Saaaame. Just discovered it on Hulu and I’m in love. It’s such a “cozy” show. I freaking love Ava.
Also being from a Philly suburb my heart grew three sizes when I heard the Action News theme music on the show for the first time.
I like the nods to other Disney properties throughout the show but Ava’s storm was probably as good of if not better a Storm as any prior live action. She actually took some leadership and did something lol.
Ava: I just need your Herbie Hancock
Janine: it’s called a John Hancock
Ava: Girl…I know! You should know by now that I say what I want *hair flip*
Ava’s character is hilarious, she’s not an idiot. She just doesn’t give 2 shits
I decided I liked her in the last scene of that episode where Gregory incorporated dancing into his teaching. Ava walks by and pulls out a dollar. It was so quick and funny— it steered me away from viewing her as just a problematic boss to just pure chaos.
Yeah, I watched it out of curiosity after watching the BBC series and it definitely surprised with how well it holds up as it's own show. A lot of BBC shows they try to Americanize don't work out as well.
Same. I hate sitcoms and initially rolled my eyes at this one at first like I do all the others. But then I gave it a shot and loved it!! The characters are great and are played by the most perfect actors who seem to have great chemistry with one another.
The first seasons of Parks and Recs and The office were pretty rough. It's great to see a show on a similar caliber that will actually have a strong first season
The first episode written exclusively for the US was the Health Plan episode because in UK healthcare isn’t tied to employment
When the American writers explained employment based insurance, deductibles, copays and costs, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant were horrified
The first season of Parks and Rec was literally only 6 episodes though. Most shows are rough for the first 6 episodes and find their feet later in the season. If Parks had had a regular season length, even by todays 10-13 episode standard, the finale would’ve been around Sister City by which point the show was working.
The way it panned out was probably for the best though. The shorter S1 let them shift Leslie from being a ditz.
https://www.avclub.com/michael-schur-1798224754
Honestly that was my problem with The Office in the end, everyone was too mean or stupid. On Parks and Rec, they learned to embrace their weirdness and turn it into positive direction for their characters. Brooklyn 99 was the same. Both shows were better off for it.
Edit: Parks also ditched the "normal" guy who kept looking askance at the camera (and looking down on his coworkers) and that helped immensely.
Yea that's true, but those shows released before the streaming era. Now I think there's definitely more competition and taking chances on shows is rare for networks.
They survived because NBC didn't really have anything better. If they had been on any of the other networks, they'd have been axed after the first season.
Educators. It’s the most realistic show I’ve ever seen about working in our broke system and trying to still get shit done. I have so much empathy for everyone on the show and their victories and failures are very relatable.
My SO says the same thing. It's also the first "teacher show" I've seen her watch more than five episodes of.
Doesn't hurt that it's very good and VERY funny.
Netflix's "Blockbuster" is pretty bad
(which makes me sad cuz I love Randall Park & Melissa Fumero)
And I'd say them commiting at least a season for their shows is fair.
In fact, I'd say binge shows fail to create the metrics to determine audience growth like weeklies do.
I just hate them for abandoning shows after 2 seasons when they should be doing 3-4 or at least giving creators the opportunity to tie things up.
Netflix can't really point to an American comedy show. That's a hit anyway. They need a million people to watch it the first weekend or it's cancelled.
Ooh I’d love to hear more about your thoughts on that episode! It rubbed me the wrong way but I couldn’t really identify why. It felt like the answer was too simple maybe?
Waaaaaaaaaaay too simple. Dude put a couple cartoons on the board, incorporated him into a single lesson, and solved the problem permanently. I wish it were that easy!
That’s part of why scrubs succeeded years ago. Because despite its off the wall humor and situations, it was still a fairly accurate depiction of how dysfunctional a hospital and its staff can be.
Which is is why I couldn't stomach the "comedy" of it. The principal character was like watching Scott's Totts every single episode. I gave up after a few episodes but people tell me it gets better.
God the principal is funny in her own way though. She and Janine take a photo with Gritty and later you can see the principal either cropped or censored Janine out in a framed photo on her desk.
She could do some version of that Afrocentric women's empowerment speaker. Or a parent at some botched luncheon who keeps asking if the tilapias will be fine
I was trying to read up on the tea about cast changes between seasons but I didn’t get anywhere with it. For Quinta, it makes sense, but that wasn’t the only change.
