- For the location, see Willard R. Abbott Elementary School.
Abbott Elementary is an American mockumentary sitcom television series created by Quinta Brunson. It stars Brunson as a second grade teacher at Abbott Elementary. Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, William Stanford Davis, and Sheryl Lee Ralph also star. The series aired on ABC since December 7, 2021. On January 21, 2025, the series was renewed for a fifth season.
Premise
A group of dedicated, passionate teachers—and a slightly tone-deaf principal—are brought together in a Philadelphia public school where they are determined to help their students succeed in life.
Though these incredible public servants are outnumbered and underfunded, they love what they do and fight the odds stacked up against them—like the school district's less-than-stellar attitude toward educating children—to give the students the best school life they can offer.
Cast
Main
- Quinta Brunson as Janine Teagues
- Tyler James Williams as Gregory Eddie
- Janelle James as Ava Coleman
- Lisa Ann Walter as Melissa Schemmenti
- Chris Perfetti as Jacob Hill
- William Stanford Davis as Mr. Johnson (main season 2-present; recurring season 1)
- Sheryl Lee Ralph as Barbara Howard
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired (U.S. dates) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season premiere | Season finale | |||
| 1 | 13 | December 7, 2021 | April 12, 2022 | |
| 2 | 22 | September 21, 2022 | April 19, 2023 | |
| 3 | 14 | February 7, 2024 | May 22, 2024 | |
| 4 | 22 | October 9, 2024 | April 16, 2025 | |
| 5 | 22 | October 1, 2025 | Spring 2026 | |
Production
On September 3, 2020, an untitled workplace comedy pilot starring Quinta Brunson landed a pilot commitment at ABC. In February 2021, ABC gave the project an official pilot order. In March, Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, and Sheryl Lee Ralph were announced to star. In May, the project was given a series order. Filming began on August 16, 2021, in Los Angeles, California, and concluded on November 5, 2021. In August, three crew members tested positive for COVID-19, but production was not impacted. In November, William Stanford Davis was confirmed to star. The series premiered on December 7, 2021.
On March 14, 2022, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on September 21, 2022, with Willam Stanford Davis joining as a series regular.
On January 11, 2023, the series was renewed for a third season,[2] which premiered on February 7, 2024. Three days after the third season premiere, it was also renewed for a fourth season, which premiered on October 9, 2024.[3] The fourth season of Abbott Elementary suspended production by 20th Television and Warner Bros. Television due to 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires, as it was announced on January 8, 2025 and the series was renewed for a fifth season on January 21, 2025.[4]
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 97% of 38 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.60/10. The website's consensus reads, "Abbott Elementary earns top marks for its empathetic yet sidesplitting critique of the U.S. education system, plus some extra credit for a deftly handled will-they-won't-they dynamic." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 78 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Angie Han of The Hollywood Reporter said "[it] works well enough to deliver a consistent good time — and I suspect that given time, Abbott Elementary could blossom into something truly special". Han also 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."
Ratings
| Season | Timeslot (ET) | No. of episodes |
Premiered | Ended | TV season | Rank | Avg. viewers (in millions) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Premiere viewers (in millions) |
Date | Finale viewers (in millions) | ||||||
| 1 | Tuesday 9:00 PM | 13 | December 7, 2021 | 2.88 | April 12, 2022 | 2.78 | 2021–22 | 66 | 3.84 |
| 2 | Wednesday 9:00 PM | 22 | September 21, 2022 | 2.92 | April 19, 2023 | 2.90 | 2022–23 | 57 | 3.95 |
| 3 | 14 | February 7, 2024 | 2.81 | May 22, 2024 | 2.62 | 2024 | TBA | TBA | |
| 4 | Wednesday 9:30 PM (2024) Wednesday 8:30 PM (2025) |
22 | October 9, 2024 | 2.13 | April 16, 2025 | 2.19 | 2024–25 | TBA | TBA |
| 5 | Wednesday 8:30 PM | 22 | October 1, 2025 | 2.83 | Spring 2026 | TBA | 2025–26 | TBA | TBA |
Home media
| Cover | Season | No. of episodes | DVD Release dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | |||
|
1 | 13 | October 18, 2022 | TBA | TBA |
|
2 | 22 | September 12, 2023 | TBA | TBA |
|
3 | 14 | April 1, 2025 | TBA | TBA |
Trivia
- Abbott Elementary, when distributed on Disney+ in Australia, has had a reduction in updates, ending without the Christmas episode to date (28th of December).
External links
- Abbott Elementary on Wikipedia
References
- ↑ "Career Day" counts as two episodes.
- ↑ Campione, Katie (January 11, 2023). 'Abbott Elementary' Scores Season 3 Renewal At ABC. Deadline. Retrieved on January 11, 2023.
- ↑ Campione, Katie (February 10, 2024). 'Abbott Elementary' Scores Season 4 Renewal At ABC. Deadline. Retrieved on April 7, 2024.
- ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (January 8, 2025). TV Series Suspending Production Due to 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires. Deadline. Retrieved on January 8, 2025.