When Abbott Elementary first premiered, it felt like a breath of fresh air. At a time when streaming services were dominating the television conversation, Abbott Elementary reminded people that network TV could still produce an Emmy-worthy comedy. A lot of that comes down to creator Quinta Brunson, who also stars as Janine Teagues. Yes, this is a review of Season 5, but since I never reviewed the previous four seasons, it’s important to say up front that I’ve loved this show from the beginning. The early seasons deserved every bit of the awards attention they received, including Sheryl Lee Ralph’s well-earned Emmy win. She’s been doing incredible work for decades, and it was nice to finally see someone with that level of talent receive the recognition she deserved. Broadway fans have probably appreciated her for years, but I still think of her “shoulda, woulda, coulda” speech from Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit because I’m a nerd and I love that movie.
The cast has always been one of the show’s greatest strengths. I was thrilled to see Lisa Ann Walter return to prominence as Melissa Schemmenti after feeling like she’d been underused for years, and I’m still surprised Emmy voters haven’t found room for her. Tyler James Williams was another welcome return to television. While many people know him from Everybody Hates Chris, I was just happy to see Noah from The Walking Dead show up in another great role. Chris Perfetti continues to make Jacob Hill endlessly entertaining, William Stanford Davis remains hilarious as the wonderfully unpredictable Mr. Johnson, and no one consistently makes me laugh more than Janelle James as Ava Coleman. Before Abbott Elementary, I wasn’t familiar with James at all, but she’s become one of my favorite comedic performers on television and is long overdue for an Emmy of her own.
Heading into Season 5, I expected more of the same sharp writing and confident storytelling that made the first four seasons so special. Instead, I found myself feeling like the show had reached a point where it wasn’t entirely sure where it wanted to go next. The cast bounces from storyline to storyline, and while Abbott Elementary has expanded its world with recurring characters like Ava’s assistant and a newer teacher who pops in from time to time, it still revolves around the same small group of educators. Sometimes that works beautifully, but this season it often felt like the writers were searching for ideas instead of following a clear direction.
That leads to episodes that feel more like sitcom stunt episodes than natural extensions of the story. The teachers all go to a baseball game together, Abbott temporarily relocates into an empty shopping mall, and while that premise may sound absurd, it actually happened near where I grew up after a tornado destroyed a local high school. So it’s not that these ideas are unrealistic. It just feels like Season 5 is throwing a lot at the wall without always knowing which ideas deserve to stick.
The biggest challenge is Janine and Gregory Eddie’s relationship. Every sitcom eventually reaches the point where the central couple finally gets together, and then the writers have to answer the much tougher question: now what? Plenty of comedies lose some of their spark once the will-they-or-won’t-they tension disappears. I don’t think Abbott Elementary has to. Just as The Office was never really about Jim and Pam, Abbott Elementary has never been exclusively about Janine and Gregory. It’s about an ensemble of teachers trying to educate kids with limited resources while working under an eccentric principal. That’s still a formula with enormous potential.
What surprised me most is that the show seems to be backing away from larger conversations at exactly the moment those conversations feel most relevant. Public education in America is in a period of enormous change, and Abbott Elementary has always been uniquely positioned to explore those issues through comedy. The season finale sets up school closures after a superintendent embezzles money, only to reverse much of that conflict by the end of the episode. It felt like a missed opportunity. There were meaningful conversations to be had about the future of public education, school choice, declining enrollment, and the uncertainty educators face today. Instead, the show introduces the conflict, softens it, and largely walks away from it. Even Janine and Gregory’s breakup lasts all of an episode before everything returns to normal. Very little in Season 5 feels permanent enough to carry real dramatic weight.
That’s ultimately what frustrated me about this season. It feels like a show waiting for inspiration instead of chasing it. Jacob’s campaign to keep someone harmful to education from gaining influence hints at the kind of stories Abbott Elementary could be telling, but too often the season settles for lighter plots that don’t fully capitalize on this remarkable ensemble. The performances are still outstanding. If anything, they’re elevating material that isn’t quite as confident as it once was. I still believe Quinta Brunson will find that creative spark again. Sometimes a show has to tread water while figuring out where to take its characters next. The difference is that Abbott Elementary can’t afford to tread water forever. My guess is the series probably has another season or two left before it bows out, and I’d much rather see it end on top than overstay its welcome.
The main reason I wanted to review Season 5, though, wasn’t actually the writing. It was the audio description. ABC has commissioned one of the weakest audio description tracks currently attached to any major television series, which is honestly remarkable considering this is one of the network’s flagship Emmy-winning comedies. Unless I’m somehow forgetting an excellent track from early in Season 1 before changes were made, the audio description has consistently failed to meet the quality of the show itself. The narrator remains Vito DiFilippo, while the company behind the work has gone from DiCapta to Verbit. Whether that’s a corporate change or simply a new name on the same operation, the end result hasn’t improved.
I have an extremely low opinion of Verbit’s work on this series. The descriptions often feel like bargain-basement accessibility that saves ABC money instead of delivering an experience worthy of the content. Abbott Elementary is built around visual reactions, background jokes, awkward glances, silent comedy, and subtle sight gags. Describing a fast-paced half-hour comedy requires talented writers who know exactly how to maximize every available pause in the dialogue. Too often, those moments are missed. Jokes that sighted viewers instantly understand are simply left out, leaving blind audiences to guess why everyone is laughing.
Vito DiFilippo also remains one of the strangest casting choices I’ve encountered for a sitcom narrator. He has a voice that could put you to sleep. I’ve actually seen people online question whether he’s even a real person because the delivery is so dry and monotone that they assume it’s synthetic. Unfortunately, I know he’s human because I’ve heard him credited enough times to match the name with the voice. The bigger concern is that Disney has already begun experimenting with synthetic narration elsewhere, and that makes me worry that the response to criticism won’t be hiring a better narrator or a stronger writing team. It’ll be replacing human performers altogether. That’s the wrong lesson to take away. Audio description begins with great writing. The narrator enhances what’s on the page. Even the greatest narrator in the world can’t elevate material that isn’t there. In this case, I don’t think the writing is good enough, and I don’t think the performance adds anything to compensate for it. The entire track needs to be rethought from the ground up because Abbott Elementary deserves accessibility that matches the quality of the show itself.
Despite all of that, I’m absolutely coming back for Season 6. I love this cast, I still have faith in Quinta Brunson, and I believe Abbott Elementary can rediscover the creative energy that made its first four seasons so exceptional. Janelle James’ Ava Coleman has become one of my favorite television characters ever, and I hope she eventually gets the Emmy that should already be sitting on her shelf. More than anything, this cast feels like a family, and that’s what great television has always been about. Even in what I consider its weakest season, Abbott Elementary remains a good show because of the people in front of the camera. Everyone behind it should be proud of what they’ve built. Everyone, that is, except perhaps the audio description team, which, as far as I’m concerned, can go learn how to fly a kite.
Fresh: 7.6/10