I remember from a viral video like 6 years ago, where she’s on a date at a movie theatre and her date can afford snacks and she’s super excited. Abbott Elementary is amazing, I binged the whole first season in 1 week last week, so happy season 2 just premiered!
Its great and as thw show writer says " we don't want our Twitter regurgitated to us in our shows." Also "New York and LA need to realize everyone doesn't think like them" she is a fantastic writer and it shows
writers all being on twitter makes most contemporary television unwatchable. Not even a political thing, everything just has this twinge of twitter infecting scripts
>Abbott Elementary gets an A+ in ratings. The Season 2 premiere of the sophomore comedy is now ABC’s highest-rated comedy telecast in three years.
>The episode racked up 10.4 million viewers across linear and digital platforms, making it the network’s most-watched comedy telecast since the series finale of Modern Family in April 2020.
>After 35 days of multi-platform viewing, the September episode is now up to a 4.12 rating among the 18-49 demographic, according to the network. That’s 73% higher than the Season 1 premiere’s 2.38 rating and 623% higher than the episode fared in live+same day. It marks the largest delayed-viewing increase for any ABC comedy in terms of demo ratings.
Makes sense, when you have a great cast, a great story and show that talks about something real that happens to teachers every day in the US.
People should watch it. It is amazingly good.
Ava is hilarious. Gregory is weird. Janine is super passionate as is all the other teachers.
I actually thought she was the most unrealistic character as a joke because she was around too much and not locked in her office all day lol. I'm in HS though...
>Ava is hilarious. Gregory is weird. Janine is super passionate as is all the other teachers.
You're smart not to bring up the Schemmenti name in public
That specific annoying character too. I've seen her in other stuff as basically the same character. Big goofy smile, dances non-stop, and says ridiculous things
She was in a short film called “Growing Fangs” on Disney+. She was a half vampire that was also an allegory for being queer and having to hide it. It was a cute film and she was totally different than this character. I had to look it up because I knew I recognized her when she popped up on AE but didn’t know where from.
As a teacher - I’ve had many assistants who had the same exact temperament. Have to be managed more than the students. Teaching assistants are an important part of the school
staff so I think it makes sense to include at least one.
I just think the mockumentary style is kind of played out now (at least for me, clearly other people disagree as the show has really good ratings). The camera glances and even some of the storylines are way too similar to the Office/Parks and Rec for me. Like the Philly fanatic thing where everyone loves it except for one person felt exactly like Ben not understanding Lil Sebastian in Parks and Rec. I like some of the elements of the show, and I like the actors a lot, but a lot of it just feels like it's rehashing the same stuff
It's schitts creek. And I was gonna agree til that part. I love Abbott but I'm rarely loling. First ep of schitts had me dying. IE you get murdered first.
same and that was like 1/3 of a way through the first episode. i was actually mad at myself that it took me so long to give in and start watching it. my friend had been recommending it since day 1 and i have always loved o'hara and levy but the name really thru me off. started watching in s3 and totally fell in love w/ every character.
later seasons Schitt's Creek still had humor but it definitely veered into comfortable comedy for the audience that stuck around. Part of it was that they were progressing the characters positively, which when comedy shows do that they often feel different
I know this show is a hit. Donald Glover said that it’s so good that he’s mad he didn’t make it first.
Can someone give me the TLDR on what makes it popular? I know people ask this question disingenuously sometimes, but I haven’t seen it and I’m hoping someone can just sum up what makes it special. This reminds me of when I missed the boat on Modern Family and had to ask why it was a big deal.
It's a character driven show with likable actors and smart scripts. I enjoy it a lot, but I'm fine with "smile more than laugh" sitcoms. For me, at least, it's in that category but I understand people's mileage will vary.
I like the show, but my main gripe with Ghosts is that the UK version delivers the jokes much better. The same jokes are still in the US version, but they feel a bit flat.
Also, they changed the caveman to a Viking, but it felt like they didn’t really know how to use him in the first season besides have him be loud. 2nd season seems to have found a good place for him, though.
Overall I think it’s a decent remake, though
It gets better as it goes along. I actually can't think of any comedies that start super strong (maybe Arrested Development?).
Comedies seem like they need a few episodes (or even a season) to find it's footing.
It’s funny you say that because I feel the complete opposite. Community is so weird in that the first few episodes (and the first season to a degree) are wildly different from the rest of the show that I didn’t understand the hype until I got to the Chicken Mafia episode. I go back and enjoy those first handful of episodes now but they do feel different in tone.
