Trotter and Michael Whetstone’s production design gives us corridors of painted brick, a ceiling tile that is always about to give up, and classrooms where the motivational posters are newer than the desks. Kurt Jones and Michael J. Pepin shoot it under fluorescent light with a camera that zooms as if it has just remembered where the joke is. Hachy Mendez and Susan Michalek dress the staff so you know them before they speak: pearls and cardigans for Barbara, bright shift dresses for Janine, and for the principal an outfit that cost more than the photocopier. The editors, Sarah Zeitlin and Elizabeth Praino among them, cut to the look at the lens a beat late, which is where the laugh is.

Brunson plays Janine Teagues, a second-grade teacher in her second year who believes that if she tries hard enough the building will stop falling down. She has written Janine with enough self-knowledge that the character can hear herself. Tyler James Williams is Gregory Eddie, a substitute who wanted the principal’s job and did not get it, and he does the show’s best face: a man deciding, each time, whether it is worth saying something. Their scenes together are careful, and the show takes more time with them than the situation can bear.

Sheryl Lee Ralph is the one we would keep. Barbara Howard has taught kindergarten for longer than Janine has been alive, and Ralph plays her as a woman who has seen a hundred Janines and buried most of them. There is a moment in the first season, in a corridor, where Barbara says nothing and lets Janine finish, and we were more moved than a school sitcom had any right to make us. Her patience is what did it.

Janelle James is the other pole. Ava Coleman got the principal’s job by means the pilot explains and we will not, and runs the school as a hobby she is losing interest in. James delivers lines about the children with the flat confidence of someone who has never met one, and we laughed out loud, then felt slightly guilty, because the joke is that the children are paying for her. Lisa Ann Walter’s Melissa Schemmenti can get you anything through a man she knows, Chris Perfetti’s Jacob Hill has read all the right books and none of his pupils, and William Stanford Davis, as the caretaker Mr. Johnson, walks through scenes dropping information that should have been classified.

The flaws are the flaws of American network comedy. Seasons two, four and five run to 22 episodes each, and no writing staff can fill that many without a few in which the ceiling tile is the plot. Janine’s cheerfulness is written to be tiring and it is, and around the middle of any season we wanted to move to a different table in the staffroom. It also softens: the first season is angry about money, the way a teacher is angry about money, and by later seasons the anger has been folded into affection.

It is warmer than *The Office* and less silly than *Parks and Recreation*, and it has a subject those shows did not: a system failing children while the adults in the building do their best. It never makes speeches about that. It shows a class without a rug.

Watch it in the evening after a bad day at work. It knows what one of those feels like, and it will not tell you everything is fine.

*Fi1m score 82, published 17 September 2026.*

### Reviews we read (9)

- **IndieWire**, Kristen Lopez (90/100, inferred): The critic calls the series a new comedic obsession with a sharp, funny cast that has already developed strong chemistry. It highlights the mockumentary style and Quinta Brunson's writing as standout elements for a network sitcom. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/shows/abbott-elementary-review-abc-quinta-brunson-1234686125/)
- **The Guardian** (90/100, inferred): The critic praises the rapid-fire gags, immaculate timing, and note-perfect acting in this mockumentary sitcom about an underfunded Philadelphia school. It highlights the show's charm, community feel, and truthful take on teachers' challenges without being smug. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/jun/01/abbott-elementary-review-the-gags-come-so-thick-and-fast-they-take-your-breath-away)
- **The i Paper**, Emily Baker (90/100, inferred): The critic finds the mockumentary sitcom joyful, heartwarming and compassionate, praising its light touch on political themes like racial inequality and the American school system while highlighting its substance and appeal as 'nicecore' entertainment. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/abbott-elementary-season-2-disney-plus-review-lives-up-hype-2179352)
- **The Telegraph** (90/100, inferred): The review calls the series a gift and gem of family viewing that retains an edge, praising its warm-hearted critique of the US public school system and the cast of teachers trying their best. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2023/03/01/abbott-elementary-season-2-review-school-mockumentary-has-makings/)
- **Vulture**, TV and film writer (likely Kathryn VanArendonk) (85/100, inferred): The critic highlights how the series authentically portrays the frustrations and dedication of teachers in an underfunded Philadelphia public school, using mockumentary style and sharp workplace comedy. It singles out the timely focus on teachers being seen and appreciated amid real-world stresses. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/abbott-elementary-review.html)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Angie Han (80/100, inferred): The critic sees strong potential for it to become the next great network sitcom, praising its laugh-out-loud moments, winning cast, and balance of optimism with realism about systemic underfunding. It delivers a consistent good time while addressing class issues head-on. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/abbott-elementary-tv-review-1235055659/)
- **Variety**, Caroline Framke (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the series a strong and promising start that feels fully formed from the outset, with sharply drawn characters and an effective workplace comedy approach. It succeeds in mining light comedy from the sobering realities of underfunded public schools and dedicated teachers. [Read](https://variety.com/2021/tv/reviews/abbott-elementary-review-quinta-brunson-1235127174/)
- **Collider**, Chase Hutchinson (A-): The review finds the Emmy-winning series funnier than ever in season 2, commending its balance of sincere optimism with biting humor about the education system. [Read](https://collider.com/abbott-elementary-season-2-review-quinta-brunson/)
- **/Film**, BJ Colangelo (85/100, inferred): The piece praises the series as hilarious and addictive from its early episodes, highlighting its sharp take on underfunded schools and relatable characters in a mockumentary style. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/753088/why-quinta-brunsons-abbott-elementary-is-must-watch-tv/)

