Report cards are in for ABC’s new comedy, Abbott Elementary, from creator and actress Quinta Brunson (A Black Lady Sketch Show, Big Mouth). Comicbook.com details the new comedy has etched a perfect rating – 100% – on Rotten Tomatoes making the new series certified fresh. The show, centered on a Philadelphia school, finished its first season this week.
Premiering in December with a preview episode, the show has been a breakout hit for ABC, hitting rating marks not seen on the network for comedy since Modern Family. The freshman comedy was quickly renewed for a second season back in March.
Filmed as a mockumentary, Abbott Elementary follows a group of dedicated teachers at an underfunded grade school. Brunson plays Janine Teagues, a first-year teacher whose best intentions for her students and fellow teachers don’t always hit their target. Despite the occasional mishaps, Janine’s heart always places her students first.
Brunson is joined by fellow freshman teachers Tyler James Williams’ (Dear White People, Everybody Hates Chris) Gregory and Chris Perfetti’s (In the Dark, The Surrogate) Jacob. Sheryl Lee Ralph (Moesha, Motherland: Fort Salem) plays veteran kindergarten teacher, Barbra Howard. And Lisa Ann Walter (The Parent Trap, Killers) plays the wise gal South Philly-born teacher, Melissa. The group of educators is haplessly led by their fearlessly clueless principal, Ava Coleman, played by comedian/actress, Janelle James (The Standups, Expecting Amy).
Based on Brunson’s own mother’s years as an elementary school teacher, the series joins several other TV shows that have received a 100% rating from Rotten Tomatoes. According to Comicbook.com, the list includes Fox’s 2003 family comedy, Arrested Development, Netflix’s short-lived The Baby-Sitters Club, Apple TV+’s 1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything, and the German series, Babylon Berlin.
The success of Abbott Elementary has garnered comparisons to another sitcom that found magic with the mockumentary format: NBC’s workplace comedy, The Office, which aired for nine seasons. Williams recently spoke about this topic in an interview with Variety.
“It’s impossible for The Office not to be an influence. It’s the golden standard of this style, “Williams explained via Variety. “And Randall Einhorn, who [was a cinematographer and director] on The Office is one of our executive producers, and directed [six] episodes of this season. So there’s gonna be a lot of things that feel that way. However, for me, unfortunately, I can no longer watch The Office. Because I don’t want to bring things in that I’m not even cognizant of. I have to lose The Office in this process, so that we don’t end up directly stealing anything here.”
Season one of Abbott Elementary can be streamed on Hulu.