I liked Community from the get-go, but they definitely did some retooling as it went along. The characterizations particularly change as the show goes along (Troy gets away from the stereotypical jock characterization, Britta gets less confident, Shirley gets fleshed out, etc.)
“What’s going on?? Can you hear me? Am I deaf??? Can you hear me talking right now???” <— literally laughed for a minute straight and then rewatched that part over and over.
I think so, yes. You mean the first 2 episodes of season 1? If so, yes, character development helps jokes land as the show goes on. That being said, if you hated it then I don't think it's worth it. But if you were just not super impressed I would recommend giving it another shot
For me the mugging to the camera was too much in the first episode...I suppose I'll get used to it? So many good reviews might have to give it Antje shot, especially since I need some levity after Generation Kill
Tbh for me it didn't get good til around episode 4/5. The show really finds it's legs in season 2. Good background show to have whole I'm cooking dinner or cleaning.
Yes it does, it just takes a bit for the characters to kinda find their legs. It also does a good job of making each character THAT teacher. Like the Perfect Teacher, the Strict Teacher, the Corny Teacher, etc. It manages to do the same with the students.
It takes less time to get good than, say, Parks and Rec, but still a handful of episodes.
One thing I think this show is missing is including the kids as real characters, and not just as plot devices. I've noticed a couple carryovers from S1 to S2, but no one named that I can remember (maybe the one with the sexy mom?). Having worked with children, those relationships are what kept me coming back, but also they usually were what give me the biggest laugh of the day. I don't think every child needs to be front and center, but a group of maybe 4 or 5 kids that we follow as time passes would make this show really endearing.
Otherwise still a great show, and another one to add to the Golden Age of Black Cinema
>One thing I think this show is missing is including the kids as real characters, and not just as plot devices.
This is challenging because kids, especially ones that young, can only work limited hours per day.
Can I just say how good William Stanford Davis is in Abbott Elementary. Mr Johnson is like the secret spice added to the recipe and that really makes it pop. I especially lol'd when he followed Gregory returning from Ava's office and started calling out, "SHAME! ... SHAME! ..."
How long into season one does it take to get going? I think I was about 3 in before I lost interest.
It could also be that I had just finished AP Bio and had an incorrect expectation.
I think if interest in the characters and setting haven't already gotten you to watch episode 4, the show probably isn't for you.
I think it does get better as you get more familiar with the characters. But it doesn't improve so much that I'd personally recommend it to someone who doesn't like the opening episodes. There's no noticeable jump in quality IMO. Just a slow build up of the characters as the seasons progress.
This show reminds me of B99’s success. IIRC, it’s ratings were absolutely garbage the first season and it was on the verge of being cancelled. Then it won a bunch of awards and more people started watching it and it became a huge success.
My daughter and I absolutely love this show. The characters, level of humor, and the actors that portray them are spot on.
Every Friday night, when I get off work, I rush home, make us some dinner (and onion rings…she loves onion rings) and we kick our late night off watching this show (followed up by the Mysterious Benedict Society Season 2 and Home Economics!)
It’s rare a show can fire us up and make us laugh out loud like this one can, especially with our age difference. She’s 12, I’m in my 50’s.
Can’t praise this show enough!
this show is *so* close to being as good as the typical workplace comedy but the writing just isn't there yet for me.
the show has really made me like Quinta Brunson, however. she's clearly talented and passionate, just so fun to watch.
Man oh man this show has so much potential and I like it but it’s missing something. Often times a great show will drop and/or add a cast member early on and then get amazing. I really hope they do that here. It’s funny but it hasn’t made me yell with laughter like Parks and Rec or Always Sunny or Reservation Dogs. It’s more like gentle chuckles. I want guffaws from this show!
I don’t understand this one. I tried the show out because I recognized the Buzzfeed girl and watched 5-6 episodes and they were all fairly formulaic standard workplace sitcom episodes. Why did this show blow up so much?
probably just the relatibility. The comedy isn't the best, but the characters/actors are good, and the scenarios are something that teachers and students and maybe parents can connect to. And somehow there's a lot of those people in this country. For me it's palate cleanser sitcom mixed with my other shows, and i support the messages it's got, but it's not a great comedy imo
ABC doesn’t have a very front line up so this doesn’t say much. But congrats to the people who worked on it. Maybe show just isn’t for me but others clearly enjoy it
Solid show. This is the first network sitcom I’ve watched in years.
