| From Coda to Everything Everywhere All At Once to Abbott Elementary, audiences have been rushing toward optimism but others should criticize at their peril With the summer hiatus fast approaching, the time is ripe to declare the winners and losers of the 2021-22 US TV season, and the most straightforward success story is that of Abbott Elementary. Creator-star Quinta Brunson’s comedy set at an underfunded Philadelphia public school has a breakout favorite in Janelle James as foot-mouthed principal Ava, a locked-in order for a second season, and a genuine grassroots fandom that’s translated to respectable ratings for a network show in this day and age. What’s more, the freshman series has emerged as the new standard-bearer for its genre at a time when the classical half-hour sitcom has been left on life support, its specimens dwindling as eyeballs drift to the unstructured time-suck of streaming content. It’s that prominent placement in the perennial conversation about Where TV Comedy Is At Right Now which makes Abbott Elementary’s peculiar structuring absences all the more noticeable and edifying. Frequently enough to be impossible to ignore, the show’s writing leaves its viewer waiting for a comedic beat that never comes, or just doesn’t scan. In episode seven, Brunson’s upbeat teacher Janine faces a tough choice between doing her job and impressing her hipster friend who’s come to teach art at Abbott. Wise senior teacher Melissa commends Janine on her responsible decision-making by telling her, “Being a real person is more important than being cool, and you’re a real person, who owes me seventy-five copies of Peter Rabbit before next year.” They hug, and even with that last phrase tacked on to put some edge on the moment, a passing Ava isn’t wrong when she rolls her eyes at the “very special episode” playing out in front of her. There are plenty of instances along these lines, wherein the almighty imperative to get the laugh is back-burnered in favor of the goopily earnest or morally instructive – and that’s the key to its popularity. Continue reading... |
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