SPOILER: This column contains potential spoilers for “Abbott Elementary” season four.
ABC’s hit sitcom “Abbott Elementary” continues to have perfect attendance when it comes to delivering the laughs in season four. The latest season, which wrapped up April 16 and is currently available to stream on Hulu, did have its ups and downs. However, the season continued to be a testament to the importance of the education system while keeping that same comedic tone the show has excelled in since day one.
The show focuses on the passionate teaching staff at Willard R. Abbott Elementary, a fictional public school in Philadelphia. Filmed in a mockumentary format, the teachers in the show navigate everything from funny problems with their students to even funnier issues in their personal lives. Though set to a fun and lighthearted tone, the show delivers some very real commentary on the issues within the education system and what it’s like to be a teacher today.
This season primarily focused on the main staff at Abbott Elementary as they dealt with the new reality brought on by the construction of a golf course by the school. The Girard Creek Golf Club and what it represents serve as the main antagonist of this season. Not only through how the club looked down on Abbott Elementary because of their economic differences, but also how, as a predominantly white institution, they view the diversity within Abbott Elementary as a marketing ploy to use.
While the topic is ultimately a heavy one to deal with in a sitcom, the writers of the show add some levity to the situation by introducing a heist-like scenario where Abbott Elementary is able to receive secret funding through bribes from the golf course. Though outside funding is not allowed by the school district, Abbott Elementary principal Ava Coleman (Janelle James) works out a secret deal with Girard Creek representative Miles Nathaniel (Matt Oberg). With this deal, the school gets the supplies it needs and in turn the golf club doesn’t face any serious backlash from the public while construction goes on.
But this season wasn’t just about bribing an elementary school, it was also about the everyday lives of the teachers within that school. Most notably this included the cutest addition to the “Abbott Elementary” cast — Sweet Cheeks the guinea pig. Though he was originally supposed to be the class pet for Melissa Schemmenti’s (Lisa Ann Walter) second-grade class, Melissa quickly forms an emotional bond with the animal and brings him home to keep as her pet for the rest of the season.
After being introduced in episode three, Sweet Cheeks appears several times throughout the rest of the season as Melissa’s pet creating a very cute dynamic between the animal and Melissa. In the past, fans have seen Melissa primarily portrayed as this tough Italian American teacher, who not- so- subtly hints at having ties to organized crime in a way that is just as funny as it is intimidating. But this new relationship in Melissa’s life adds a sweeter side to the tough teacher.
This season also saw plenty of romance. This meant watching the further development of the show’s main relationship between Gregory Eddie (Tyler James Williams) and Janine Teagues (Quinta Brunson). At the end of season three, we saw the long-awaited kiss between the two teachers that was so magical it probably ended up in my top ten favorite sitcom first kisses. After revealing their relationship to the rest of the teachers in episode one, Gregory and Janine’s relationship was both refreshingly free of drama and full of sweet moments.
But Gregory and Janine weren’t the only new relationship seen this season. Sparks flew between Ava and O’Shon (Matthew Law), the district’s IT representative who ends up playing a crucial part in covering up the bribes sent to the school.
Ava, who has always been shown as a materialistic, somewhat narcissistic member of the Abbott Elementary staff, immediately clashes with the more down-to-earth O’Shon. Despite their differences, the chemistry between the two is clear from the first minute O’Shon appears on screen in episode three. As someone who is a bit of a sucker for romance, this relationship is a great way to help Ava grow as a character and James’ performance as the slightly self-absorbed principal only continues to get better.
While I loved the majority of this season, it wasn’t all perfect. Season four seemed to lose the main plot a bit more than it has in the past. Obviously, a massive part of what makes sitcoms different from regular series is the larger number of standalone episodes — an episode that takes place outside of the overarching plot — throughout the course of a typical season. While sitcoms are often expected to have a few episodes here and there that just exist to be fun, “Abbott Elementary” approached this in a way that felt like they started to forget what this season of the show was actually supposed to be about.
This was especially evident at the end of the season. Since they had wrapped up the larger storyline the episode before the actual finale, resulting in a touching moment between members of the Abbott community coming together to fight the school district, the season felt like it went on just too long. Usually, the end of a season ends with some big moment that, while wrapping most things up, still leaves the viewer wanting more and unfortunately it was that intrigue that this latest finale seriously lacked.
The last episode focuses on a school field trip that the students and teachers go on to the Please Touch Museum, a real children’s museum in Philadelphia. While this episode has some cute moments between Gregory and Janine as she meets Gregory’s no nonsense father Martin (Orlando Jones) for the first time, it just didn’t have that same massively important ending that the show has had in the past.
Despite this slightly underwhelming ending for the show, this latest season of “Abbott Elementary” was still a good example of a successful sitcom. The funny cast of characters and ongoing bits on the show continue to impress and make me hopeful for the next season which was already greenlit by ABC. If you haven’t already, go watch “Abbott Elementary” and experience the show that has been making fans laugh since its release.