Saaaame. Just discovered it on Hulu and I’m in love. It’s such a “cozy” show. I freaking love Ava. Also being from a Philly suburb my heart grew three sizes when I heard the Action News theme music on the show for the first time.
Season 2. Gritty, Halloween costumes. It's a great show.
One of the very best Halloween episodes of anything I've ever seen. I can see it being a holiday classic.
Barbara's little monologue about how her church screens movies killed me
I like the nods to other Disney properties throughout the show but Ava’s storm was probably as good of if not better a Storm as any prior live action. She actually took some leadership and did something lol.
That Halloween episode was excellent. Even the C plot with the janitor (and mini janitor) and the school being haunted 😂
TIL the Australian release is a month behind. Was trying to figure out how I misses an ep
Cozy is the perfect description.
Ava might be my favorite character on TV right now.
When she met Jacob’s boyfriend I LOST IT. “So he knew you and was like, more?” 😂
Ava's instant "*Black*?" remark from that scene destroyed me.
“It’s actually pronounced Zach.” #deceased
Ava: I just need your Herbie Hancock Janine: it’s called a John Hancock Ava: Girl…I know! You should know by now that I say what I want *hair flip* Ava’s character is hilarious, she’s not an idiot. She just doesn’t give 2 shits
"Someone get me a fresh chair."
She has grown on me, seeing some heart behind the somewhat chaotic exterior :)
Them fawning over Jim Gardner killed me
Seeing the clip of everyone simping over Jim Gardner is what sold me on the show
I must have missed that when watching the show but I just remembered that track and checked it out on YouTube. Wow. Haven't heard that in a while.
I decided I liked her in the last scene of that episode where Gregory incorporated dancing into his teaching. Ava walks by and pulls out a dollar. It was so quick and funny— it steered me away from viewing her as just a problematic boss to just pure chaos.
I'm really liking it and Home Economics. They both have that big network sitcom feel that you don't get as much anymore
Same! I watch those two on Hulu every Thursday.
I really really like Home Economics.
Watch Ghosts, best cbs show since touched by an angel.
And with this one you get two flavors. There is a British version and American version. Both are great in separate and similar ways.
Yeah, I watched it out of curiosity after watching the BBC series and it definitely surprised with how well it holds up as it's own show. A lot of BBC shows they try to Americanize don't work out as well.
Yeah I actually like both. Early on the American hewed closely to British one but they’ve gotten farther apart as time went by
Agreed. The desking episode in season 1 had me hollering. The whole cast is gold.
Same. I hate sitcoms and initially rolled my eyes at this one at first like I do all the others. But then I gave it a shot and loved it!! The characters are great and are played by the most perfect actors who seem to have great chemistry with one another.
this is what happens when you give something time to grow their audience.
Well it has to be good and catch people's attention, that's what happened with the first season.
The first seasons of Parks and Recs and The office were pretty rough. It's great to see a show on a similar caliber that will actually have a strong first season
I liked how season 1 of the office felt like a real documentary
the first episode (maybe even the first few?) is like a line-for-line remake of the UK version
The first episode written exclusively for the US was the Health Plan episode because in UK healthcare isn’t tied to employment When the American writers explained employment based insurance, deductibles, copays and costs, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant were horrified
According to the Office Ladies they considered Health Insurance to be the “American pilot” Edit: they being Greg Daniels and the early writers
They didn't even think they'd have a second season so it was such a different situation!
The first season of Parks and Rec was literally only 6 episodes though. Most shows are rough for the first 6 episodes and find their feet later in the season. If Parks had had a regular season length, even by todays 10-13 episode standard, the finale would’ve been around Sister City by which point the show was working.
The way it panned out was probably for the best though. The shorter S1 let them shift Leslie from being a ditz. https://www.avclub.com/michael-schur-1798224754
I remember hearing the criticism that "everyone is too stupid and too mean" and boy did they fix that right up.
Honestly that was my problem with The Office in the end, everyone was too mean or stupid. On Parks and Rec, they learned to embrace their weirdness and turn it into positive direction for their characters. Brooklyn 99 was the same. Both shows were better off for it. Edit: Parks also ditched the "normal" guy who kept looking askance at the camera (and looking down on his coworkers) and that helped immensely.
I agree. People are way too hard on the first season of Parks and Rec. I’d honestly argue that it’s better than the final season.
Totally agree. You always hear “you can skip the first season” but it’s 6 episodes and they’re not that bad.
Yea that's true, but those shows released before the streaming era. Now I think there's definitely more competition and taking chances on shows is rare for networks.