## Details

- **Created by:** Quinta Brunson
- **Creator:** Quinta Brunson
- **Director:** Randall Einhorn, Jennifer Celotta, Matt Sohn, Jay Karas, Claire Scanlon, Justin Tan, Richie Edelson, Shahrzad 'Sheri' Davani, Dime Davis, Matt Pexa, Brittani Nichols, Razan Ghalayini, Melissa Kosar, Ken Whittingham, Tyler James Williams, Patrick Schumacker, Jeff Gonzalez, Matthew A. Cherry, Karan Soni, Randall Keenan Winston, Geeta Malik
- **Writer:** Brian Rubenstein, Brittani Nichols, Justin Tan, Kate Peterman, Joya McCrory, Ava Coleman, Jordan Temple, Garrett Werner, Riley Dufurrena, Morgan Murphy, Quinta Brunson, Chad Morton, Rebekka Pesqueira, Lizzy Darrell, Megan Carroll
- **Cinematography:** Michael J. Pepin, Kurt Jones
- **Editor:** Richie Edelson, Elizabeth Praino, Sarah Zeitlin, Susan Vaill, Ben Boles, James Renfroe, Jeff Hall, Emily Trio
- **Production design:** Michael Whetstone, Aiyana Trotter
- **Costume design:** Susan Michalek, Hachy Mendez
- **Producer:** Scott Sites, Richie Edelson, Josh Greene
- **Cast:** Quinta Brunson as Janine Teagues; Tyler James Williams as Gregory Eddie; Sheryl Lee Ralph as Barbara Howard; Lisa Ann Walter as Melissa Schemmenti; Chris Perfetti as Jacob Hill; Janelle James as Ava Coleman; William Stanford Davis as Mr. Johnson; Leila Geyfman as Brittany
- **Certificate (MPA):** TV-14
- **Release (the US):** 7 December 2021
- **Genres:** Comedy

## Where to watch in the US

- Hulu: streaming, hd
- HBO Max: streaming
- Disney+: add-on, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: add-on
- The Roku Channel: add-on, hd
- Hulu: add-on, hd
- Apple TV: buy, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy, hd

*Checked 2026-09-17.*

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, IE, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Golden Globes 2023: Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy (won)

## If you liked this

- *Parks and Recreation* (2009): The same optimism in a council office, with a lead who is just as tiring and just as loved
- *Derry Girls* (2018): A school comedy from the other side of the desk, with a nun who could out-stare Barbara
- *The Class* (2008): Laurent Cantet’s Paris classroom, shot like a documentary and without the jokes to cushion it
- *Teachers* (2001), Fi1m 76: The British staffroom at its most cynical, before anyone thought to be kind about it — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/teachers.md)
- *Ted Lasso* (2020), Fi1m 78: Another workplace where niceness is the plot, though it takes longer to earn its heart — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/ted-lasso.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/abbott-elementary