Abbott Elementary should abandon the mockumentary

19 years have passed since then The office premiered on NBC and ruined my life. Not because I hate the show – I love all the good episodes and loathe all the bad ones – but because its enormous, still-enduring success led to many sitcoms adopting its mockumentary format in the decades that followed. I liked a lot of these shows, even if they were sitcom-like What we do in the shadows to the more straightforward ones Bastard on earth. But sometimes the limitations of the format are clearer than the benefits. That’s how I felt Abbott Elementary School Lately, and with the season three premiere, I kept wishing the cameras weren’t a character on the show.

There is an argument that the mockumentary structure makes Abbott a touch of authenticity that complements the careful work of the set designers to create a vibrant but resource-poor school where children live in uniforms and teachers in clothes best described as “comfortable professionalism.” Talking headfirst lets the characters speak honestly about each other and the institutions that frustrate them, an easy place for jokes about finance as well as the secret life of the janitor, Mr. Johnson (William Stanford Davis). Abbott’However, the show’s writers put a lot of emphasis on the show’s characters in a very traditional sitcom way, with their personal lives spilling over into their professional lives in ways that are both funny and uncomfortable, and this is where mockumentaries are most called for.

Photo: Gilles Mingasson/Disney

“Career Day,” the two-part premiere, jumps five months after “Franklin Institute,” the grand finale of season two, where protagonist Janine Teagues (creator Quinta Brunson) and her colleague Gregory Eddie (Tyler James Williams) die after two months Feelings confess years of awkward flirting. The time jump is handled rather awkwardly; While it’s a great way to rework some characters and introduce new ones – like county representative Manny (gentle king Josh Segarra), it mostly seems like a way to delay answering the Janine/Gregory question. (However, with a Great joke about the camera crew being robbed as an explanation for the time jump.)

It is in the scenes of Gregory and Janine where AbbottThe fake camera crew is pushed to its limits as Brunson, who wrote the episode’s script, correctly suspects that with a camera crew present, the couple wouldn’t find out what happened between them. Instead, we witness the scene through Ava Coleman’s “hidden cameras.” This hidden camera gag isn’t actually funny, but worse, it strains credibility and undermines the show’s raw, serious energy. These are two characters who are easy to care for because they take care of them themselves so much. Ironically, a documentary crew can’t get close enough to see how much they care about each other or not. Good jokes come from characters; bad jokes undermine it.

Abbott Elementary School is a great comedy about resilience and optimism, about what it’s like to not only make the best of a bad hand but also inspire others to do the same. In the series’ best moments, the cast of teachers function as a community of their own, supporting each other in a system that is hostile to their profession or the care it takes to do their job well. It would be more poignant – and funnier – if nothing stood in the way.