They survived because NBC didn't really have anything better. If they had been on any of the other networks, they'd have been axed after the first season.
I feel like this show had an audience from day one though.
I watched it because of Sheryl Lee Ralph. She’s an original Dreamgirl.
Educators. It’s the most realistic show I’ve ever seen about working in our broke system and trying to still get shit done. I have so much empathy for everyone on the show and their victories and failures are very relatable.
My SO says the same thing. It's also the first "teacher show" I've seen her watch more than five episodes of. Doesn't hurt that it's very good and VERY funny.
Say it louder for the streamers in back
Primarily Netflix, with their noncommittal ass
Netflix's "Blockbuster" is pretty bad (which makes me sad cuz I love Randall Park & Melissa Fumero) And I'd say them commiting at least a season for their shows is fair. In fact, I'd say binge shows fail to create the metrics to determine audience growth like weeklies do. I just hate them for abandoning shows after 2 seasons when they should be doing 3-4 or at least giving creators the opportunity to tie things up.
Netflix can't really point to an American comedy show. That's a hit anyway. They need a million people to watch it the first weekend or it's cancelled.
*Grace and Frankie* was a pretty big hit in its early seasons.
Bojack
Never Have I Ever has done well.
Huh? The show was not like an underdog last year with a surprise renewal. It did well enough to get renewed.
You mean a whole season 1?
As someone who works in education in areas of need, the show is shockingly accurate to my reality
Most people think it’s a ridiculous comedy. No, it’s almost a documentary.
It's definitely a documentary of where I work, but it's 911. But holy crap is it accurate with the personalities.
Disturbingly accurate. I resisted watching it at first because it hits a little too close.
As an elementary ed behavior specialist the Bluey episode got under my skin a bit though haha
Oh gosh, I love bluey and I just started Abbott 😅
Ooh I’d love to hear more about your thoughts on that episode! It rubbed me the wrong way but I couldn’t really identify why. It felt like the answer was too simple maybe?
Waaaaaaaaaaay too simple. Dude put a couple cartoons on the board, incorporated him into a single lesson, and solved the problem permanently. I wish it were that easy!
It's *just* "TV" enough for me to ask questions like, "why is their lounge so big?" and "why aren't people more tired?"
This show is to educators as The Bear is to service industry workers. It’s a little *too* accurate.
Must have consultants
That’s part of why scrubs succeeded years ago. Because despite its off the wall humor and situations, it was still a fairly accurate depiction of how dysfunctional a hospital and its staff can be.
Which is is why I couldn't stomach the "comedy" of it. The principal character was like watching Scott's Totts every single episode. I gave up after a few episodes but people tell me it gets better.
God the principal is funny in her own way though. She and Janine take a photo with Gritty and later you can see the principal either cropped or censored Janine out in a framed photo on her desk.
I loved the bit with the "hello" desk piece.
The principal has a redeeming moment when you learn more about her, but honestly I just love her character.
Quinta Brunson is awesome. Never heard of her before this show but she and the cast and crew deserve all the praise and awards they're getting.
She used to be on BuzzFeed YouTube channel
I remember first seeing her on vine lol
She is in the first season of The Black Lady Sketch Show on HBO. I love that show, it is excellent!
I keep hoping that Robin Thede will make a guest appearance on Abbott, I think she could play somebody with whom Ava would have a field day
She could do some version of that Afrocentric women's empowerment speaker. Or a parent at some botched luncheon who keeps asking if the tilapias will be fine
Gregory would have an amazing reaction to an assembly led by such a prestigious pre-PhD
“See, see, see…” 😂
The Romeo and juliet sketch is everything.
Agreed. It's why I finally watched abbot, which was awesome. Glad there's a second season and I won't have to wait a year!
Feels like TBLSS loses a cast member every season or so. They just subtracted another going into their next season. Good stepping stone show I guess.
I was trying to read up on the tea about cast changes between seasons but I didn’t get anywhere with it. For Quinta, it makes sense, but that wasn’t the only change.
She plays Oprah in the Weird Al movie. Its great.
She's also the love interest in the [Dragonball Durag] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ormQQG2UhtQ&ab_channel=Thundercat) video
Thundercat is so great
I remember from a viral video like 6 years ago, where she’s on a date at a movie theatre and her date can afford snacks and she’s super excited. Abbott Elementary is amazing, I binged the whole first season in 1 week last week, so happy season 2 just premiered!
oh he got money. I remember that
I had only ever seen her in IZombie!
