Abbott Elementary Season 1 Review
Abbott Elementary follows the journey of a group of teachers who surprisingly hate the school they teach - but they do it anyways for the sake of changing the lives of children who don’t end up hating the elementary school the way some of us adults do now.
Pros:
Characters
Unique setting
Funny for most of the time
Relatable at times
Cons:
Feels unoriginal and predictable at times
Second Half
Clunky editing
The characters in this show are genuinely funny. The lead character Janine, portrayed by Quinta Brunson, is legit how you feel as a new joiner in any workplace. You want to be this "do everything perfect" employee, but you don't listen to what your colleagues say.
You do you on that day, but a day comes when you learn the truth the hard way, and your colleagues will be like, "told ya!" All this experience is very hilariously presented and executed.
It's even more hilarious when this is presented in the mockumentary format. Most of the one-liners work, thanks to the comedic timing of the actors in the show and the different comedic approaches.
Each character is given different comedic approaches in the show to bring the humor out.
For instance, take Janelle Jones as the tone-deaf principal, Ava Coleman, who doesn't care about what others think; she wants her way in the school, which is one type of comedic pitch and undoubtedly the show's highlight for me.
The other type is the annoying know-it-all colleague Barbara, played by Sheryl Lee Ralph, from Janine's POV, who both cares for her and simultaneously calls out the naivety, which is both endearing and hilarious.
These different approaches to comedy not only relieve the show from the monotonous running gags in a sitcom but also integrate them with the behavioral patterns of the characters.
The show's editing could be more straightforward. There are so many scenes that linger a lot longer than required. Also, due to the pacing, I felt exhausted. So, it's different than what I would expect from a sitcom.
The show tries hard to be like The Office or Parks and Recreation. There's a principal like Micheal Scott, a Jim-Pamela romance brewing, and this co-worker who's cold and hostile like Dwight. In short, it embraces the age-old sitcom tropes and feels a bit original.
I am not saying that following the tropes of a specific genre is inherently unwanted. However, when a show does that, it feels like the writers have slipped into a safe zone where it's easy for them to milk the tropes than risk trying something new.
The show runs out of gas by the time it reaches the finale. The jokes become so repetitive and predictable that the initial freshness and unique feeling disappear.
Overall, Abbott Elementary season 1 is solid by generating different types of humor by focusing on the other characters and not focusing on a certain kind of humor which is refreshing in the sitcom genre. Although it has its flaws, if you love sitcoms, you might want to see this show.
★★★.5
Abbott Elementary is now available to stream on Hulu and HBO Max in the United States, on Disney+ (through Star) internationally, and to buy digitally as a season bundle or by episode.
Until next time!
Thanks to Thomas Stoneham-Judge from Movies For Reel, Shane Conto, Joseph Davis, David Walters, Ambula Bula, Matthew Simpson, Thom Blackburn, and Beatrice AKA Shakesqueer, for supporting Austin B Media on Patreon!
