After being pleasantly surprised by the range of viewing options on the flights to and from Manila, I was hopeful about my options for the (much shorter) flights to and from Lagos. Sadly we were with a different airline and the options were… much less good. However there was a ray of sunlight – and that was that Abbott Elementary was on there so I was finally able to watch the first series of a show I’ve been hearing about for a while. And now you get to hear about it. Obviously this comes with the proviso that I’ve only seen the first season and it’s now made it to the end of season three (and is renewed for a fourth) but hey, I liked it and I’m writing about it.
This is a mockumentary about the teachers at an under-funded and predominantly black school in Philadelphia. It’s created and written by one of its stars – Quinta Brunson, who plays optimistic second grade teacher Janine Teagues. There are six other main characters in the show – including Eva, a new and unqualified school principal; Gregory, one of the candidates she beat to the job who is now working as a substitute teacher; Barbara, a no nonsense kindergarten teacher with decades of experience – played by the absolute legend that is Sheryl Lee Ralph aka the original Deena in Dreamgirls on Broadway and Lauryn Hill’s mum in Sister Act 2!
The first series has 13 episode and follows the trials and tribulations of one school year. It didn’t take me long to get really invested in all the characters and the school – but it’s really funny – although at times it’s a little bit too cringe for me, but that’s not too unusual with comedies. It’s also very easy to watch episode after episode back to back without getting fed up or finding a formula – I was actually annoyed when I ran out of time to watch more on the flight out, and made a point of finishing the series off on the way home before I went to sleep on the night flight home! The second series has 22 episodes (stupid American TV season lengths) which is a bit more of a commitment, but next time I get an offer for Disney+ I’ll be checking it out. I was going to say checking it out to see if they keep the quality going – but given that the second season won three Golden Globes, including Best Actress for Quinta Brunson, I think it did!
As I mentioned above, if oyu’re not on an airplane, Abbott Elementary is on Disney+ in the UK and on ABC and whereever ABC content gets streamed in the US. If you liked Parks and Recreation and haven’t checked this out yet, you really should.
Have a great Sunday everyone.
Verity Reads Books (lots of them) 