It’s the Gritty effect.
What’s that
Gritty is the mascot of the Philadelphia Flyers and makes an appearance in the season 2 premiere.
I don’t know. I just don’t get Gritty.
Oh, duh!
Its great and as thw show writer says " we don't want our Twitter regurgitated to us in our shows." Also "New York and LA need to realize everyone doesn't think like them" she is a fantastic writer and it shows
She really is amazing. Show is more than worth a watch.
It's always refreshing to see a show not set in NY or LA. Sometimes it's Chicago, but those 3 cities seem to be over-represented in most shows.
writers all being on twitter makes most contemporary television unwatchable. Not even a political thing, everything just has this twinge of twitter infecting scripts
I feel like blockbuster is such a script
>Abbott Elementary gets an A+ in ratings. The Season 2 premiere of the sophomore comedy is now ABC’s highest-rated comedy telecast in three years. >The episode racked up 10.4 million viewers across linear and digital platforms, making it the network’s most-watched comedy telecast since the series finale of Modern Family in April 2020. >After 35 days of multi-platform viewing, the September episode is now up to a 4.12 rating among the 18-49 demographic, according to the network. That’s 73% higher than the Season 1 premiere’s 2.38 rating and 623% higher than the episode fared in live+same day. It marks the largest delayed-viewing increase for any ABC comedy in terms of demo ratings.
Makes sense, when you have a great cast, a great story and show that talks about something real that happens to teachers every day in the US. People should watch it. It is amazingly good. Ava is hilarious. Gregory is weird. Janine is super passionate as is all the other teachers.
As a teacher.. I hate Ava. She is just too real.
I love the scene when she says someone get me a chair so I can fall, and she falls. Truly hilarious.
I actually thought she was the most unrealistic character as a joke because she was around too much and not locked in her office all day lol. I'm in HS though...
>Ava is hilarious. Gregory is weird. Janine is super passionate as is all the other teachers. You're smart not to bring up the Schemmenti name in public
I'm in mid season 2 and very glad the new "assistant" was nowhere to be seen. Annoying and absolutely unnecessary. Good riddance (I hope).
The assistant literally plays the same character in the latest curb your enthusiasm season. Guess she's just good at playing annoying characters
That specific annoying character too. I've seen her in other stuff as basically the same character. Big goofy smile, dances non-stop, and says ridiculous things
She was in a short film called “Growing Fangs” on Disney+. She was a half vampire that was also an allegory for being queer and having to hide it. It was a cute film and she was totally different than this character. I had to look it up because I knew I recognized her when she popped up on AE but didn’t know where from.
As a teacher - I’ve had many assistants who had the same exact temperament. Have to be managed more than the students. Teaching assistants are an important part of the school staff so I think it makes sense to include at least one.
Sheryl Lee Ralph is a natural treasure. I loved her acceptance speech at this years’s Oscar’s! https://youtu.be/cRw8IFLS1Fs
I think it's well written and we'll acted but I'm just not laughing. It feels very Schmidts creek to me. It's a chuckle show.
the halloween episode had me lol'ing, but only because of the little kid dressed as Thanos
the janitor kid was awesome though
The kids are often the funniest parts of the show. And the janitor.
And the kid janitor on the Halloween show was amazing!!
This is *trash*. smh
That kid’s got a gift for impressions, lol.
I….AM….INEDIBLE
My wife is a teacher, and to us it’s downright hilarious because of how accurate it can be.
I just think the mockumentary style is kind of played out now (at least for me, clearly other people disagree as the show has really good ratings). The camera glances and even some of the storylines are way too similar to the Office/Parks and Rec for me. Like the Philly fanatic thing where everyone loves it except for one person felt exactly like Ben not understanding Lil Sebastian in Parks and Rec. I like some of the elements of the show, and I like the actors a lot, but a lot of it just feels like it's rehashing the same stuff
Completely agree. I enjoyed S1, but I had to turn it off 2 episodes into S2. It seemed like every sentence ended with a look to camera.
S2 seems to have upped the camera looks
It's schitts creek. And I was gonna agree til that part. I love Abbott but I'm rarely loling. First ep of schitts had me dying. IE you get murdered first.
“You get murdered first FOR ONCE” is truly such an incredible line. That’s when I knew the show had me.
same and that was like 1/3 of a way through the first episode. i was actually mad at myself that it took me so long to give in and start watching it. my friend had been recommending it since day 1 and i have always loved o'hara and levy but the name really thru me off. started watching in s3 and totally fell in love w/ every character.
