Quinta Brunson Is Absolutely Right About Abbott Elementary’s Riskiest Episode

Summary

• Abbott Elementary
  tackles serious issues with a warm, sweet tone, making it a standout in the TV landscape.
• Season 3’s risky episode ‘Smoking’ highlights the staff’s hypocrisy in a hilarious yet thought-provoking way.
• Quinta Brunson’s creative approach ensures
  Abbott Elementary
  remains relevant without relying on real-world trends.

Quinta Brunson is right about Abbott Elementary season 3’s riskiest episode and the place the show occupies in the TV landscape. Abbott Elementary’s cast of characters are lovable, and the series has a warm, sweet tone. However, this doesn’t mean that the show lacks grit and gravitas. Abbott Elementary has seriously engaged with important issues like charter schools, educational underfunding, and institutional racism throughout its first three seasons. Abbott Elementary season 4 will continue to take a light look at even the heaviest subjects, judging by star and creator Quinta Brunson’s recent comments to The Hollywood Reporter.

In a wide-ranging interview, Brunson spoke about Abbott Elementary’s place in the sitcom landscape and how the show’s style helps its storytelling. Abbott Elementary is one of few major mockumentaries left on network television and this stylistic choice helps the show stand out from the crowd. Meanwhile, Abbott Elementary’s eponymous setting lets the show tackle serious topics while still maintaining a cheery attitude. Like real-life schoolchildren and faculty, Abbott Elementary’s students and teachers face a lot of struggles that resonate with viewers. Brunson alluded to this while discussing season 3’s riskiest, and most rewarding, storyline.

Abbott Elementary Season 3’s “Smoking” Was A High-Risk Highlight

“Smoking” Revealed The Abbott Elementary Staff’s Hypocrisy

In season 3, episode 4, “Smoking,” Abbott goes into emergency mode after a student is caught smoking a cigarette in the bathroom. Soon, the staff room is abuzz with conversation regarding the incident. One by one, all the teachers admit to using some form of drugs while simultaneously trying to preach abstinence to their students. Brunson said this was her favorite risky choice in season 3, with the scene revealing that her uptight heroine Janine frequently smokes marijuana to relax. This revelation was hilariously unexpected but also had a more serious message. Abbott Elementary’s PSA spoof questioned abstinence-centered drug education.

As the teachers began to realize that they all relied on some substance or another to tackle stress, they were embarrassed to see that their practices didn’t align with what they preached. However, things rapidly escalated when a student filmed their conversation. The teachers immediately descended into panic, terrified of the repercussions they might face. Thus, “Smoking” became Abbott Elementary season 3’s riskiest episode not just by revealing the extracurricular activities of the show’s heroes, but also by highlighting their hypocrisy. With this moment, Abbott Elementary proved the series isn’t afraid of potentially making its heroes unlikable hypocrites.

Season 3’s Riskiest Episode Proves Abbott Elementary Isn’t Afraid To Tackle Divisive Topics

Quinta Brunson’s Comedy Series Takes Measured Risks

Although Abbott Elementary is not TV-MA, the sitcom is certainly not afraid of tackling divisive issues. An early season 1 episode saw Jacob confidently assert that President Biden would clear his student loan debt any day now, a sobering reminder of the debt that many Americans live with. Meanwhile, while Principal Ava can be comically incompetent and corrupt, Janine’s brief tenure at the school district proved that it is institutional bureaucracy that holds the school back as much as bad management. Even if Abbott Elementary season 4 made Janine principal, the school would still face these systemic issues.

Brunson noted that
Abbott Elementary
“
exists in a world that doesn’t have to rely on what’s happening in the outside world
.”

All of this might make it sound as if Abbott Elementary takes place in the real world or, at least, in a very close approximation of reality. Certainly, the show incorporates a lot of real-life settings, events, and people, but this isn’t quite the full picture. In the same interview, Brunson noted that Abbott Elementary “exists in a world that doesn’t have to rely on what’s happening in the outside world.” This doesn’t necessarily make Abbott Elementary any less equipped to critique real-life issues, but instead makes the show’s satirical messages all the more focused and pointed thanks to this creative freedom.

Quinta Brunson Is Right About Abbott Elementary’s World

The Star Said The Series Has A Loose Relationship With Reality

Brunson’s clarification does mean that the mockumentary series doesn’t have to reflect reality. Instead, it is a good approach that ensures when Abbott Elementary does touch on controversial themes like drugs, it is because they facilitate an interesting story, not for the sake of keeping up with the times. Abbott Elementary’s many celebrity cameos prove the series isn’t above an attention-grabbing publicity stunt, but the show is more interested in its characters than in boosting its ratings. The first two seasons of Abbott Elementary scarcely featured any high-profile guest stars, and the guests who did appear had something in common.

From Taraji P. Henson as Janine’s mother to The Bear’s breakout star Ayo Edebiri as her sister Ayesha, all of Abbott Elementary’s early cameos served to flesh out the show’s fictional world. Abbott Elementary season 3 cut loose a little more often, with stars like Kevin Hart and Bradley Cooper playing themselves in more outlandish cameo roles. However, the show’s tone remains mostly grounded. Abbott Elementary’s fictional world feels enough like reality for the series to address real-life issues, but Brunson sagely notes that this doesn’t mean the series needs to address specific real-world issues to remain relevant.

The sitcom manages to balance comedic escapism with an ability to interrogate real issues.

What Quinta Brunson’s Approach Means For Abbott Elementary Season 4

The Creator Argued Against Highlighting One Real-World Issue

Abbott Elementary season 4 is likely to continue with the show’s successful approach, only choosing some select elements from the real world to incorporate into the show’s universe. In doing so, Abbott Elementary can maintain its critical popularity and its rating success. The sitcom manages to balance comedic escapism with an ability to interrogate real issues, never allowing these to overwhelm the character comedy at its core. To this end, there is one issue that Brunson has been adamant about keeping away from Abbott Elementary. Namely, Brunson refuses to stage a very special episode about the issue of gun violence in schools.

Brunson told The Hollywood Reporter in November 2023 that, while shootings were a very real threat in schools, the events didn’t represent “The realistic day-to-day in the classroom.” The low-stakes approach of the series means Abbott Elementary’s Gregory/Janine romance is the most emotionally intense storyline of the first three seasons, so it makes sense that a school shooting wouldn’t belong in this milieu. Brunson is right to note that leading with “Everyday stories” is what allows Abbott Elementary to both excel critically and to comment on a diverse array of real-life issues without losing its sense of humor.

Source: TheHollywoodReporter