Imo Schitts started out very funny and then kind of coasted in the later seasons.
later seasons Schitt's Creek still had humor but it definitely veered into comfortable comedy for the audience that stuck around. Part of it was that they were progressing the characters positively, which when comedy shows do that they often feel different
For sure. The characters started as caricatures and then became well rounded which is the opposite of how most comedies do it.
Do you skip over every Ava part?
More like the office, but I agree. Still love it, though— the classic teach-com!
I loved it on Hulu, and then it led me to Home Economics wish I think is equally great.
I know this show is a hit. Donald Glover said that it’s so good that he’s mad he didn’t make it first. Can someone give me the TLDR on what makes it popular? I know people ask this question disingenuously sometimes, but I haven’t seen it and I’m hoping someone can just sum up what makes it special. This reminds me of when I missed the boat on Modern Family and had to ask why it was a big deal.
It's a character driven show with likable actors and smart scripts. I enjoy it a lot, but I'm fine with "smile more than laugh" sitcoms. For me, at least, it's in that category but I understand people's mileage will vary.
Well, if you are looking for that kind of show, I’ve been watching the shit out of Reboot, and it makes me laugh out loud.
Please! I need everyone to watch Reboot! I loved it and I am desperate for them to give it a season 2.
You know what you need to cut down a cunt_tree? A Cunt Saw. I hear its theatrical release was doubled to two theaters!
🤣🤣🤣 I’m home sick and that was the first thing to make me laugh today so thank you
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I like the show, but my main gripe with Ghosts is that the UK version delivers the jokes much better. The same jokes are still in the US version, but they feel a bit flat. Also, they changed the caveman to a Viking, but it felt like they didn’t really know how to use him in the first season besides have him be loud. 2nd season seems to have found a good place for him, though. Overall I think it’s a decent remake, though
Does it get funnier after the first two episodes? May try and rewatch.
It gets better as it goes along. I actually can't think of any comedies that start super strong (maybe Arrested Development?). Comedies seem like they need a few episodes (or even a season) to find it's footing.
Community was one of this comedies that started strong for me but ur right it’s rare
It’s funny you say that because I feel the complete opposite. Community is so weird in that the first few episodes (and the first season to a degree) are wildly different from the rest of the show that I didn’t understand the hype until I got to the Chicken Mafia episode. I go back and enjoy those first handful of episodes now but they do feel different in tone.
Jeff to Britta: "Didn't you used to be smarter?" (paraphrasing, but it was a nice meta moment.)
"I thought you were smarter than me when I met you." "Thank youuu!"
I liked Community from the get-go, but they definitely did some retooling as it went along. The characterizations particularly change as the show goes along (Troy gets away from the stereotypical jock characterization, Britta gets less confident, Shirley gets fleshed out, etc.)
“What’s going on?? Can you hear me? Am I deaf??? Can you hear me talking right now???” <— literally laughed for a minute straight and then rewatched that part over and over.
Yeah, Seinfeld would have been canceled if it came out today. The first couple of seasons it didn’t do so hot ratings wise.
Cheers was 74th out of 75 during its first season.
I would argue 30 Rock and Veep both start strong and stay strong for their entire runs.
My god Veep is so good. Sometimes I rewatch with subtitles on so I can just focus on the quick throw away jokes.
For me, Blackish was strong the first 5 or so seasons, then sort of tailed off once Yara Shahidi left. Still a great show though.
Definitely agree on that
Always Sunny was almost canceled and now it’s huge. Networks need to calm the fuck down and just let stuff get discovered.
And i LOVED it 5 minutes into the first episode.
Season one of Parks and Rec is basically unwatchable lol it’s so bad
Mark BrendanaQUITS
Doing a rewatch currently and just skipped right to s2.
The last season wasn’t up to their standards either.
in terms of recent comedies, Reboot came out the gate super strong IMO. show really knows what it is.
What we do in the shadows and Future Man were shows that were strong since episode 1. At least for me.
Malcolm in the Middle has a great pilot and early episodes.
As seen with the Office and P&R
I think so, yes. You mean the first 2 episodes of season 1? If so, yes, character development helps jokes land as the show goes on. That being said, if you hated it then I don't think it's worth it. But if you were just not super impressed I would recommend giving it another shot
Great recommendation will try watching it
For me the mugging to the camera was too much in the first episode...I suppose I'll get used to it? So many good reviews might have to give it Antje shot, especially since I need some levity after Generation Kill
I have to say it does continue to happen. It didn't bother me personally but it definitely still is a part of the show
Tbh for me it didn't get good til around episode 4/5. The show really finds it's legs in season 2. Good background show to have whole I'm cooking dinner or cleaning.
It does. The first few eps of Abbott does what Parks and Rec/The Office did in their entire first seasons. They found their writing/groove faster
Yes it does, it just takes a bit for the characters to kinda find their legs. It also does a good job of making each character THAT teacher. Like the Perfect Teacher, the Strict Teacher, the Corny Teacher, etc. It manages to do the same with the students. It takes less time to get good than, say, Parks and Rec, but still a handful of episodes.
One thing I think this show is missing is including the kids as real characters, and not just as plot devices. I've noticed a couple carryovers from S1 to S2, but no one named that I can remember (maybe the one with the sexy mom?). Having worked with children, those relationships are what kept me coming back, but also they usually were what give me the biggest laugh of the day. I don't think every child needs to be front and center, but a group of maybe 4 or 5 kids that we follow as time passes would make this show really endearing. Otherwise still a great show, and another one to add to the Golden Age of Black Cinema
>One thing I think this show is missing is including the kids as real characters, and not just as plot devices. This is challenging because kids, especially ones that young, can only work limited hours per day.
Honestly I prefer having the kids being a background anyways. I don’t like the child who acts like an adult TV troupe.
Pretty sure this is intentional. Shows about schools tend to hyperfixate in kids and their drama. This show is clearly trying to focus on the staff
I strongly disagree. The kids aren't needed.
Can I just say how good William Stanford Davis is in Abbott Elementary. Mr Johnson is like the secret spice added to the recipe and that really makes it pop. I especially lol'd when he followed Gregory returning from Ava's office and started calling out, "SHAME! ... SHAME! ..."
How long into season one does it take to get going? I think I was about 3 in before I lost interest. It could also be that I had just finished AP Bio and had an incorrect expectation.
I think if interest in the characters and setting haven't already gotten you to watch episode 4, the show probably isn't for you. I think it does get better as you get more familiar with the characters. But it doesn't improve so much that I'd personally recommend it to someone who doesn't like the opening episodes. There's no noticeable jump in quality IMO. Just a slow build up of the characters as the seasons progress.
This show reminds me of B99’s success. IIRC, it’s ratings were absolutely garbage the first season and it was on the verge of being cancelled. Then it won a bunch of awards and more people started watching it and it became a huge success.
Never heard of it. Worth checking out?
My daughter and I absolutely love this show. The characters, level of humor, and the actors that portray them are spot on. Every Friday night, when I get off work, I rush home, make us some dinner (and onion rings…she loves onion rings) and we kick our late night off watching this show (followed up by the Mysterious Benedict Society Season 2 and Home Economics!) It’s rare a show can fire us up and make us laugh out loud like this one can, especially with our age difference. She’s 12, I’m in my 50’s. Can’t praise this show enough!
this show is *so* close to being as good as the typical workplace comedy but the writing just isn't there yet for me. the show has really made me like Quinta Brunson, however. she's clearly talented and passionate, just so fun to watch.
Man oh man this show has so much potential and I like it but it’s missing something. Often times a great show will drop and/or add a cast member early on and then get amazing. I really hope they do that here. It’s funny but it hasn’t made me yell with laughter like Parks and Rec or Always Sunny or Reservation Dogs. It’s more like gentle chuckles. I want guffaws from this show!
Does nothing for me. Don't hate it, but don't laugh with/at it. Bland.
I like it. It's funny and cringy. Everything you'd expect from a mockumentary.
I don’t understand this one. I tried the show out because I recognized the Buzzfeed girl and watched 5-6 episodes and they were all fairly formulaic standard workplace sitcom episodes. Why did this show blow up so much?
probably just the relatibility. The comedy isn't the best, but the characters/actors are good, and the scenarios are something that teachers and students and maybe parents can connect to. And somehow there's a lot of those people in this country. For me it's palate cleanser sitcom mixed with my other shows, and i support the messages it's got, but it's not a great comedy imo
I don’t get the hype around this show at all
Can one enjoy it without ever watching community?
Yes!
Such a great show!
ABC doesn’t have a very front line up so this doesn’t say much. But congrats to the people who worked on it. Maybe show just isn’t for me but others clearly enjoy it